[ScorpioYadav]

Thank you for pointing out Tata Nexon facelift’s slat in the grille even in the ICE version. Looks very hideous & a straight lift from Honda’s design language from the 2010s which in itself wasn’t very good looking. At least Honda made it look tolerable with Chrome but Tata has just applied a ‘Kala Teeka’ to an otherwise remarkable front look to ward off evil eyes !!
Such slats always made me think how much extra the engine would be heating up for the lack of the air inflow due to the slat.

Had similar thoughts when split ACs too removed the grille from the front & moved it to the top but now we all have got used to their clean looks !!

[sridhar24]

It really doesn't bother me if the EV has a front grille or not. I would just look at it from overall aesthetics, design and the practicality point of view.

But I just hope the car makers blindly don't follow a trend or theme of not having front grille just to differentiate them from their ICE counterparts.

[ringoism]

Why do my Vans side-zip-up sneakers have (unused) laces up the front of them?

I guess laces and grilles have been there for so long that it just seems odd to not have them...

But for that matter, how about a petrol V8 with no grille?



I think the first model here was a little controversial, and later Q45's got conventional grilles.



Another ungrilled V-8 sedan (Oldsmobile Aurora)

There are good designs and flawed, timeless and quirky, unconventional and cutting-edge and many tied to uses and target demographic...

But at the end of the day, the design has to "work" as a sum of its parts.

As a form-follows-function kind of guy, I'd tend towards grille-less for an electric... assuming it's a good design.

Admittedly, it gets a bit harder to distinguish one car from another without them. Imagine an Alfa-Romeo without a grille... (can't do it). But then, how many can conceive of an Alfa with an electric motor???

This is a new world.

-Eric

[ibisbrew]

As GTO pointed out, it seems to be a marketing move. To make their EV models stand out.

But just slapping on a plastic slat to close to original grill is just a lazy move. But manufacturers always care about cost more any other things.

A traditional grill is absolutely not necessary to make a vehicle look good. Case in point, Tesla.

[designfreak]

I would go with Option 2, but I would like to add a few more opinions here:

I think electric cars (if designed from scratch as electric-only cars) have a lot of potential to do much more with design, starting with the overall silhouette that can be pushed beyond the regular conventional car volumes that we are familiar with. A lot of companies have been pushing the limits of car design with these aspects in mind.

This brings me to the face of a car. Car companies which have created an identity over the past few decades with corporate grilles, headlamp layouts and other elements, have definitely been facing a hard time letting go of the grille. Cars like the BMW i8 and i3, the Mercedes EQC range all have these vestigial grille-like things which stay true to the parent brand. Heck, even Tesla had a 'grille' on the Model S, a feature which they have gotten rid of since. I can't think of a single legacy manufacturer whose EVs have gone beyond their corporate identity (maybe just the GM EV1).

Electric variants of regular cars still have that hangover demonstrated typically with a 'covered' corporate grille. A little more effort here would be nice.

We would see more honest front ends (and overall silhouettes) on cars if carmakers followed the 'form follows function' rule a bit more seriously, while not constraining themselves with IC-engined car tropes. Smaller companies and startups whose first products were EVs slowly but surely seem to be leading this change.

I have always loved the grille-less look, right from my childhood when I would stare at cars in auto magazines.

[anshu1101]

A conventional grille makes the car look so much more handsome, lends a character to it and defines its looks to a large extent (case in point - BMW). The closed off grille looks bland, and weird (example Hyundai Kona, or may be because we are not used to it). But, I would prefer the conventional grille any day.

[zulfi hansi]

When Ferdinand Porsche could do it, why the excuse. For the masses, change is always difficult, but that cannot be an excuse for the enthusiasts. The very purpose of the grill was need based. if the purpose is dead, so should be the grill. When Ferdinand Porsche designed and rear engine 911, he did not put a grill in front thinking what the masses will think of his design, and what a design he created. I don't even see the nostalgia for a grill. I would say, it is the designers excuse of not being good enough. Tesla is our latest example, design done right. For a grounds up EV, only a bad designer will put a grill, and only a good designer will be able to come up with a good design without a grill, it is difficult. IMHO grill was a hindrance to create great looking cars, now we finally have the opportunity of having sleek looking cars.

[Asish_VK]

Depends on the execution. If the grill less look fits the car, I have no problem with it.

It's better to go grill less than having grill like the ones in new BWMs though .

[volkman10]

EV grilles are evolving, but are they headed in the right direction?



While Mercedes hit the reset button on the EQS, Alfa Romeo decided to use an adventurous grille on the Milano.

Automakers continue to experiment with grilles in the electric era.
The Mercedes EQS recently received a facelift that adopts a more traditional looking grille as well as a new hood ornament.

Mercedes isn’t the only automaker mixing things up as the Alfa Romeo Milano Elettrica has an aggressive lower intake as well as a partially enclosed V-shaped grille. The latter incorporates the brand’s trademark serpent and cross in an interesting fashion.

Link:

[electric_eel]

As some one rightly said
"perfection is achieved not when there is nothing to add but when there is nothing to take away".

As far as I see the conventional grill is something that needs taking out (no functional utility and adds to the aero drag). The closed of grill might look ugly but it is the first step in removing it altogether in born electric platform