THE KINGPIN: MEET THE NEXT BMW 7 SERIES

BMW hosted Drive360 at the international launch of its new 7 Series in Portugal last week. Brimming with mountains of technology, and sporting a massive new kidney grille, the 7 is looking to satisfy even more millionaires, diplomats and politicians in its latest iteration, particularly in its biggest global market, China.

According to BMW Group representatives, around 41% of all 7 Series cars sold in the world are purchased by customers in China. To this end, Bayerische Motoren Werke have decided to refresh their flagship sedan to meet the tastes of Chinese customers in particular.

REFINED EDGES

The biggest changes to the latest 7 Series take place up front and at the rear. In the front, you’ll immediately notice its engorged kidney grille and its new narrow (almost serpent-like) headlamps. All cars at the world launch were fitted with BMW’s Laser lighting technology.

At the back it’s been further sculpted, also featuring new light clusters that are narrower and more intricate in terms of how its LEDs are arranged. There’s also a prominent light strip that runs across the entire boot, linking the left and right tail lamps in a very Porsche 911esque manner. The light clusters also “fade-in” when the vehicle is unlocked to create a sense of drama.

When viewed from the side, you’ll immediately notice that the hockey stick that used to be fitted to the bottom of the doors is now less, er, hockey stick-like. The lines around the car are now more horizontal, particularly around the sides and at the front.

Head of the 7 Series project Rainer Thoma said the brief for refreshing the 7 was simple: “Keep it the same, but make it more bold, more imposing.” This is why the cars’ kidney grilles are so massive, to reflect its sovereign status and to ensure it stands out in the hyper-competitive ultra-luxury segment.

ENGINES

We only got to experience the 750iL and the 745Le xDrive models. Both cars are simply astounding in terms of propulsion engineering, the V8 representing how a car can grunt like a sports machine while remaining smooth, and the 6-pot with electric support highlighting the future, the potential that electrification brings with it.

The V8, you know it... it’s similar to the 4.4-litre TwinPower Turbo unit in the pre-facelift cars, but more honed thanks to sharpened electronic tuning and an Adaptive driving mode that “learns” to automatically ensure the “best” use of power and traction at all times.

Power and torque? The 750i comes with 390kW

MORE PLUSHNESS

Inside the new 7, you’ll immediately notice the group’s new multimedia systems, digital instrument binnacle, refined centre console and improved leather seats. Drivers will appreciate the easy-to-read digital displays, while the boss at the back will enjoy fiddling around with either the large screens (now with touch input support) or the Samsung tablet that resides in-between the rear passengers. The tablet can be used to control things like climate control, interior lighting, the roller blinds for the rear doors and back window, as well as the Connected Drive in-car entertainment system.

Naturally, the 7 has been upgraded to offer “Hey, BMW” voice control support, and we found that it worked quite well in terms of navigation functionality. In fact, we even told the car that we were bored during a highway-drive portion of our test, and the car said “You probably haven’t tried SPORT mode yet”. To this end, the car switched itself into its sharpest settings and brought up a lot of sport displays showing kW, torque, etc on the main screen in the dashboard. It was nearly impossible to use all the cool gadgets in one day, but we did try out its Drive Assist modes and made good use of its Bowers & Wilkins premium audio package. and 750Nm while the hybrid will give you 290kW and 600Nm in combined grunt when you floor it in Sport mode.

Naturally, the V8 sipped around 14l/100km on our test drive around Faro in Portugal, but BMW reckons with a lighter approach to the throttle one could achieve sub-10 figures.

The 745Le is the one to go for if you’re looking to hyper-mile it though, using a claimed 2.2l/100km in a combined cycle. In fact, I preferred the serene, wafting nature that came with riding on electric current instead of charged gasoline.