I can’t think of the target market for this car…Family,Executive,Leis ure? Or maybe it’s for single men that don’t want an estate (because they want to look single for the ladies?), but want space for carrying the dog? Or maybe it’s for taxi drivers that live alone by the week but have their children (that have a dog) during the weekend? Or possibly for rally crews that want to trace the stages (with all their crew) before the rally??

daring but indecisive! Benefit of the doubt, it’s original though, perfrect for the extrovert…

Its hideously ugly, but you know it will sell in droves just because its got the bmw badge.

and is it just me, or is the profile of the roof/boot really similar to that of a prius?

sorry, forgot to add one more thing to my previous comment:

i feel sorry for the proper bmw fans, stuff like this and the x6 is a huge insult to them.

how does it go?

i don’t see the point for it, i don’t see the need for it, i think it is uglier than the X6, which i don’t know why but i don’t think looks THAT bad (how ever it dose just seem like an impractical X5) and i don’t see why BMW keep cumming up with this. its bringing their company down. if i wanted something with a big boot and lots of rear head room and lots of space, i would buy a BMW 5 series Touring. i think this is the thinking of someone who is trying to change the face of cars for the worse and the build look of a Kia with a badge that falls off after 300 miles that says Luxury.

Its a bloody ugly car,what pray tell is going on at bmw?Well at least they have made up my mind for me about buying one.if they all look like this i will buy a audi,benz or come to think of it anything that is fun to look at not just to drive.

BMW rarely plan any motor without an army of opinion polls and accountants to back up the theory. Customers must be claiming they want a high ride without it being a 4×4, loads of room but without it being a people carrier.

What may be lacking here is the design flare to execute the plan in a way that is genuinely appealing and desirable. Come back Bangle all is forgiven?

It looks to me like BMW must have kept the plans for the SD1 when they sold Rover.

Eventually, BMW will forget how to design cars and will be worse than Gumpert. They probably give their cars to a dog and let it chew them up.

Oh and by the way, I dont know hoe BMW are the best sellers of cars if they make ugly ones. Though the M3 was fine. Also the 1 series. But the rest of thier cars are hideous.

This is beyond a joke. First BMW make the X3 which is a little odd, then the X6 which when i first saw it i thought it was the most pointless car to come out of BMW, but after a while i begin to like it. But i doubt i’ll like this new 5-series Gran Turismo. What’s the point in making a luxury saloon/estate and making it higher, uglier and more expensive? That’s like saying ‘lets build a track-day car but put Suspension from a Magentis on it and raise it to the height of a Discovery’ it’s not going win any races, or hearts for that matter.

So, if they’ve built this then what’s the point in the X1 concept or even the X3? They’re similar in size, they look very similar and they’re pointless, some more than others. Having said that though the Q5 is just as bad, but it’s not like Audi have been making pointless cars for years, BMW have.

At the moment there are three engine choices; a 3.5 litre petrol, a 5.0 litre petrol and a 3.0 litre diesel. The 3.5l hits 60mph in 6.3sec, the 5.0l does it in just 5.5sec and the diesel reaches 60mph in 6.9sec. Top speed is 155mph(limited) for petrols and 149mph for diesels. MPG is 31.7 for 3.5l, 25.2 for the 5.0l and 43.5 for the diesel. ETC…

This thing from the front looks hideous! reminds me of a pig, not great. The interior is actually quite luxurious with beige leather, sat nav, cruise control etc… So the only good point (so far) about this is the interior quality.

Let’s be honest though, i hate this car. I hate the looks, the concept of the car and, most of all, the pointlessness. BMW need to build a small economical hatch smaller than the 1-series, like an Aygo. But who knows? It might drive well.

So good odd or bad odd? Definately bad. Sorry BMW.

pointless

The rear end looks like it’s from a cheap chevrolet, need I say more…

Sales figures won’t decide, because it will sell well. It’s as necessary as….. Shit! I can’t think of something as unnecessary as this for good analogy.

Odd Odd.

It’s so obvious. They’re testing the love of their fans, like some insecure teenage girl. “Do you really love us? Really really love us? Would still love us even if we put our precious badge on something apparently awkward and\or pointless? …Then …EAT THIS, B**CH!”

I think the BMW people have eaten too many magic mushrooms.

built for:
X5 GT = rich extrovert but odd soccer mums
X6 = rich extrovert but odd golf dads

Deffinitly the engine, the acceleration, the interior, the comfort, the economy and a lot more will be at the top of the line. Come on Guys You don’t just buy a car because its pretty or ugly. It is the package of everything. I agree that it is not familer, as the X6, but when I bought the X6, it is the most perfect car I have ever been in. I will buy the 5 series GT, and when you see it on the roads , I am sure you will not be able to take your eyes of it.

@isolated entity: well put.
Only professional criminals buy X6’s when they need to get rid of some hot money. And then they get ‘dealt with’ in it, pics all over the paper. BMW may not like that. At least this one won’t be bought by those blaggers so it won’t get associated bad press. Apart from that: if this is what the public wants, something is wrong with the public.

i think some of these comments re ridiculously harsh, but hey the general populace IS filled with idiots

Put it like this. Ppl commenting here may be assumed to be gearheads. They (we) don’t like this car at all, as with most new BMW’s over the past few years. Here’s the jump to the big conclusion: BMW are no longer interested in making cars for gearheads. In days gone by they were passionate about just that and little else. Now they are only interested in ppl with lots of (new) money, a taste for gizmos they can flaunt in poor people’s faces, and no passion for cars whatsoever. That 700-function knob in the 7-series was a first hint, the bizarre new styling an exclamation mark. So we gearheads feel betrayed by BMW. It’s like being a fan of Man United all your life and then hearing they will switch to playing scrabble.

So… this thing is classified as a hatchback?

God, what a p.o.s, BMW are getting worse and worse, the cocks may have moved out, but what kind of idiots are left behind? I thought they were improving, with the amesome M3 4 door and the improved 7 series arse, and with the new 6 looking like a shark, and then they come up with this dog turd! We need to send some “friendly fire” to BMW HQ, then at least they can hire some people who aren’t spazzes.

Now it’s like, is it a hatchback, or a 4×4, or maybe even a hatch back/4×4/GT car/saloon/bus/aeroplane/ train/threewheeled mobility thing.

What ever happened to just buying… ‘a car?’

BMW’s got too much power if you ask me. One day the 3 Series (BMW’s most vital model) will be a lightning jet/speed boat/compact exec/velociraptor. And those idiots in London (myself included as I have an E36) will STILL buy one.

dear tak, you obviously never had the pleasure of being a bmw owner… gadgets are cool, the ipod is cooler and funkier than the walkman your digital surround beats the 1oW analogue stereo speaker built into your old BangOlufsen of yesteryear the ps3 runs circles around the amiga and the list my brother is truly endless.. bimmers, regardless age and even engine size were always fun, different and had sex appeal and this one as odd as it is does the same. Just looking at it evokes emotion, good, bad, odd is really a matter of opinion. The drive is sublime the concept is new the badge speaks for itself.. need I say more ? Brave bmw bon chance !

ps. by gearhead surely you refer to the knob ! and speak for yourself (me/I) to avoid any confusion as to of wich knob u actually speak..
Ok ?

I suppose the target customer is someone like me. This is he kind of odd that I like. All though, I don’t know how odd it is to request a design that is good for most occasions. So I don’t know what you problem is. I may have a different shirt and different tie depending on my activity, but I cannot afford having one car for every type of activity. This is great! Say, when Jaguar does the coupe-like sedan, then it is not so bad, is it. Actually, I do have a station wagon, a sports coupe and a pickup truck, but boy would I like to see BMW serve me a new niche – how about a convertible 7-series. Also, bring back the angry angular BMWs. You are right about the Chevy.

i like it, its like an x6 but it wont annoy anyone because its not a 4×4, and anyway people buy the mondeo and vectra hatchbacks so why wont peeople with a bit more money buy what is effectively a 5 seris hatchback, it makes perfect sense!

@jolly roger: I never owned a BMW but I drove several, among which two M3’s. I really don’t like the newest generation. Look above and you’ll see not a single comment proclaiming any enthousiasm for any of the new BMW’s. Which happens a lot of late. Thus I dared to use the plural. And be fair: I did warn about jumping to conclusions. I like my mp3-player as well, but that’s not what building cars should be about, well? Just as I gladly use HD-recording instead of ye olde 8-track, but I won’t say it makes the music any better. It just makes me a lazy musician.
Maybe there’s a meaning of the word knob I don’t know about. Not my first language.

tik-tak, the quality of the music made may not be better that is true but as opposed to having 8 tracks you now have 800 at your disposal if you so wish, wich in my opinion is certainly a sign of progress. As for bmw’s acclaimed betrayal.. well I’d say it was a safe bet to say most owners are just as satisfied as they were 5-10-15-20 years ago.. I know I am.. There were and perhaps always will be weird, out of the ordinary bimmers like the m1, the z1 the 1 series, the x6, this gt just to name a few I’m sure even 15 year olds are aware of, but that’s okay, it’s experimental..kinda like achtung baby as opposed to the joshua tree different and quite entertaining but in no case considered betrayal. The bangle era gave us the z4, the new 5 series and habib did a great job with the lavish but still butch 7 incorporating everything bmw stand for in one single design. I am currently on my 3rd bimmer and I already know wich one I must simply have when the time comes for beloved to part.. I’m hooked and though sometimes I feal tempted by a Jag here a merc there, perhaps even an alfa, I think the time when I choose to abandone bimmer for something else is still to come, and I don’t think I am alone, in fact I know I’m not.. The anti bangle hype created by clarkson and the cocks he claimes now drive audis is just what it is a hype and no selfrespecting bimmer man would think twice to discard it with a simple, yet straight to the point “whatever”…

ps. close your eyes and picture the new Jag… and than picture the toyota avensis… see it ? and they all loved it… I rest my case…

one last thought..bmw never needed an m for the 7, jags and mercs on the other hand were compelled to amg and supercharge their top of the tops flagships to get the pre-beige part of the populus drewling with admiration and anxiety. Ever wonder why ? (no not powerrrr..)

this bmw yells “GETOUTTAMYWAY!!!!” so if your that kinda guy, you’ll like it and let it slide…

You’re right, it’d be fine if BMW cut all the current range above the 5-series by putting in this GT. However I would feel sad knowing no new cracking 5er or 7er will come.

Ugly.

Now that Bangle is gone I’d like to see a 21st Century M1 instead of these “let’s pretend to be more sensible than a Cayenne” suvvish things.

Wasn t there a concept car for something like a new kinda M 1? that thing looked cool. why mess around with the styling of their Latest series.
Create something, not so questionable. Something with a clear line, and purpose.I want cars that say, yes, you bought an estate, but you got the space to make more children in it.(or in case of Sporty cars) a car that says:”yeah, i gots no booty, but you won t see me for long anyway”.A hot hatch does not need a big Bumpy rear end just to say.” i could actually almost carry passengers on the rear seats”. Instead, think about what is useful for a line of car, not try to create an “Egg-laying-wool-milk-Pig ”
You can t have a car that does everything, and does it well.
If you haven t guessed it yet, i hate the look of almost all new beamers,i don t say they are bad cars,not at all, i just say, they look Ugly.

You’re right, it’d be fine if BMW cut all the current range above the 5-series by putting in this GT. However I would feel sad knowing no new cracking 5er or 7er will come.

Dont worry, Malaysians will buy the 5er GT, as they did with the R-Class…. As for me, I’d rather have the 5er Touring….. at least it will handle like the saloon…

There used to be a time when style and function in a BMW were in harmony.

I am thirty years old and when I was a teenager BMW made goodlooking cars that were also good to drive. Today I cannot consider buying a BMW because when I am paying all of money for a car I also want it to look good and not make me feel like a fashion victim.
It will take time to ged rid of the Bangle legacy and this GT thing is probably one of his last designs. Lets hope, that like Mercedes, BMW will return to what its true form was.

@jolly: maybe I’m just old fashioned… Achtung Baby is actually the last U2-album I liked, and I liked The Joshua Tree a lot better. I also like my steering wheel free of buttons and my dash free of lcd-screens. I’m not against gadgetry per se, but I do feel alienated. Meanwhile I’m considering switching from Sonic Foundry to Logic but for that I first need to buy a Mac… Last year I drove a ‘71 MG-B and it was just great. Best ride of my life, made me remember why I love cars in the first place.

@39 yes, I liked that m1 concept, though the production one probably would need to be quite different, ’cause the concept’s front is “way too Alfa”… not a big deal, considering that the original M1 is a Porsche lookalike anyway

While “normal” BMWs are great cars, I don’t really think I’ll ever want/need an expensive hatchback muscle car that tries to be posh while seeming a 1 series that has been injected the supersoldier serum to become Captain Bayern’s drive of choice.

, tak, achtung baby was the last u2 album I really really liked and I must admit I liked the Joshua Tree a whole day and night better and Pro Logic, I’ve got 7 is to date my prefered gadget when it comes to cooking up melodies but i do love the buttons on my steering wheel, I like the traction control gadetry and the fact that I can, if I so wish turn it off.. I love my memory seats, the fold down and in mirrors are simply practical and bla bla bla.. I miss the sweet smell of proper plastics from the 70’s and 80’s and the whole idea of having my childhood back once again in an e21 or a mk1 espirit but hey, one of these days I’ll get there.. it’s nice to have dreams to keep one going.. I drive an e46 330ci the seats remind me of the 2002ti, the steering wheel has that thin 70’s feal, the chasis is reminiscent of an 80’s 6 series yet it is , regardless it’s age (03 mod) very very modern when compared to other non bmws.. and I do like the new 5, I love the 7 and I think the next m3 is simply sublime topped only by astons in my world of appeal.

maybe, I just like bmws

xf, if fashion still has the power to victimise, at your age it’s still not too late to grab an ‘88 m3… focus money will get you a good one and for the price of a mondeo you can cut yourself a slice of pure 80’s bmw heaven.. you’ll just have to live with the fact that an 08 32oD will probably shuv you off the road, whatever you might think don’t let trends set your agenda on life..after all who really cares what other ppl think.. about your car…

Yes, but if you take an ‘88 M3 and bring it to Alpina, then you can shove almost anything off the road

Well, about Bangle… hmm… I admit I liked his Fiat Coupè and the Alfa 145, you just needed to avoid parking them near an Alfa GTV and you could appreciate them. All three cars share the same chassis, so one can definitely compare their style, and it’s not easy to do better than Pininfarina for anybody.

And he was sacked before the Multipla, so the “only” ugly-ugly cars he designed, IMO, are Beemers, and SUV or “Euromuscles” are hardly masterpieces in design anyway, the x5 looks way better than a Cayenne, for instance, and IMO.

But it’s really just about the looks and kind of car, their quality is deifintely top notch, they’re usually more expensive than the competition, but you get more in exchange, so it’s a deal.

yup, in pininfarina’s sense of beautiful bmw are, were and always will be ugly.. the same way a shark is more overwhelming than beautiful and in the same sense the sidney opera house is more of a curious landmark than a physical manifestation of virtual beauty, Bimmers are, were and hopefully always will be more of a landmark rather than an object admired for it’s sheer aesthetics… after as the old but very true cliche goes, looks aren’t everything.. it would be rather shallow to claim otherwise I find the concept of a bmw more appealing than anything else I’m being offered.. Lambos, Astons some alfas and select Lotus models also have the same ratio of brutality beautified some more some less.. as do the f14 tomcat, the apache gunship, the uss eisenhower, the glock 21 handgun, the winchester, a gibson sg, kate moss etc. etc. etc.

as for alpina, what i really appreciate in a bimmer is the fact that it leaves the factory in absolute perfection. there is nothing I would want to change to make the ones I like the most more appealing, no extra spoilers, lower profile tyres, different alloys, I dont wish the seats to be more buckety, the steering wheel to be grippier, bigger or smaller, the engine makes the right sounds with the factory exhaust, the mirrors are the right shape and size etc.. as for alpina.. c’mon firts of all they remove the emblems and replace them with their own awkwardly designed logo and than they add idiotic stripes to the seats.. stripes everywhere!!! they replace the alloys with their own ford style rims and simply no way !!! they remove the limiter and play with the bore to squeeze some hp but in all honesty no real improvement if you ask me… and all the lame coding and alpina givaways everywhere enough to cover half the boot with arithmetic… no thanks… we have lexus for that…

no tuner, in my opinion anyway, has ever been able to better the original concept..yes more power, bigger spoilers, better brakes but no one has ever been able to add something to a bimmer by taking away.. and that kinda sums it up…

Good point well made – BMW are just bored.

Perhaps they should do a version with 4WD and kill off the X6 to put a 5-Series GT xDrive in its place. That would make sense.

But I can’t get over how wierd the back end looks (it’s not good-wierd). I don’t think it’s even going to grow on me like most BEEMERS.

Also, you say it’s great for continental driving; I guess that’s where the Gran Turismo moniker comes in.

What whingers. Why do we shoehorn ourselves to ‘categories’ of cars that is in the current marketplace? How would cars evolve in the 10 years? In 50 years perhaps? What do we really need with our different lifestyles? All the whinging about being different is just tragic. It’s like living in an era of tailfins, chrome, hood ornaments & sculpted fenders declaring we have achieved the pinnacle of automotive history. The X6, 5er GT et al may not be the current defining ‘pinnacles’ but let us allow evolution to happen!

It seems when BMW obtained the Triumph name, they also got hold of their idea to make a big saloon car into a swish fastback. Ala the Triumph 2000 GT concept of the mid 60s. the 5-series GT is essentially in the same vein as the Triumph. Even though the Triumph was a concept and never made it to production.

Still doesnt make me like the 5-series GT. Another case of ‘there’s a niche no-one thought of, lets fill it’

It’s not a proper BMW, it doesn’t look fast but it does look bigger. I think that that should replace the X6 and they should design a new 5 series that looks much better than that.

If they truely do make this, go for the audi a6

No, the only rival to this is the X6…lol

I heard they were gonna call this the PAS (Progressive Activity Saloon).

But if they make it exactly like the X6, it definitely won’t sell, as it has no target market, has no style but might have a bit of speed.

Maybe they should spend more time developing cars for the sane – and please stop making them all look so similar!!! I know they’ve got the things that have to be in all models (like the grill style), but they are all such clones, I can barely tell them apart! I just pick a number and a letter. X6?

cars for the sane ?? Toyota do that.. buy one of those aygo things.. very reliable, economic, can def. tell it apart in front of say tesco’s it’s the one with no space for your shopping..:D or a saab they’re said to be ever so different.. no one is forced to buy a bimmer you know

I think bad odd because BMW are running out of ideas. The X3 and X5 were fine, small 4X4 and big 4X4, but then the X6 came out. It was hidious, didn’t know what it was and only parciely sighted people or golfers bought one. The 5 seires GT is at it again it’s just a lowered, slightly less ugly X6. I wish no luck to BMW.

its a bit of a mongrel

Looks like a Citron C6 are the Germans now coppying the french styling

bmw have done it again.trying to be market leaders.creating a new niche’.travelling down an unknown path not travelled by anybody.only thing is this time i doubt any one will follow.

It really doesn’t look that bad, and its main function is to get rich people out of their priuses and back into SUV’s. Its an SUV that doesn’t look like an SUV basically.

Looks OK but I don’t get the point of the…er, thing. Is it a huge hatchback or a huge coupe? I doubt that it will be a success, in fact a big faliure like the Renault Avantine all over again. What’s the point of two sunroofs? Is it because there might be two suns in the sky? Or is it so the kids don’t have arguments over wether the sunroof should be open or shut?
I don’t know, but overall, it’s quite bad odd.