The new BMW hybrid concept hints at the ugly future of electric cars

Date:
Thu, 02 Dec 2021 14:52:54 +0000

Description:
BMW has released concept images for its upcoming plug-in hybrid SUV, the BMW XM.

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Another day, another electric car design to ridicule. This week, its BMWs latest plug-in hybrid (PHEV) concept, the XM, under the spotlight.

Supposedly based on the existing BMW X7, the XM is the German manufacturer's upcoming coupe-SUV. Itll be the flagship model in BMWs M performance
division, and is expected to hit showrooms as early as next year.

The brand says the XM SUV will sport a 740bhp PHEV powertrain, an emotionally-rich sound and stand tall as the first pure BMW M model since the legendary M1 which is all well and good, if its appearance wasn't undercut
by its blocky appearance.

Look, were all for innovation here at TechRadar, but the XM SUV is the sort
of brutish, boxy ride that Megatron would choose to transform into and unfortunately, its rather symbolic of the uninspired future of electric car design in general. These are the fastest accelerating electric cars in the world
(Image credit: BMW)

Theres no doubt that both electric and hybrid automotive technology has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. Battery-powered cars are faster, cleaner and cheaper than ever before, and many major automakers have committed to converting their entire vehicle fleets into electric equivalents as soon as 2025.

Legislation now passed in many different countries will soon prohibit the
sale and manufacture of traditional combustion engines, too, leaving many drivers with no option but to seriously consider the switch to four greener wheels.

Why, then, are these cars so homogeneous in appearance? There seems to be a conscious effort on the part of designers to reflect the futuristic nature of an electric cars internal wizardry with a spaceship-like exterior that lacks any sort of personality.

Sure, more outlandish projects like the Tesla Cybertruck are deliberately robotic in design, but consumer-facing cars like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 , Toyota bZ4X , Subaru Solterra , Polestar 2 and now BMW XM seem so
aesthetically-banal that it makes you wish these manufacturers had just plonked an electric battery inside their existing combustion models. (Image credit: BMW)

Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder there is no doubt that some will warm to this decidedly cold vehicular direction. And make no mistake, there have been some darn pretty electric cars in recent times (the Mercedes EQS and Audi e-tron GT come to mind).

But its a shame to see a brand like BMW ditch its angel-eyed heritage for an electric aesthetic that seems intentionally minimalist and lacking in any unique features beyond a comically-large front grill.

Perhaps, though, the aversion to this new direction in vehicle design simply mimics the scepticism towards every new automotive trend in years past. Long bonnets were all the rage back in the 1930s, wheel size ballooned at the turn of the last century and carbon fibre has meant todays most expensive cars appear more like fighter jets than traditional roadsters.

Maybe, then, well come to love rather than loathe this electric spaceship circus. These models are, after all, the future of motoring and nobody likes being stuck in the past. Wireless electric vehicle charging explained



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/the-new-bmw-hybrid-concept-hints-at-the-ugly-fu ture-of-electric-cars/


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