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Do you find the current BMW 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series ugly?
I’ll get back to this later.

To design something innovative is what many designers strive for. Their main reason for this is to come up with an idea that no one has thought of before, or to interpret something in a way that no one has. I guess its all about innovation and being ground breaking!

Do you like it? Flat blocky front...

I have to admit, the first time I saw this car with fresh eyes, I couldn’t look past the two vertical areas of the front glass (windshield) and front fascia. It just looked blocky, and if I was asked by BMW what I honestly thought, the only polite answer I would have is ‘…it’s different’. Now, there are two ways to interpret ‘it’s different’ – one being refreshing, innovative, and ground breaking, and I like it! – or – simply not liking it.

Cohesive connection from the upper and lower half of the car lowers the visual 'height'.

Trying to interpret the designer’s intent on the BMW X1 is like uncovering a thought process though the use of their lines in the end product. In recent models I have always found the body side of BMWs to be the most interesting, most notably coming from the ‘slap in the face’ design of the Z4. Following the body side crease from the front to the rear, it shoots up above the rear fender, pointing to the crease that is coming around the DLO on the C-pillar. This creates a notion of connection between the upper and lower half of the vehicle, and it makes sense since it’s a tall car.

Comparison of concept sketch and actualized model. Note the difference amount of 'light' between the lower feature.

Overpowering that body side feature is the standard issue belt line that has been built up creating a tension and speed in this dynamic theme. However, although important to the rest of the design, I think it takes away from what I think is a far more interesting feature on the body side/DLO mentioned earlier. In turn, I believe they still could have played up this feature by increasing the visibility of the crease as much as they had in the sketch.

Complex interesction of lines result in a surface solution that is just as complex. Surprisingly the rear is clean looking and does not look heavy due to the clever use of color and black.

From the rear of the car there are many lines that are coming together to create an interesting variety of surface solutions. A subtle line from just above the side rocker flows into the rear fascia to join the story from side to back. It is complemented by a crease that defines the bumper to the body panel, which in turn is intersected by a hook line that is framed around the tail lights (Creating that complex interplay of surfaces). Across the rear the surfaces are quite simple. This makes a focus on the proportions of the dark and color areas to be seen. As to not look heavy, the bumper is mostly black and when compared with the glass it creates a wider elongated color section that reduces the visual height of the car. To reduce the visual weight of the black, a bright metallic nappy also creates an elongated black section of the bumper. This keeps a the car looking visually planted to the ground, not looking like it may topple over due to the nature of this vehicle type.

Front lamp detail and bonnet buldge details

Similarly themed around the rear lamps are the front head lamps, having an interesting treatment of line work that makes up the front fascia. As a result I have mixed feelings about how it has turned out. The crease in front of the wheel arch coming out from the lamp suggests an angled front, yet the crease on between the grille and lamp is quite vertical. So the visual comparison exaggerates the boxy appearance of the front end. The only way of saving it from looking even boxier is a similar technique as the rear of the car, having a large area of black to make appear, just like the rear, wider than it is, and in this case making the proportions of the front similar to likes of a 5 or 7 series.

Are these the original concept proposal sketches?

If the released sketches of the X1 proposal were the ones used to make the concept X1, and from that, to the production X1, this BMW designer needs to be awarded for doing something that is quite hard to do, and that is to stick to his original idea, the one that he sketched, earning him the privilege to design this car!

I think the lines and creases all over the BMW X1 are quite fresh and exciting for their design language, however when it comes to the surfaces that excitement and tension is lost by becoming softer. If I was to compare this with the new Z4, it does make sense, having all this drama of lines mixed in with more elegant surface work, and by that, I guess it is quite ‘different’, and I mean that in a way that is good, as it is something exploratory, and something I can learn to like. I do like the current 1, 3 and 5 Series, and this X1 shows BMW evolving that style.

Whenever I read or hear about a Kia car, there are a few negative preconceived ideas that immediately pop into my head; one notably is my personal distaste towards their styling themes. When I first saw the 2010 Kia Cerato Forte, I honestly thought it was a Honda (Civic), so you can imagine my surprise when I first saw that it wasn’t! Now, there is no doubt there are some striking similarities between the Honda and Kia, but it would be too easy to simply dismiss this as a copy, we will save that for the Chinese automotive companies!

Kia Cerato Forte or Honda Civic?

From a straight comparison to any prior model of Kia, it seems that the 2010 model is something that is actually pleasant to look at, with nothing really standing out as offensive or not working in harmony with the rest of the vehicle.

Using sharp angular lines creates a more aggressive Kia

An interesting disjointed belt line brings an emphasis on a dynamic front end of the car. The spear created shows a focusing on the stance of the car (I have not really seen this in any prior Kia design), rather than the length of the car (to give the illusion the car is bigger than it may actually be). Reinforcing the stance of the car are the angular notions of the grille and headlights that are further accentuated with a spears underneath them.

Adjusted lines to show a stronger relationship between the side and the front of the car

Even with a disconnected belt line, it is very successful in capturing enough light to show some form through out the design on the side. Additional to creating more form, and to stay away from appearing too ‘tall’ (a result of a larger, functional DLO) the lower section of the doors above the side rockers, is a sculpted negative shape that creates a darker shadow. When I see the contrast of the light on the belt line shoulder, comparing it with the lower negative section, the doors still seem quite flat and blocky. Also, I am yet to see how the lower body side relates to the front, or for that matter, the rear of the car.

Adjustments to show how the relationship between the side and the rear of the car.

If there was any need for a design to have less emphasis on the height of the car, this would be it, the rear of the Cerato Forte (especially if you compare it with the front!). From what I have usually seen, the concept sketch of a car rarely looks ‘tall’ deliberately. No doubt, the resultant of this height is due to some engineering restrictions. The success on the rear of this Kia, although pleasant looking, it does not fully achieve a better suited solution.

Although not a suitable production alternative, it shows how some adjustments can reduce the visual 'height' of the rear.

I vaguely remember seeing some clay models of an early proposal of the BMW 5 series; this too had a problem of looking too ‘tall’ around the section of the deck lid. After a successful refinement process, we have a solution that we see on the roads today, although not looking ‘wide’, it does not look ‘tall’ either.

Pleasant

This is still a great design result for Kia, and even if it is slightly marred with comparisons to the Honda. If I was being super critical, and I guess this is the idea of this blog, some elements are just not sensitive enough to the rest of the car. For example the edges of the A-pillar flowing to the hood are too sharp in comparison to the rest of the car and as previously mentioned the body side also lacks form. Overall the design is quite cool. The promising bold elements of the front fender lead me to expect good things to come out from other models of their range, even though there is nothing ground breaking about the design, but that isn’t what Kia’s are about…. yet.