Hatchbacks. Not exactly a premium image, yet they seem to be making a comeback this year: both this BMW 5 Series GT and the forthcoming Porsche Panamera will introduce the hatchback idea as the latest format for luxury car buyers. We remain doubtful as to whether it works: several designers we spoke to felt the Ford S-Max or the new Toyota Venza cover this crossover area more convincingly than does this design, which seems to lack the dynamic ingredients so necessary in a BMW.
In many ways the interior is more successful. Talking to designer Oliver Helmer, he explained his idea of a basic flow of forms from front to rear, best seen in the way the front door armrest twists as it runs through the B-pillar, taking on a concave form and terminating in the C-pillar trim. This trim wraps behind the individual rear seat and forms a second folding panel to seal the interior from the trunk, accessed by a dual-mode trunk/hatchback similar to that of the Skoda Superb Twindoor. The high contrast tan and cream leather environment is punctuated with milled lime wood inserts with thin aluminum accents embedded within the veneer. The seats feature a new flat woven fabric made from horse tail, although it's a slightly odd choice of seat material with a very hard touch that reminded us of a pair of golfer slacks for a Palm Springs retiree.
As a showcar idea it's intriguing: a mix of 7 Series platform, X6 upper cabin profile and concept CS styling cues combine to make an interesting statement, yet the idea that this might make a compelling new market niche for a production model is far less convincing. Mercedes tried this with the R-Class remember, with disastrous results: it's a sad fact that rich people with families distance themselves from the hatchback format in any way they can and we fear the production version could well miss the mark for a successful new BMW.
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