Bland and Boring: How BMW's Booth Dropped the Ball at the 2023 New York Auto Show

As great as BMW's auto show displays used to be in places like Geneva and Frankfurt, their showing at the 2023 New York International Auto Show at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Manhattan was equally and oppositely drab, boring, and reeked as if the people who organized the booth could barely be bothered to try. Three cars, that's all BMW managed to park at their booth here in New York.

BMW's booth this year consists of the brutish and powerful proportionally bizarre XM plug-in hybrid SUV, the technologically impressive but visually dubious iX electric SUV, and the i7, the same electric techno-wizardry of the iX squeezed into the body of a full-size stately luxury sedan. Though there's not all that much brand new or exciting about BMW's booth this year, we might as well take the time to dive into the three entire vehicles they bothered to bring to the show. No shiny lights, no smoke machines, and no provocatively dressed dancers.

First, we'll touch on the XM. A vehicle that somehow manages to be the second car ever designed entirely by the M division. Do you know what the first one was? The BMW M1 all the way back in 1978. So then, a pretty spectacular accolade straight out of the gate. Powered by a 4.4-liter S68 twin-turbocharged V8 engine with an electric motor integrated into the ZF eight-speed automatic transmission, there's plenty of clever tech under the hood.

That's good for a combined 644 horsepower in the standard XM and as much as 738 horsepower in the top-shelf XM Label Red. Impressive numbers for sure, making it one of the most powerful vehicles BMW has ever manufactured. But you get the impression this BMW wastes its Bavarian magic on a platform that looks kind of weird, to put it lightly. Aside from the controversial mutated and distended kidney grille, it's easy to find yourself somewhat repulsed by the thin slits of front headlamps contrasting with the jumbo-sized rest of the vehicle.

When the starting price for this SUV is $159,995, you don't want any aesthetical piece of the vehicle to be remotely controversial. For that price, you might as well buy a pre-owned Bentley Bentayga. This brings us to the other SUV BMW brought to New York this year, the iX. As the first bespoke electric vehicle the brand's produced since the i3 in 2013, the iX is just as noticeable for its polarizing front fascia as it is for the considerable technology inside.

Never mind the seemingly acres-long front driver's display, clever hexagonal steering wheel, and performance of up to 610 horsepower in the range-topping M60. It all falls to pieces when you're greeted with that giant inhaling maw of a front grille that pierces your very soul, like the gaze of Madusa with how ungainly it is. It's all the more unfortunate because the iX is, by most standard non-subjective metrics, a fantastic electric SUV. But it's one marked by a mythos that almost makes people judge the vehicle's occupants before they even step out of their parking space.

As far as segways go, jumping from the iX to the third and final Bimmer at the show, the i7 makes logical sense. Admittedly, the level of interior amenities native to the i7 lineup is nothing short of spectacular. That includes the whopping 31-inch 39:2 optional rear display. With 536 electric horsepower on tap and an estimated range of just under 300 miles (482.8 km), there'd be a lot to like about the i7 if not for the same visual downsides as the XM and the iX. Admittedly, I think the gaping large front grille, free of engine cooling slits, fits the look of a stately sedan more so than an SUV.

But are you really going to drop $120,000 and probably far more on a luxury car with a controversial front grille like that? That'd be a really tall order. More to the point about the BMW booth at the 2023 NYIAS, there were no media representatives present from the company during press days this year. As if BMW themselves didn't want to divulge too much about their lineup at that time. Oh, and on the second day of press day, all three BMWs on display at the show had their doors locked. Admittedly, my buddy Tudor mentioned that might be because someone tried to steal something from one of the interiors.

I'd be inclined to agree if not for one small thing. Do you know whose booth was right next to BMW's this time? That'd be Genesis. A company whose designs are currently garnering the exact opposite response to that of BMW for being stylish, refined, and cleverly designed both inside and out. Is it possible someone at BMW caught wind of reporters at the show quipping that Genesis embarrassed BMW in New York this year? Or perhaps, they heard them talking in jest that the fit and finish of a Genesis interior makes BMWs look bland and uninteresting?

I can't provide a definitive answer there. But at least one thing's for certain in this whole equation. The BMW booth at the New York Auto Show this year could and should have been a lot better. It's all the more a shame because so many people I talk to sing the praises of how awesome BMW's auto show booths used to be. This time around, the tech underneath the skin may be impressive and that must be made a point of record. But the presentation for it all falls flat on its face.  Awe, well, there's always next year.

Check back soon for more live coverage from the 2023 New York International Auto Show here on autoevolution.