BMW 7-series driven on Thai roads
plenty of shove from any speed and lots of engine revs for the dedicated driver to enjoy the 300-plus ponies lurking under the bonnet.
In other words, the engine makes for sufficiently rapid and quiet progress. At just over 10kpl in real-world driving, you really can’t consider its fuel economy as splendid. But, as said earlier, this may not be crucial in a car aimed at fat wallets.
What really makes the 7-series a joy to drive, though, is its all-new body made from a mix of aluminium and carbon fibre. You can sense how the enhanced rigidity and lightness pay dividends to the car’s handling properties even at excessively high speeds.
The positive effects of the driving dynamics frequently overwhelm the 740i’s drivetrain performance. Although you feel the car’s sheer dimensions, the steering has been tailored to offer great agility and comes closer than the S-class in matching the XJ for easy handling.
The 740i isn’t short on ride compliance, either. In fact, it has a lot of it, even on the ruts and cracks that infamously litter Thai roads. Whether it’s the primary or secondary ride, BMW seems to have got it just right in its latest 7-series.
You’d hardly bother with the selectable drive mode, which may only become useful if you want to change the colours and layout of the instrument panel behind the steering wheel.
So to the interior. While the S-class has moved the game forward with a wide, fully digital screen to relate all kinds of information to the driver, the 7-series blends tradition and modernity at the same time by featuring electronic readouts in analogue-style dials.
The usual central monitor for the other functions can be used in various ways by a controller button, touchpad with swipe function, voice or gesture control. Although the latter one is not always straightforward to use, everything else is. It’s still a nice place to take command of the car. But as most buyers in Thailand don’t always drive luxury saloons themselves, the rear seats are also important facets to consider — even more crucial than how much the boot can take. That’s why makers focus on long wheelbase versions in the country. The 7-series isn’t short on rear legroom, which is actually generous by class standards. And there are plenty of toys for passengers to play around with, the most recent novelty being the iPad screen that can be removed from the centre armrest to operate massage functions.
In short, cabin ambience and the aura of quality that comes with it are virtually second to none.
But like how we found out during the international driving trials of the 7-series in Europe last year, the rear seat cushions still aren’t that comfy to sit in, especially when you take the S-class or LS into consideration.
Sure, it looks very inviting at first sight. But upon taking a seat, you don’t sink naturally into it. And over some time in the back seat, it still doesn’t feel like your favourite armchair at work. This is subjective, so it’s recommended that you dear reader try them out first if you’re planning to be driven most of the time.
If it turns out satisfactory for you, then you’re about to end up with a luxury saloon that’s equally good to drive and to sit in. And considering that the 740i drives better than the S-class, it has the potential of topping the class when it comes to pure product substance.
Conventional the 740i may be, but it can’t be totally ignored when it still does so many things so right.