Being late to the party in the automotive industry
is hardly ever a good thing, and when it comes to beefed up wagons, BMW have so
far behaved as if they had no idea a party was being held in the first place.
Back in the day, it was just Audi and Volvo bumping
heads with their A6 Allroad and XC70. But then, the German automaker decided to
also build a more capable version of the A4 Avant, which was unveiled nearly 10
years ago at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show. Since then, only Mercedes have
looked to follow the same recipe, creating the E-Class All-Terrain, which still
makes for a very rare sighting in traffic – it was unveiled towards the end of
2016 in Paris.
So what’s BMW waiting for? Well, they might be of
the mindset that an offroad-focused wagon isn’t something that would fit in
with their “ultimate driving machine” philosophy, but then again let’s face it,
neither do any of their non M-powered crossovers.
Thankfully, designer Aksyonov Nikita came up with a
little something that shows us what could have been had BMW entered the rugged
wagon game with their F30 3-Series model, both in saloon as well as in estate
form. Dubbed X-Cross, these variants feature body cladding and superior ground
clearance compared to their real-world counterparts.
Of course, it’s the Estate/Touring model that would
make the most sense. If it actually existed, we reckon it could take a bite out
of the A4 Allroad’s profits. At the same time, it might turn some people away
from models such as the X1 or the X3.
