Business class
Be pampered in the rear-seat executive lounge of the 2016 BMW 750Li xDrive.
At first blush, it looks as though the latest BMW 7 Series has some pretty big tires to fill, given there was little wrong with the outgoing car. Well, it not only fills them, it upsizes them in every area, especially when equipped with the Executive Lounge Tier Two package. For the business person on the go, it delivers everything needed to get the workday started.
The cabin is packed with leading- edge technology. For the driver it means the latest in safety technology along with a novel feature called gesture control. At first, I viewed it as being a throwaway thing, there to impress friends and colleagues. As my time with the 750Li progressed, I learned to rely on it more than the usual xDrive controls.
Simple hand gestures allowed me to turn the volume up and down by twirling an index finger just above the shifter. Pointing two fingers in its direction muted or brought the audio system back to life. A hand swipe in one direction or the other accepted or rejected a phone call. It’ s very slick and something t hat’s destined to grow in popularity; Honda demonstrated a similar idea at a recent technology conference.
The coolest feature showed up when parking. Not only did the 360-degree camera give a bird’s-eye view around the car, it also overlays the doors in the open position so the riders can see if there’s enough room to swing the door open without dinging the car in the next spot. Pinching one’s thumb and index finger together and moving left or right swivels the image of the car so all four sides can be viewed. I also learned to like the head-up display, as it contains all the information needed to drive; it almost made the conventional instrumenta- tion redundant. There were things I did not like, but all of them can be deactivated if desired. Leading the list was the l ane- departure warning system. Forget to signal a lane change and the system not only started to vibrate the wheel, it tugged at it in an attempt to keep the car in its lane.
Technically, the 750 comes with a 445- horsepower twinturbo V8, an eight-speed transmission and BMW’s xDrive all- wheel- drive system. It is a stellar combination that can be tailored to suit. There are Sport, Comfort and Eco Pro modes, along with my new favourite — Adaptive. As with the other modes, Adaptive alters the suspension’s damping, the engine, transmission and steering, but goes a step further: it dips into the navigation system’s information and read- ies the car for the road yet to be driven.
That’s the driver’s seat experience. The other half of the 750Li’s personality is the manner in which it pampers the rear-seat riders when “James,” my imaginary chauffeur, was taking care of the driving. It is a fully functional sanctuary for the business person on the road.
The aforementioned Executive Lounge package brings all of the amenities from the front and puts them in the rear. For example, between the two rear seats sits a large centre console that houses a table and the removable seven- inch Touch Command tablet that allows either rider to set things up just so. It gives access to everything: open and shut the blinds, set the seats up, ambient lighting and the list goes on.
Then there’s the ability to put the right- rear seat in lounge position; the right-front seat moves all the way forward, cants the backrest toward the dash and folds the headrest down so it does not impede the driver’s view to the right. It also deploys a footrest and reclines the rear seat. As they are in the front, the rear seats are heated and cooled and come with a host of other features. All business-class environments should be as accommodating.
Ensconced in this position, table in place and my laptop open, I was ready for business as if in my office; most of this story was written here. The difference was I could write as I was being wafted along the highway; there really was very little sensation of speed because of the quiet, unflustered drive. The speed readout in the head-up display turns red if the legal limit is exceeded. All the while the ambient air system is pumping fragrant, ionized air into the cabin.
Finally, the test car featured two 10-inch rear entertainment screens. These give access to the infotainment ( including Blu-ray player, MP3 players and game consoles), communications, BMW’s Connected Drive, vehicle settings and navigation functions. The latter puts an end to the “are we there yet?” question because the little darlings can map the trip’s progress in real time.
In the end, the rear seat experience proved to be like having my own private jet; luxury minus the hassles of stop-andgo rush-hour travel.
The launch of the new 7 Series proved it to be more than capable of tackling a racetrack, while a week with it revealed it to be every bit as luxurious as anything on the road.