BMW to start building sportvans
Could this portend the impending doom of the SUV as family car? BMW will be adding sportvans to their lineup beginning with the F5 in 2009. The basis for the F5 will be provided by the X5. Following on the heels of the F5 will be a van based on the 3-series called, quite naturally, the F3. Underneath the five-door five-placers will likely be found several power options, as well as available all-wheel drive with rear-wheel drive standard. The rhetoric is that large diameter wheels will be avoided, as they mainly detract from ride quality, add unsprung weight, and don't help handling as much as you'd think. The picture seems to run contrary to that statement, as the wheels fill the openings, but perhaps the graphic artist just got a little crazy. [Source: Motor Trend via Topspeed]
These vehicles are aligned with the European "people mover" design ethos, as oppposed to the minivan convention here in the US. Both have their place, and we'd love to get some cool, fun-driving people movers over here. There's no need to make the step-in height ridiculous, as it is with some SUVs, in an attempt to lend "off-road" cred to a vehicle that will never see terrain rougher than a Scout camp parking lot. A nice, carlike entry and egress with comfortable, slightly higher seating positions and plenty of passenger space would be a good trend to start. Lower heights would equal a lower center of gravity, always welcome for those of us who like to occasionally overcook exit ramps. With the Roundel on the nose, you can be sure that the suspension engineers are making it behave in a familial manner, and they must be happy about removing any trucky pretenses from the platform, as well. Even if it costs as much as the Mercedes R-Class, it'll likely have far more joie de vivre, and hopefully it pushes other manufacturers to flood to the practicality of this form-factor.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
leon0911 12:43PM (2/15/2007)
Looks they have been paying attention to the positive feedback on the (european car of the year) Ford S-max. The thing I never liked about these MPV is the drive... Now the manufacturers seem to be adressing just that.
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D Man 12:50PM (2/15/2007)
I think this will be the doom of BMW
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Peter 1:04PM (2/15/2007)
BMW already makes wagon versions of the 3 series and 5 series that do essentially the same thing as these. It's amazing what lengths consumers will go to in order to avoid the station wagon label.
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CoffeeJones 1:06PM (2/15/2007)
> 2. I think this will be the doom of BMW
Hardly. They're going for a new body type. Sportier than a minivan, and not as un-family-friendly as an SUV.
Maybe it's for the euro market. In Europe, sedans are out, wagons are in. They even sell an M5 wagon/estate
http://www.bmw.com/com/en/index_highend.html?prm_content=../../com/en/newvehicles/mseries/m5touring/2007/experience/phase_1/_highend/xml/experience.xml
Now where's my 135i? :)
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emw 1:13PM (2/15/2007)
Here's the original article at Motor Trend http://www.motortrend.com/features/auto_news/2007/112_0703_bmw_3_series_sportvan
I think this could be a fun alternative to a sport wagon for someone who has a family but also wants a sporty car with a manual transmission
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Hamud 1:16PM (2/15/2007)
#2 Many said the same when they started to make SUVs...
I liked the car, just please, don't make any with Series 1 headlights, they are just awful.
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jim 1:26PM (2/15/2007)
Milf-mobile
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Drewboy 1:31PM (2/15/2007)
It looks pretty awesome to me, I'd gladly drive one.
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Allen K. 1:42PM (2/15/2007)
That's actually attractive. From the headline I was sceptical for sure. I gave up my SUV for a wagon and have been very happy since. Like to see more on this.
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Allen K. 1:44PM (2/15/2007)
Side note - me wants that M5 wagon. 500hp in a wagon would rock. My dogs might get a bit peeved from hitting their heads on the back glass everytime I stepped on it though.
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Matt 3:41PM (2/16/2007)
BMW will always be about performance and luxury. Hell , the X5 is even a blast to drive on the backroads, but it also gives you the confidence to tackle bad weather. I'm sure this new performance minivan or whatever it is will have the heart of all BMWs of the past and blend it with some utility. I've always been a BMW fanatic since I first saw a 2002 and I still love Bimmers to this day.
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Rodion 3:13PM (2/15/2007)
It's a damn travesty that BMW avoiding bringing Touring M5 to states. I'd have gotten one in heartbeat. All the practicality of SUV, coupled with power, handling, looks, luxury.
Anyways...I think this is the RFK concept BWM derived from Vel Satis and Signum cars. Granted this will be a lot better executed.
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SherbornSean 1:49PM (2/15/2007)
If you're smart, you'll go out and copyright "Ultimate mommyvan machine" before BMW gets the chance.
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Jim 2:36PM (2/15/2007)
Just what the world needs, more variations on the wagon. Ugly ones.
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john riley 2:41PM (2/15/2007)
I see a fair number of R class and B class M-B's in Toronto, but how well does the R class do in the US? I have my doubts about Americans going for this type of vehicle, and even though the article says they are coming, I doubt it. Note that BMW didn't consider the 1 for the US until there was a coupe. They did not bring the hatchback.
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SherbornSean 2:50PM (2/15/2007)
John,
The R-class has not met sales expectations for M-B in the US. They dropped the price by $5K for 2007(and some content), but have not drummed up much demand.
When I was looking at them, the local dealer was pushing the GL, and had a hard time even finding an R-class on the lot for us to test.
I get the feeling that buyers view the R as too minivanish to be a prestige vehicle. BMW may well face a similar challenge with this vehicle.
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bgdc 2:54PM (2/15/2007)
Looks horrible but all current BMWs look like ass. The e90 in my garage every morning reminds me I drive one ugly car. Thankfully, I drive it from the inside. Unfortunately, BMW keeps making everything obscenely heavy too. i'm sure these things will be tanks. The e90/e92/e93 are massive...so imagine how heavy these minivans will be. Blech.
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NoNameDenton 3:54PM (2/15/2007)
We wil have to see if BMW can pull off this one or not, if they do, all their detractors will do an about face an say it was brilliant, if not, no one will mourn the loss
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DKB_SATX 6:37PM (2/15/2007)
Mmmm, more freakish R-Class type vehicles. What's wrong with a normal bloody wagon? They only bring the small engine/low content ones and wonder why no one buys, but in Europe you can get the big engine and all the goodies in a practical warp-drive wagon. So when tall/tippy gets less popular, they try kinda-tall/slightly-tippy instead?
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Toy Yoda 7:22PM (2/15/2007)
It looks like a larger version of either a scion or yaris, due to it's roundness. I'd like to see a photo of it without the camera distortion. I don't think it will look as good. Considering that it's suppose to be a van, I think it will look ugly.
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