Large BMW X7 Kidney Grilles Fail To Look Good Under Frankfurt Spotlight

We’ve reached the high water mark on the big grille trend. Now it’s time to go back.

BMW drivers of yesteryear had few simple pleasures in life, one of which was to feel the dread in the hearts of Audi quattro drivers as those distinct kidney grilles approached fast in the rear-view mirror. Those were left intact on purpose so that no Four Rings driver would make a mistake as to how they met their demise, and they continue to exist on every modern BMW including on the i variants. Unfortunately, those kidney grilles haven’t translated over to the latest BMW concept very well.

When the X7 hit the Internet, its slim headlights and oversized kidney grilles made it look like an angry wild boar rather than a sophisticated luxury SUV that had been put on a linebacker’s diet and engineered for dirt roads. Now, after taking in the presence of the actual concept during its 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show reveal, we’re pleased to say that the X7 Concept doesn’t look as bad in person as it does in BMW’s set of press photos. Make no mistake, however, the grille remains imposing. Especially when the headlights have been subdued to such an extent. But under the showroom lights the chrome accents on the bottom of the front fascia remove visual weight from the bloated kidneys.

With those accents shouldering more of the aesthetic responsibility, our eyes are able to drift to other parts of the full-size SUV such as the muscular hood, large wheels, and classical SUV proportions that have been given a modern twist. Cover up the front end with your hand on a three-quarter view of the X7 and you’ll see a Toyota Land Cruiser in the rear half and a Mercedes GLS on the front, albeit with cooler door handles and a 7 Series-style trim accent starting at the front doors and running towards the back under the rear doors. The tail end is classic BMW X, though the unifying rear taillight strip echoes modernity along with the vents flanking the bottom sides of the rear bumper.

While we’re happy with these parts, the more conservative middle and rear of the X7 mean that BMW will have to tone down that damned front grille before this concept makes it to production. As always, we’ll see how that manifests in due time.

Is The Q60 The Car That Will Bring Infiniti Back Into The Spotlight?

Or will it be overlooked just like most of the Infiniti lineup?

You may not know a lot about the Infiniti Q60. What if we called it by its previous name, the G37 Coupe? Now you know what car we're talking about. Back in 2013, Infiniti renamed its model lineup. For the 2014 model year, all of Infiniti's cars had fresh new names, even if the car itself wasn't actually new. In some cases, like with the G37 sedan, the old model was actually sold in tandem (rebadged as the Q40) with the all-new car (the Q50). The Q60 began its life as a lame duck, so to speak, but now it could end up being Infiniti's savior.

Let's get something out of the way, the 2014 and 2015 Q60s are just rebadged versions of the V36 generation G37 coupe. The all-new 2017 is based on the new V37 platform which is shared with the Q50 sedan. The fresh Q60 will also benefit from the new series of engines from the Q50. One of the issues with the Q50 and previous Q60 was that they shared the same 3.7-liter VQ37VHR engine found in the G37 since used 2008. This engine was very potent at the time with 328 horsepower and is no slouch by today's standards. However, it was increasingly at a disadvantage compared to its more efficient and more powerful turbocharged rivals.

The Q60 will come with a range of new engine options. There will be a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo with 208 horsepower and 250 lb-ft of torque. This base VR20 engine will help the Q60 compete more closely with the BMW 428i, Lexus RC 200t, and Audi A5, all of which have four-cylinder turbocharged engines. In the past, Infiniti relied on having a more powerful, naturally aspirated V6 engine that still cost less than its less powerful rivals. Now Infiniti can really give off the image of a serious German car competitor while still winning in the pricing category. If that still isn't enough, Infiniti's new VR30 V6 should be able to get some attention from buyers.

Infiniti's new V6 is already available in the Q50 sedan and comes in two versions, both having 3.0-liter displacements with two turbos. The base tune comes with 300 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque and the more powerful version kicks out 400 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque. Both tunes are mated to a seven-speed automatic with RWD or AWD. No manual will be offered, but when you look at the Q60's main rivals, a manual transmission doesn't seem like an important option for Infiniti. The Q60 can easily hold its own in the looks department. The Q50 isn't a bad looking car, but it doesn't stand out like its coupe sibling.

The Q60 should be able to do for Infiniti what the Q37 and Q35 coupes were able to do when they were introduced. The G35 and G37 sedans were not bad cars, and they represented Infiniti's bread and butter for years. However, the coupe versions looked great, and gave people a reliable alternative to one of the German coupes at the time. Even though the Lexus RC didn't exist back then, we still think that the Q60 can do what its predecessors did: make Infiniti cool again.