BMW takes on the Mercedes-Benz EQS with an electric version of the new 7 Series limo On sale Late 2022 Price from £108,305
Will Nightingale Will.Nightingale@haymarket.com
THE NEW BMW i7 is obviously a car, so it’s inherently designed to take people from one place to another. But for anyone sitting in the back, it’s better thought of as a mobile cinema, complete with the audio and visual qualities to rival the best picture houses.
And we’re not talking about a couple of small screens shoehorned into the backs of the front headrests. Oh no. In BMW’s latest technological showcase, rear passengers are treated to an enormous, 31.3in 8K touchscreen that lowers itself from the ceiling at the touch of a button. Thanks to a built-in Amazon Fire TV and a 5G aerial on the roof, you can watch films or stream on-demand TV on the move.
The screen is available as an individual option for £4000, or packaged up as part of the £10,500 Executive Pack, which also adds two supremely comfortable rear ‘lounge’ seats that can turn themselves into business class-style beds and even treat you to a massage. If you add the £5500 Technology Plus Pack as well, you’ll be serenaded by a mighty 40-speaker Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system with ‘shakers’ in the seatbacks to ensure that you feel, as well as hear, every action scene.
You might be wondering why we’re focusing on the environment for rear passengers. Well, as the fully electric version of the latest BMW 7 Series, the i7 is the kind of luxury limo that lends itself to being chauffeur driven, and that’s why much of its enormous, 5.4-metre-long body has gone into providing VIPs in the back with acres of real estate.
However, that isn’t to say the driver has to slum it. He or she is treated to a brilliant driving position and stunning interior quality. There are gloss black and crystal finishes everywhere you look and, as standard, the seats come trimmed in a faux-leather material that BMW calls Veganza. It feels surprisingly upmarket, although you can, of course, have genuine leather if you’d prefer. Or, if you fancy something a bit different, there’s also a fabric option that blends merino wool and cashmere.
Power comes from two electric motors that, together, can pump out 536bhp – enough to take this very heavy car from 0-62mph in just 4.7sec. However, because of how quiet the i7 is, the acceleration never feels savage. You’re aware of the scenery rushing past at an increasingly rapid rate, but it’s closer to the experience you’d get in a jumbo jet at take-off than the assault-on-the-senses gratification of a sports
