BMW makes good cars and has been on quite a roll, lately. But is it the “best” car manufacturer? Surely that has to be hyperbole, right? Not according to Autocar, who just handed BMW the “Best Manufacturer” award for 2022. And don’t call me Shirley (c’mon, it was right there, I couldn’t help it).
As part of the 2022 Autocar Awards, BMW was awarded “Best Manufacturer”, which is pretty crazy when you think about some of the other manufacturers making brilliant cars at the moment. However, BMW was given the award because of its overall breadth of ability, even if most of its cars are weird-looking.
“BMW may not be designing the most elegant machines in its 106-year history, but the quality and breadth of them sometimes feels untouchable.” said Autocar.
When you actually take a look at the sorts of cars BMW’s making, it’s easy to see what Autocar is talking about. Not only does BMW make the astonishing M5 CS, it also makes a Tesla Model 3-rivaling i4 M50, a Model X-beating iX xDrive50, and a suite of excellent plug-in hybrids. There’s also the BMW M3 Competition which, to quote Motor Trend editor Jonny Lieberman, is a “five-legged man in an ass-kicking competition,” and the new BMW i7, which is a techno-luxury powerhouse with Rolls-Royce-rivaling features.
Then there’s the quality. I drive a lot of different brands of cars and BMW consistently has the among the best build quality in the industry, even in its least expensive models. A BMW 230i Coupe has superior material quality to some cars costing twice as much.
Is there any other brand that offers that many great cars? Even BMW’s rivals like Mercedes-Benz and Audi, who have several fantastic machines, struggle to match the BMW’s versatility. BMW certainly isn’t perfect, with some of the most head-scratching designs of the 21st century. However, the actual substance of its cars, and the sheer quantity of good ones, earns BMW the Best Manufacturer award from Autocar.
[Source: Autocar]
