I disagree. Mercedes are very trendy and when ever a new Benz hits the dealer is very fashionable right to drive one. Cars like the SL and SLK are way more trendy than the 6er and Z4.

^

I was talking about styling trendiness, not the perception of the brand or the particular product being trendy per se.



Of course some MB products are more trendy & fancy to own than some BMW ones.

But regarding the styling trends ... BMW are definitely more trendy & modern, while MB are still going modern but more restrained way. Eg. while BMW & most other car makers are offering soft organic lines & styling, MB bet on more mechanic / strict lines. Yet both feature sharp edges - which are THE trend in car design right now.

Ahaa, then in that sense you're right. But right now BMW are a bit schizo and apply different type of styling depending on car models. The new 7er is restrained in a MB sense rather than trendy like the facelifted 3er or X6.

Shizo? I don't think so.

F01 restrained? Not at all.

E65 styling - except the controversial elements i.e. clumsily styled clam shell boot lid & the pre-FL headlights & rear light strip - was the most restrained & conventional in the BMW model line. No utterly dynamic & modern Flame-surfacing styling theme - which is now heavily present on F01 / 02.
Eg. the side profile (incl. side panels styling) on E65 is completely conventional & hardly modern.

F01 is much more trendy & in line with other BMW vehicle in product portfolio than E65 ever was: since all the post e65 BMWs featured flame surfacing, while on E65 was completely absent. Only with facelift E65 got some FS theme: on the hood.

But you can't expect the (current) flagship: the 7-series - a full-size luxury sedan to be styled in such dynamic way as eg. X6 etc is. Different purposes, different styling.

But with the end of E65 & launch of F01 the BMW product portfolio will be much more coherent - styling & design wise than it was when E65 was still there. Put E65 beside all the other BMWs in product line, and then do the same with F01 - you'l notice the difference, and how much better F01 fits in, and how much more modern it looks - and much less "restrained".

Also: check the car IRL. It's not as "restrained" as you may think while seeing it in pics only. Put it beside LS, S-class, and A8 - and all the doubts about being restrained will diminish immidiately.


****

I've seen both: E66 & F02 standing side by side.
Gosh, how dated E65 looks compared to F01!
I just couldn't belive my eyes!
The styling of F01 is far from being "restarained" - even when compared to other BMWs.

Can't see what else is going to jump at me when I see the car in real life. The doors are pretty bare, the shape is classic, the head lights are near identical to the ones on the E65. I fail to see what's trendy about the F01 other than the sexy tail lights. If the F01 is trendy then I don't know what adjective desribes the GLK.

^^ Oh come the f..k on guys. If there's one thing the F01 IS, it's RESTRAINED going by recent BMW design trends. And restrained doesnt necessarily mean a bad thing.

Restrained compared to WHAT?

X6? Z4? E65 7er? S-class?

To what?

Please, I'd loved to hear it.


PS: and plese define word "trendy".
GLK styling elements can hardly be described as trendy.
As I said: current trend are organic curved sharp lines. While MB -especially with GLK - is going the opposite way: mechanical, geometrical / rectangular, strict lines. The only common element is the sharpness of lines. So, something that goes in the other way the trend goes is hardly "trendy" ... it's more retro in modern way.

Recent contemporary BMW design!!! AND thats just in a nutshell

I share your sentiments.
I am an avid BMW fan, and I have to be honest with about my feeling on the F01.
Now I have to come to realization that pictures hardly do justice to most BMW so I will reserve my opinion until I see one it in person, but so far I would say it comes across as being restrained relative to the CS which is what I was expecting.
Just like the X6 or M3, the photo shots left me a bit cold until I saw the vehicles in person.
I think BMW needs to change the person(s) in charge of taking those press pictures.

Pretty much any vehicle looks better IRL than internet pictures.