I’ve driven circa 1.000 kilometer in the new 7-er. To be more precise, a G11 730d RWD speced with:
- Nappa leather seats and dashboard;
- Massageseats;
- HK soundsystem incl. DAB tuner;
- All the assistence goodies;
- Laserlight;
- HUD;
- Active steering;
- Cameras everywhere;
- 20” rims (styling 628).
The positive aspects are:
- Very nice HUD graphics;
- Graphics of the display behind the steeringwheel looked very good and very BMW-like;
- Voicecontrol flawless and reacting to anything (in the right way);
- Steering on curvy roads splendid;
- The scale of the navscreen adepts automaticaly. When you’re nearing a junction or exit, there is an increase of scale;
- Nice spread of sporty and relaxed/refined drive;
- Fuel efficiency; I didn’t really keep score, but an experienced guess would be circa 5,25-5,50 litres per 100 km.
Negative aspects:
- Traffic sign recognition; circa 1 out of 3 was incorrect;
- The HK soundsystem was shallow, without depth; if you’re thinking of buying this car and you like to hear music, the B&W system is a must;
- Steering on the Autobahn/highway nervous;
Personal insights:
The assistence goodies functioned as they ought to, except for the traffic sign recognition. The way the ACC operated, felt awkward and is something to get used to. I suppose a BMW driver doesn’t have this operating issue.
Design aspects are very subjective, but allow me some remarks on this matter. Exterior design is very conservative, too conservative in my eyes. If I were a BMW 7er driver and I wanted to buy a brand new 7er after 7 or 8 years of production, I’d expect a complete new design. A design that’s triggering me, no, forcing me to want to have this new product. I don’t only want to know the car is technically new, in some aspects “ state of the art”, I also want to see it.
Interior design is typical BMW and rather conservative, in a good way.The materials used on the dashboard and tunnel are all good and much better executed than I’ve ever exeperienced in a BMW before. What I don’t understand is, that in contrast, the doorframes and the lower part of the B pillar is executed in hard (cheap?) plastics (I’ll post some pics, to show what I mean). I would expect and want in those places carpet, leather or alcantara. The interior doesn’t give me a feeling of luxury, of wellness or a rich feeling as such.
After my experiences the last few days with this car, I think I’ve figured it out. It doesn’t wants to compete with the typical competition, to which everyone is comparing it to (Mercedes-Benz S-klasse). It’s a car that doesn’t necessarily wants to be judged on it’s interior or exterior looks, if it’s looks or feels luxury or not. This car is all about driving. Driving with a smile on your face, the driving you want to feel with every fibre of your body. Concentrating on that, the rest is unimportant.
