Tag: BMW X7

A couple of months ago, I blogged about the BMW X7; however, I hadn’t had a chance to see the car in real life. My assumption was that it would look like a stretched version of the X5 – a kind of weird looking vehicle for families.

A few weeks ago, I saw a BMW X7 M50d in Shoreditch, London. For those of you who have no clue about Shoreditch in London, it is the hipster area in the east of the city, and I am really surprised to see an X7 over there.

Based on my first impression, the BMW X7 does not look that bad. BMW designers have managed to extend the X5 but not ruin the proportions, so it doesn’t have a weird look. Of course, you can sense something is wrong with the vehicle, but it is not that bad.

In addition, BMW has managed to vanish the boring seven-seater impression. Most of these extended SUVs are for families because they need psychical space, yet at the same time, they are driving something really boring. With the X7, the boring family SUV just became the cool SUV.

To be honest, if you need a seven-seater SUV, the BMW X7 is probably the best-looking one. Also, you can flaunt your high spec with a rear differential for better traction on your ski trips.

BMW finally revealed their large-sized SUV, X7. It is supposed to compete with the Range Rover by offering a longer size. Yet the end result of the X7 is that it is simply an ugly SUV that looks oversized. I am sure that the X7 offers a great ride and comfort. But with that exterior design, it does not look like the best-looking large SUV on the market.

Honestly, competition with Range Rover is not about size. Rather, it is about ridiculous luxury and reliability. Range Rovers are not extremely long vehicles like the X7, but they instead offer very high levels of luxury and comfort.

The metric that BMW used to compete with Range Rover was size. If a manufacturer makes a longer SUV with a better price tag, people will buy it regardless of its exterior design.

Unfortunately, the world does not work like this, and BMW should have learned this lesson from the 5GT and Gran Coupe models. Sensory experiences with the product can enhance their competitive advantage more than any other physical advantage.

I haven’t seen the new X7, however, I am not very excited to see it. I am sure it won’t be something spectacular, with the exception that it is oversized like the Mercedes-Benz GLS. Yet I am unable to forget the fact that the X7 offers very sophisticated driving assistance and active safety systems that are not available in a Range Rover. For some people, these features are more important than luxury.

I am sure that the X7 will capture Range Rover’s market, especially in the US market where people look for something new and unique. Additionally, the X7’s weird design frames it as a contemporary art piece that no one has any clue what the meaning behind it is. If you visit Mayfair in London, you will be sure to find lots of contemporary art pieces that have literally no meaning.

Yet people are ready to pay a lot of money for them. Why? So that they can show off their taste in art and that they understand something that no one else can understand.

Long story short, the BMW X7 was either designed by the neo-classical economic model that forced them to make a vehicle longer to sell more than its competitors, or it was designed by behavioural economics principles to manipulate the consumer’s mind.

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Photo Credit // BMW