BMW 7 Series has got the biggest update so far, with this being the first car that comes with NOA Class A design that BMW is bringing in its new line of cars. The BMW 7 Series comes in three variants – the BMW 740, which is the petrol version powered by a 3.0 litre inline 6-cylinder engine, the BMW i7, which comes with a 112.5kWh battery, and the BMW i7 M70, which is the performance version of the BMW i7. We did not get an M7 or the diesel variant of the ICE version of the 7 Series in India this time around. Let’s see what we get with the new 7 Series.
BMW 7 Series Design and Styling – As Opulent As Road Presence Gets
I’ll start with how the BMW 7 Series looks now. The new updated design language brings sleeker headlamps and a much bigger and bolder grille, which also has an illuminated LED outline. The rear also sees a drastic change, with the tail lamps now being bigger and occupying a larger part of the tailgate. The silhouette of the car has not changed at all, but with the added modern design and styling, the 7 Series looks quite different from the outgoing version.
What I think about this design: The front looks more luxurious, but I will wait for the rear styling to grow on me. In the front, BMW has done away with the twin headlamps in favour of sleeker LEDs in the front. From the front, it looks better than the outgoing version in my opinion, the front fascia design was a little busy according to me. The rear of the new BMW 7 Series, however has tail lights that are a bit too big and sweep way too deep into the tailgate. Too close to the BMW badge.
Yes, of course, the presence or the overall stance of the BMW 7 Series remains as opulent as ever. This car would go shoulder to shoulder with the likes of your Rolls-Royces or your Bentleys in terms of road presence, especially with the dual tone colour options. There’s also a new alloy wheel design, which I feel looks better than the outgoing version, but apart from that, I will wait for this new design to grow on me.
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BMW 7 Series Comfort, Features and Tech – Proper Comfort, Unique Implementation
On the inside also there is a complete overhaul of things. We get the “Neue Klasse” interiors, which come with multiple screens. There is a 17.9-inch infotainment display, a 14.6-inch display for the passenger, and this time we don’t get any dials or instrument clusters. Instead, the BMW 7 Series replaces all of that with what they’re calling a panoramic display, which is a slim display of sorts that runs through the bottom of the windshield to show speed, fuel, maps, and other car vitals. It is basically a solution that merges two technologies – the instrument cluster and a heads-up display.
I like the fact that it makes things much cleaner and minimal in the interiors. However, dials and clusters are something that people have gotten used to over decades and it will take time to get used to newer things (something I have previously said for cars with no instrument clusters). I will hold my opinion in terms of how functional it is until I actually use the panoramic display, but the technology that BMW is using is quite interesting. It’s not actually a display, but in fact something like a heads-up display of sorts, where there is a slim black strip at the bottom of the windscreen, and the details are projected onto that slim backdrop in very high definition. That actually makes it look like there is an actual display, but there is no physical display. This is some sort of a hologram or a heads-up display sort of a solution that BMW has come up with.
The star of the show, however, is not what you get in the front seat. The BMW 7 Series is all about what you get in the back seat, and the rear seat, in my opinion, is as luxurious as it gets. We’re getting the full schebang. There are recliner seats with extendable thigh support and massaging. There is a wireless charger in the armrest, a touchpad on each door to control things in the car, boss mode, four-zone climate control, powered sun blinds, and more.
But to top it all off, we get this fantastic 32-inch 8K display at the back, which BMW is calling the theatre display. This display basically spans across the width of the car and comes down when you turn on the theatre mode for the rear passengers to view content in 8K resolution. This screen also comes with a high refresh rate, so even operating it through touch controls is a fantastic and super slick experience, and you can connect other devices like your laptop, smartphone, and even your PlayStation to this display. This probably is one of the most gimmicky or one of the most tech-heavy car cabins that exists anywhere in the world today.
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BMW 7 Series Powertrains – Something For Everyone, Except Diesel
And now coming to performance and powertrains, like I mentioned, BMW has launched the new 7 in three options – a 3-litre 6-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, Paired with an 8-speed Steptronic transmission, creating 400 bhp of power and 540 Nm of torque, which propels the BMW 740 from 0 to 100 in just 5.4 seconds.
The electric version of the 7 Series, which is the BMW i7, now comes with a 112.5 kWh battery, which produces 660 Nm of torque and 455 bhp of power, propelling the electric version of the 7 Series from 0 to 100 in 5.5 seconds. The electric version is also claimed to have a range of 728 km on a single charge, but that is subject to testing.
We also get the i7 M70, which is the M7 for the electric powertrain. Here, we are getting the same 112.5 kWh battery, but with a much more powerful motor that creates 680 bhp of power and 1,100 Nm of torque, which takes this car from 0 to 100 in just 3.8 seconds. Can you believe it for a luxury sedan? 3.8 seconds, 0 to 100 – that is crazy to think of. The BMW i7 M70 also has a claimed range of 686 km on a single charge.
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Of course, we have not driven these cars yet, but I look forward to testing them out either in BMW’s closed testing environments or with the refu unit that BMW might send to us in the near future.
My opinion of the BMW i7 is that, of course, this is an upgrade in terms of everything: the tech, the materials used, the design upgrade, and the powertrain upgrade, at least for the electric. This also brings a lot of new things that people have taken years and decades to get used to in cars. For example, the panoramic display replaces a traditional cluster or dials that have been there for as long as cars have existedt.
In that sense, this is a car that will take a lot of getting used to, even for the tech-savvy buyers. I guess that is the direction we are headed. I will hold my further opinions until I get the chance to review the new 7 Series, but for a tech platform or a tech/auto enthusiast like myself, this is quite a feast.
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