There are two words that best describe the 7 Series' new grille: massive and polarising. BMW's decision to increase the size of its kidney grille in its new full-size saloon was something that the world didn't take with open arms. It's similar to the reaction of the 2020 Toyota Supra in which some were delighted and many were appalled.

But just in case you're among those who wanted an explanation from the Bavarian brand, Alexey Kheza, BMW designer, offered some insights about the new design on a video from BMW Blog.

Gallery: 2020 BMW 7 Series

According to Kheza, the humongous grille of the 7 Series was designed that way to have a much better connection with the rest of the BMW lineup. It's also that way in proportion to the car's position in the lineup. In short, bigger saloon, bigger grille. This can also be observed with the 2019 BMW X5 and the X7 – the bigger SAV, of course, has the bigger grille.

Moreover, Kheza also added that the bigger grille allowed (or compelled?) them to design a clean, lower bumper without the mesh from the pre-facelift model. The minimised styling at the lower bumper is functional, too, as the body-coloured panel directs the air into the air curtains which in turn improves the aerodynamics of the saloon. Turns out, the very thing that many people hate actually serves a purpose, and it's not just a litmus test as to who are the real fans of the brand.

While this could already provide pretty explanations as to why BMW decided to monster-size its grille, Kheza was quite positive about the new styling because of the new appearance and signature that the fascia employs. If you ask us, we'll take it. 

For the rest of the explanation about the 7 Series' overall design, Kheza offered more on the video at the top of this page.