New BMW i7 a tour de force capable of doing the impossible

The BMW 7 Series has been an institution and unsurprisingly, the template for the brand’s future technologies since for just shy of five decades now.

Unfortunately for Munich’s flagship, every generation since 1977 has had to come up against the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, with the end result being equally well known; close but not close enough.

With the new 7 Series though, BMW has gone all out to better its rival with the three-pointed star to such an extent that the contingent of media assembled at the launch in Cape Town in January had all asked the same question; have they done it?

‘Polarise is what we do’

Of course, opinions, like that of the new Seven’s overall look, are bound to differ, but what won’t be disputed is the lengths BMW has gone to finally cast a permanent eclipse on the three-pointed stat.

It starts off with the looks. Undeniably the most controversial aspect of the new internally designed G70 7 Series, but one BMW argues has been done intentionally with a view on the future.

Addressing the criticism surrounding the brand’s styling under Head of Design Domagoj Dukec that started with the 4 Series, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing at BMW M, Timo Resch, told the media at BMW M Fest last year that it is aware of the disapproval from some quarters, but that it won’t be drawn to changing it. 

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The design philosophy of the G70 is therefore similar to the Chris Bangle-era E65 that polarised opinions the minute it debuted in 2001.

“We tend to be bold and we want to make it clear that we are stepping-up. We are actively accepting that there will be people won’t like [the styling],” Resch said.

Controversial reward

But, as history has shown, being different often works a treat and despite the initial horror and hesitation that accompanied it, the E65 went on to become a sales success with 344 000 unit sold over its seven-year production run.

Game set and match therefore for the G70, whose Z1-inspired split headlight design and massive oversize illuminated kidney grille attracted considerable attention the moment it arrived for the usual seven-day stay, albeit not in disgust.

In fact, even in the somewhat lacklustre Oxide Silver Metallic paint option, the smorgasbord of finger pointing and dropped jaws was seemingly out of amazement rather than repulse.

On the face it therefore, the new 7 Series has the desired effect Munich had been aiming for similar to what made the E65 standout all those years ago.

Adding to the styling is BMW’s even bigger second undertaking of wanting the 7 Series to finally rid itself of the S-Class curse.

Now, that interior

As mentioned in the launch report, the amount tech and features are such that a degree in IT is required to familiarise yourself with everything. Once this has been achieved, you cannot help but marvel.

From the multi-configurable lounge seats that are cooled, heated and offer a massage function, to the breath-taking 31.8-inch 4K Theatre Screen that offers an executive jet feel, the 7 Series really is a case of BMW having sparred no expenses.

This same goes for the 36-speaker Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system, the pair of 5.5-inch displays integrated into the rear door handles, the Interaction Bar below the Curved Display infotainment system and the Augmented Reality camera that becomes the focal point of the instrument cluster when selected.

The latter is without doubt a huge taking point, but regardless of the time of day, it neither distracts nor becomes a hinderance.

What did annoy though was the underwhelming and cheap wood veneer fitted on the dashboard, and the grey seat material observers remarked looked dated and anything but suited of BMW’s flagship.

Despite feeling durable, against the futuristic, minimalistic look of the centre console and dashboard, it deserves to be replaced by a different colour or textile.

At the same, the presence of the Theatre Screen and its mechanism makes it impossible or a panoramic view of the world outside though the glass roof, although admittedly, most owners are unlikely to see view this as an issue.

Besides this, faulting the rest of the cabin is hard, especially if you are reclining at the back at up to 42.5-degrees in lounge mode with the passenger’s seat moved completely forward, all of the window blinds up, the screen lowered and your feet up.

While indeed the place most 7 Series owners will spend their time, the chauffer behind the wheel isn’t exactly left out even if the 4K setup acts as a type of partition when lowered.

Refinement

Despite being a luxury limo from the onset, the G70 feels lively behind the wheel and with a hint of sportiness despite our tester being the luxury biased Design Pure Excellence model rather than the M Sport.

Fitted with air suspension that makes for a floating ride that cushions imperfections with aplomb, refinement is on another level as exterior noises are superbly factored out at both slow speeds and at the national limit.

Forget Rolls-Royce

That being said, part of the silence is down to our tester having been the all-electric i7 xDrive 60. The replacement for the creamy smooth but also brutal twin-turbo V12 M760Li, the i7 tops the 7 Series line-up with the same Design Pure Excellence, M Sport and M Sport Pro trim levels as the 740i and 740d.

Despite replacing the 6.6-litre twelve-cylinder engine with a 101.7-kWh battery, the i7’s 400kW/745Nm is fact 48kW/58Nm down on the M760Li. However, in typical EV fashion, the why how those outputs are delivered remains mind-blowing.

Shrugging off its 2 640 kg mass, the i7 reacts similarly to its predecessor; be gentle and the silent rate of progress is such that you don’t want to end.

Provoke it though, the i7 becomes a opposite of a luxury limo. While the instant shove of EVs is nothing new, the relentless and even violent acceleration that accompanies the i7 is something that continues to stuns. Plus, being four-wheel-drive as a result of each axle housing an electric motor, the grip is instant from the get-go.

Insert plug here

Because of this, flooring the i7 becomes an addiction, but a habit that comes at the detriment of a battery depleting faster than wanted and therefore a visit to the charging station.

Fortunately, the plug-in process isn’t a big a pain as the customary waiting time. Using the 60 kW GridCars fast charger located at Fourways Mall took one hour 34 min to feed 67.9-kWh back into the battery that still had 213 km of range and 39% left.

Prior to this, a distance of 250 km had been covered at 20.5-kWh/km. While somewhat high, admittedly, some of the blame has to be attributed to yours truly’s heavy foot wanting to unleash all that silent shove.

Once charged, the 12.3-inch instrument cluster registered a distance of 587 km before another visit to the plug. As for cost, the 60 kW outlet charges R5.88 per kWh.

Multiply that by the kilowatts fed back into the battery, the entire “filling-up” process amounted to smidgen under R400, an amount unlikely to get almost 600 km out of a 740i or perhaps even the 740d.

Plug and play

At the same time, regenerative braking aids range by feeding otherwise lost energy back into the battery, however, it again boils down to driving style as the need to constantly experience instant power from nothing, will result in the battery running down quickly.

An eventual distance, charged included, came to 470 km after the seven days with a range of 259 km left. Theoretically then, the i7 can muster a distance of over 600 km on a single charge, which almost confirms BMW’s maximum claim of 625 km.

It stands to reason though that if long haul travelling is to be undertaken, the 740d continues to be the best bet, especially as it is a whopping R531 793 cheaper at R2 293 207 in Design Pure Excellence spec.

Conclusion

The answer to the question of whether BMW has finally succeeded in the 7 Series bettering the Mercedes-Benz S-Class is a tricky one, especially as the latter doesn’t have dedicated electric model capable of rivalling the i7 – the EQS excluded as a result of it riding on dedicated EV platform.

Where the i7, in this writer’s opinion, has the undoubted edge, is on the tech front while brandishing a design that is the opposite of the S-Class i.e., daring.

And given what boldness has meant to the BMW 7 Series over the last 46 years, you cannot but help but feel that this time, is has managed to do the impossible.

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