Review of the new BMW 750i

Very few of us will ever find ourselves with a cool 70 grand burning a hole in our pockets and a luxury saloon-shaped void on our driveway. Because of this, it's difficult to place ourselves in the position of someone who does. That kind of cash can see a person into some extremely lavish motorcars and at this lofty end of the market, the faults and niggling annoyances that help sort the wheat from the chaff in the lower echelons are much less pronounced. The decision to buy or not to buy a BMW 750i could hinge on the tiniest of margins. It's just as well then that the German maker has a reputation for leaving little to chance when designing its cars.

Despite what some of the more high-tech features might lead you to believe, the 7 Series is no concept car. It's designed primarily to sell and generate income for its manufacturer, so its advanced systems need to contribute to the usability and desirability of what must be a top end luxury saloon. BMW is looking to reaffirm connections with its target market after the previous generation 7 Series received a somewhat lukewarm response to aspects of its unorthodox styling and convoluted iDrive control interface. Revisions throughout that car's lifecycle smoothed out most of the sharp edges, allowing the supremely capable machine beneath scope to shine through. Now, the latest 7 Series looks to develop that formula with evolutionary design supplemented by that raft of groundbreaking features and in the 750i we could be looking at BMW's finest in its most formidable guise.

If you're going to go all out on a top class luxury car, you might as well get one with a bit of fire in its belly. Or, as in this case, a raging inferno. The engine in the 750i is a 4.4-litre twin turbo one with four valves per cylinder, Double-Vanos variable cam shaft timing and Valvetronic variable valve lift. A clever engine, in other words. It's a powerful one too with 407bhp at its disposal and 600Nm maximum torque. Mash the throttle and the two tonne 750i will lunge inexorably at the horizon passing 60mph in 5.2s before being reigned in by its speed limiter at 155mph.

".you don't need enough cash to buy one in order to appreciate this car's formidable qualities"

BMW's six-speed automatic gearbox is standard fitment on the 7 Series, as is the advanced Dynamic Driving Control system. This allows the driver to adapt the set-up of the car at will by flicking between Comfort, Normal, Sport and Sport + modes as the fancy takes them. Even within these settings, the technology can adapt the car's steering, dampers, throttle response and gear shift speed according to the road conditions and the driver's style. The 7 Series uses double wishbone suspension at the front and a multi-link set-up at the rear, underlining its sporting pretensions. Buyers wanting the ultimate in smoothness can opt for air suspension as well.

There's nothing particularly ground breaking about the way the 7 Series looks. The exterior lines are clearly derived from the previous generation car with elements carried over from BMW's other current products. The kidney grille is more upright and pronounced shoulder lines run the length of the car, forming a raised centre section on the bonnet. Inside there's more of the same with design features that BMW owners will be more than familiar with.

Where the 7 Series really moves the game on is in terms of its technology with all kinds of innovations being made available to customers with the money to afford them. Amongst the highlights is night vision system that can detect and warn the driver if a pedestrian moves into the path of the vehicle. There's also a front side view camera system that activates cameras on the nose of the car to give the driver a better view at blind junctions. The Lane Departure Warning system monitors road markings and tells the driver if they wander out of their lane while the Speed Limit Warning System can actually read road signs and warn the driver if they exceed the speed limit.

Anyone concerned about parking and manoeuvring the 7 Series in tight situations will be interested in the Integral Active Steering system that allows the rear wheels to steer by as much as 3 degrees. This has a big effect on the car's turning circle and significantly enhances manoeuvrability at low speeds while also improving the driving dynamics when the pace picks up.

There are long and short wheelbase versions of the 750i with the extended model badged up as the 750Li. It gains 140mm between the wheels which goes to create even more capacious legroom for rear seat passengers. Which version buyers choose will depend on whether they like to drive themselves or employ a chauffer and sit in the back. All models get the latest iDrive control system with programmable buttons for easier access to regularly used functions and a four-zone air-conditioning system. There's also an optional rear seat ventilation system that feeds cool air through the massaging seats in the back. Music fans can make use of the 8gb music server that has the capacity to store over 100 albums on the car's internal harddrive for instant playback.

BMW's Dynamic Stability Control + system comes as standard on all 7 Series models. Bundled up in this package are innovations such as Hill-Start Assist, Brake drying and pretensioning, Soft-stop and Brake Fade Compensation which are all designed to enhance safety and maximise the smoothness which the 7 Series goes about its business. The Dynamic Traction Control can be activated by the driver to allow greater wheel slippage for sporty driving or to enhance performance on snow and ice.

If you're too concerned about running costs, you probably shouldn't set foot in the luxury saloon market segment, or at least, not in the upper end of it where the big V8 petrol models hang out. Having said that, BMW's 750i is very economical for a car of its size, weight and power. It can average 24.8mpg on the combined cycle and will emit 266g/km of CO2. Owners could compare these figures to those of equivalent models from rival brands and come away with a warm feeling inside but the chances are that they won't.

BMW's EfficientDynamics technology has set the standard in a market where every mainstream manufacturer is taking steps to maximise economy and lower emissions. The 750i benefits from the full EfficientDynamics package with key body panels fabricated from aluminium to save weight and Brake Energy Regeneration using energy that would have been lost under braking or on the overrun to recharge the car's battery.

With its big engine and big price tag, the BMW 750i is some way out of the average car buyer's orbit but you don't need enough cash to buy one in order to appreciate this car's formidable qualities.

BMW maintains its focus on the driver even in a sector of the market where the people who sign the cheques are quite likely to spend their time in the rear seat while an employee takes the wheel. Combined with the 7 Series' huge technological arsenal, quality interior and high levels of comfort, it makes a package perfectly placed to separate luxury car buyers from their cash.

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