As we were getting ready to enter the new year, a huge BMW leak showed up on the interwebs. The new 2016 BMW 7 Series was fully unveiled, showing for the first time its new, curvacious lines. While the photos are far from high-quality and perfect angles, they do actually give us a decent look at what to expect when the official shots will finally arrive.

But despite the strange angles, low light and small sized photos, BMW fans have already started to form an opinion on the design of the new 7er. We’ve seen both positive and negative reactions to the car’s design, and inadvertently a comparison with the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

2016-bmw-7-series-vs-mercedes-benz-s-class

With the S-Class, Mercedes created a car that is a little bit less formal but far more visually cohesive than the one it replaces. The rear-end, especially, gives the impression of a high-end sedan, with lines and shapes that bring it closer to a Bentley model. The use of chrome comes to enforce the luxurious look.

Now with the new 2016 BMW 7 Series, the Munich design team took a different approach giving the car a muscular look with strong lines, elongated taillights and oversized chrome exhaust pipes. The boot lid is also flatter and taller than the one on the S-Class, sitting perfectly atop the broad shoulders.

So before the new 7 Series is fully unveiled – sometime in the summer of 2015 – we decided to compare the “butt” of the two high-end sedans.

Which one do you think it looks best?