When manufacturers make even the slightest change to their vehicles, it’s hard to guess what consumers will think. It seems as though every year, even the slightest change to someone’s favorite car is enough to raise a stink on the internet. This year, that car was the BMW 4 Series. The 2021 BMW 4 Series got a slight makeover, and brand-loyal fans are not into it.

Consumers are so disappointed by the change in the grille of the 2021 4 Series that some people are even going so far as to use photo editing software to adjust the grille into something more palatable. Let’s take a look.

The 2021 BMW 4 Series has a new grille on the front

Since the BMW 4 Series began production in 2014, it’s always had the same sleek and stylish exterior. BMW’s iconic kidney grille was front and center, flanked by modern narrow headlights on either side, with room for the license plate below the grille. Sounds like a pretty good recipe for a good-looking car, right? Why would they change something that works so well?

Well, change it they did. The kidney grille is still there, but they’ve doubled the size of it for 2021. The proportions are now way off-balance of what they were before. The giant kidney grille looks more like buck teeth than the front end of a BMW. And on top of that, there’s no room for the license plate below the grille, so they’ve simply put it in the middle of the grille, where it looks totally out of place. Needless to say, fans of the 4 Series are less than happy with the new appearance.

Critics are making mock-ups of the 2021 BMW 4 Series with a smaller grille

In an effort to show BMW that the smaller grille of years past was the best look for the 4 Series, fans of the brand have been using photo editing software to create mock-ups of the 2021 model without the giant grille as found on MotorTrend. And the results actually look great.

Instagram user @spdesignsest redesigned the 2021 4 Series with a medium-sized grille; it’s not as small as previous years but not as large as 2021’s. It looks fantastic. It’s still different enough from the traditional kidney grille to be able to comfortably call it a redesign, but it’s much less dramatic and doesn’t give off buck-toothed vibes. The consensus seems to be that this version of the 2021 4 Series is bolder and, quite simply, cooler than the actual exterior.

What else is new for 2021?

In addition to the front grille, the whole car is bigger than in previous years, meaning that the 2021 BMW 4 Series is getting the same treatment as many other vehicles — bigger, bigger, bigger. On the inside, you’ll find more tech than ever. The new 4 Series comes standard with an 8.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system that is compatible with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

Standard safety features include a lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, automatic high-beam headlights, a forward-collision warning, automatic front braking, and pedestrian detection. That’s an astounding amount of advanced safety features included in the base level, and there are even more features available as optional.

The 2021 BMW 4 Series will be available before the end of the year. Prices start out at $46,595 for the BMW 430i and go up to $59,945 for the six-cylinder BMW M440i — prices that are almost the same as the prices for the 2020 models. While you, like many, may not be thrilled by the new grille on the 2021 BMW 4 Series, it’s safe to say that the rest of the car is well-designed.