So, the new BMW 4 Series has been revealed and the supersize kidney grille remains a sore point for many. We decided to intervene and try 'fix' the grille once and for all. The questions is, do you prefer our 4 Series grille or do you prefer the look of the new 4 Series grille? This is grille warfare!

BMW’s grille sizes are increasing and larger grilles have now also made it onto the X7 SUV and the 7 Series luxury sedan. Back in September 2019, BMW unveiled the Concept 4 which previewed the new 4 Series Coupe which was finally revealed this week. At the time, Concept 4 opened the floodgates of criticism aimed squarely at the new gigantic gaping grille. The public took to social media and lambasted BMW for creating such an outrageous design for the new 4 Series and many BMW fans were left disappointed.

BMW's design chief, Domagoj Dukec, speaking to Autocar, shed some light on the brand's position regarding the design of the new 4 Series. He stated, “The twin kidney grille is the most prominent design icon we have. It’s the biggest difference we have from any other car out there. We’ve used the kidney in a variety of ways to give our cars a certain presence: the 3 Serieshas a very horizontal one because it’s a more rational, serious car. A coupe like the 4 Series should express the exotic part of BMW.”

Furthermore, Dukec said,“The criteria for design is to create something unique, something daring, to make a statement. I’m 100 per cent convinced something like this, although it’s polarising in the beginning, is at the heart of BMW and a brand-shaper for us. Our products have to express the special position of BMW. We don’t want to polarise with every product, but the 4 Series is a very expressive car. In two or three years, I’m convinced this will be a really strong product on the road, and people, whether they love it or not, will see it as a car with a certain identity.”

Read about the new BMW 4 Series Coupe here!

The grille on the new BMW 4 Series remains a sore point for many, but the general sentiment appears to be more positive than before.

In the case of the new 4 Series coupe, BMW had to find a way to distinctly differentiate the 4 Series from the 3 Series sedan and to do this, BMW went for the jugular and ushered in a new grille design that is bold while also dividing opinion. The new grille design is in response to market demand and markets such as China are big fans of the supersize grille.

Strangely though, when the 4 Series Coupe was revealed this week, it was interesting to note how publicresponse to the production version was significantly morepositive. Perhaps people are tired of vomiting and have now come to terms with the existence of the new grille. Who knows?

The new BMW 4 Series grille has divided opinion on Facebook. Many people like it, others not so much.

On the topic of social media, Dukec further commented,“In the design business, you can’t listen to social media reactions. It won’t help you. Design is something that is so emotional, and everybody has an opinion and different tastes. There’s no right or wrong in design. When you do something like this 50 per cent of people might love it and 50 per cent will hate it, and that won’t change. Anything you do there will be people who like it and people who don’t – but this is not the criteria."

Muchlike in the public domain, members of the Cars.co.za team have various opinions about this new grille development and as such, we have decided to intervene and ‘fix’ the grille of the new 4 Series.

We gave our very own rendering wizard, Duwyne Aspeling, the opportunity to rectify the 4 Series' grille in line with what most BMW fans would probably expect (see our fix below).

This exercise has, however, raised the point that if BMW played it safe, the new 4 Series would look too ‘ordinary’ and the brand would be criticised for that too. In that sense, perhaps BMW deserves a bit more credit for 'going' big' instead of just sticking to the norm.

Twitter users also shared their opinionsof the new BMW 4 Series.

What side of the fence are you sitting on? Do you prefer our ‘fix’ for the new 4 Series or do you think that BMW has hit the mark with its new grille?

Share your opinions with us in the comments below!

We did BMW a favour and 'fixed' the grille on the new 4 Series. Do you like it?

Buy a BMW 4 Series on Cars.co.za

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