BMW raises the bar
AS IS customary, the all-new 7-Series takes BMW’s technological game to the next level with an entourage of new features and technologies, many of which will eventually trickle down to the company’s smaller models.
Highlights include a remote-control parking system, dazzle-free laser headlights (as per the i8), an updated iDrive operating system with gesture control and a raft of “Executive Lounge” packages designed to pamper its occupants on long-distance trips.
With a body and structure made from a combination of carbonfibre-reinforced plastic, aluminium and steel, the new 7 weighs up to 130kg less than its predecessor, despite having gained in size. This, of course, lightens the workload for its extensively updated turbo engines, all of which link up to an improved eight-speed automatic gearbox.
The initial range includes two petrol options in the form of a 240kW/450Nm 3-litre in the 740i and a 4.4-litre V8 with 330kW/650Nm powering the 750i.
On the diesel front, BMW offers the 730d powered by a 195kW/620Nm 3-litre six and this one sips as little as 4.5 litres per 100km on the combined cycle, according to BMW.
Yet the green champion of the range will be the 740e, featuring a plug-in hybrid drivetrain that combines a four-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor to achieve a total system output of 240kW and the ability to cruise for up to 40km on electric power alone.
The new Seven can be had in either standard or long-wheelbase form and the 740i and 730d can be ordered with xDrive all-wheel drive, in Europe at least. The South African line-up will be confirmed when the car’s launched here next year. Aiming to achieve the ultimate balance between ride comfort and road holding, all versions come with selflevelling air suspension at both ends as well as BMW’s Dynamic Damper Control, while buyers achieve an even better balance with the Executive Drive Pro system featuring active roll stabilisation and a data-based predictive system.
The new Driving Experience Control switch allows the driver to choose between various driving modes, while the redesigned iDrive operating system also puts choice at the fore. You can now choose whether you want to input your commands through a touchscreen or via the traditional console-mounted rotary control, but the big news is the gesture control that allows you to perform certain functions with simple hand movements.
Yet there’s a good chance you’ll want to leave Jeeves to work all that out while you chill out or catch up with some work in the back – in which case you’ll be ordering the Executive Lounge package that includes massaging back seats with active ventilation and a “Vitality” exercise programme, as well as four-zone climate control. Further to that you can order sub-packages complete with foldout tables, tablets and business-class-like seat adjustability.
BMW has even thought of those that might crave a night in the countryside, hence the Sky Lounge Panorama glass roof that uses side-mounted LEDs to project a “starry sky” onto the glass roof.
Yet the new Seven’s most impressive feature has to be the Remote Control Parking sys- tem, a world-first that allows owners to manoeuvre in and out of garages or forwardparking spaces without anyone at the wheel – something that’s sure to come in handy in those ridiculously cramped parking lots that are becoming all too common these days. It’s sure to impress your friends too, even if they own the latest Mercedes S-Class.