Same...still happy with my '16. Overall it's not bad, but the grill looks even more like the Fusion's now. I will say that this OW looks a lot better than the orange in the reveal.
I'm still hunting the forums, but out of curiosity, has anybody seen any pictures of an OW with wheels of non-standard colors (anything other than black, chrome, silver, or gray)?
If I understand correctly, the original design was for ventilation of the rear brakes, so I suppose that would be their function now. Realistically I doubt that there are many cases where that is important with modern designs. My personal motivation for this design is purely aesthetic.