7 Grille Designs That Have No Chill

With aerodynamics shaping much of what car designers can and can’t do with bodywork, these days, the grille has become a key identifier – and some car makers aren’t afraid to use it

Matt Kimberley

04 Jul 2018

Sometimes you look in your rear-view mirror and practically spit your teeth out at the sight of the grille filling your view. Maybe it’s as angry as a freshly-castrated camel, as ugly as a bad boxer, or maybe it’s just the size of a small country, but grille estate is being used to stamp a truckload of identity onto the front of cars that might otherwise go unnoticed. We’ve put together a list of grilles that have stuck in our memory as seriously needing to chill.

2019 Toyota Avalon

The Avalon is just a four-door, three-box saloon, or sedan, for the North American market. There’s a choice of drivetrains and even a hybrid option, but by far the most striking thing about it is a grille that seems to just keep going in every direction. We can’t stop looking at it, purely because the front is all grille…

2017 Suzuki S-Cross

After a few years plugging its cheap, well-specified and popular S-Cross hatchback-on-stilts, Suzuki went big on the facelift in search of a bolder, more recognisable look. We’d say they achieved it. A chunky mirrored border lines a deep, angular and surprisingly American-looking vertically-slatted grille.

2017 BMW Concept X7

The X7 turned more than a few heads when the design was launched to test public opinion. The main reason was a kidney grille that would make an ocean liner look undersized. Combined with narrow, slitted headlight clusters no doubt employing the latest LED technology, the front is one that you’re not exactly going to miss.

2015 Toyota 4Runner TRD Pro

Sweet Jesus, that’s a grille to get you noticed. Looking like the love-child of a tank and a horseshoe moustache, the meaty front end of 2015’s uprated 4Runner TRD Pro will clear a path through motorway traffic like Godzilla riding a Harley-Davidson. The orange paint is perfect for it, too, emphasising the black horizontal spar and retro Toyota logo.

2018 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera

We can totally appreciate why a 211mph Aston Martin would need a lot of cooling, so a lot of grille space is probably necessary. Aston didn’t hold back on the design, though. The Superleggera’s mouth, soon to be spoiled by the unfortunate need for number plates, is absolutely as big as its own face will allow. It’s kind of like an automotive Mick Jagger.

2018 Lexus RX

Lexus introduced the ‘spindle grille’ with a concept in 2011, eventually transferring it to the 2013 GS and the rest of the range thereafter. Brand die-hards were shocked; appalled, even. Their beloved purveyors of silence and cream leather had gone all… sporty. Whether you love it or loathe it, both the spindle grille and the RX SUV helped turn the brand’s fortunes around.

2019 Chevrolet Camaro

To get specific, here, we’re walking about the SS model with the ‘floatie’ badge. That’s ‘floating bowtie,’ if you’re wondering. Unsurprisingly, a lot of people choose to spell it ‘flowtie.’ The Camaro SS gets a black spar across the grille that gives the impression of a huge, gaping mouth that’s coming to vacuum-up air and small animals.