BMW 740i 2016 Review

BMW 740i
Road Test

If you believe the hype, the new BMW 7 Series is essentially a vehicular version of a personal assistant, one that weighs 1.8 tonnes and smells like sandalwood. It'll do everything for you except massage your back… Oh wait, it does that too. Lighter, more agile, more efficient and bristling with technology, the BMW 7 Series even understands furious hand gestures while keeping occupants isolated from the great unwashed. The best car ever?

The moment I walk near the 7 Series and reach for the door handle, a lambent glow blossoms within the cabin, giving me a view of the sumptuous cream leather interior.
Summoned to the car like a bee to pollen, lowering oneself into the captain's chair exposes seat cushions that can only be described as plush. I can almost hear them complain about having to caress my toddler-spew-stained chinos.

It's a big car, measuring more than 5.0 metres long (5098mm) and the upshot is a big interior, enough room for me stretch my arms out – which results in the car bleeping at me.

Cripes, what did I do?!

That's the nifty but gimmicky gesture control system interpreting my movements as a demand to turn the stereo up, apparently. A bit of fiddling also allows me to reject phone calls with a pompous slash through the air or move the parking camera around to make sure I'm taking up two car spots.

How does it work? There's a camera in the headlining of the car that monitors gestures in a certain 'strike zone', not unlike a Nintendo Wii or Xbox Kinect system.

Chopping wildly at unseen phantoms as I explore the various robotic motions, I can only imagine how it looks to other motorists. It has its uses but after a week in the car I found the excellent voice recognition system to be more effective. Indeed, drivers are spoiled for choice, with handwriting recognition and a touchscreen system to input data too.

Getting used to the various features and functions of the BMW 7 Series isn't as daunting as I had imagined, with the orthodox controls in particular working flawlessly – buttons, dials and those sorts of gubbins. Even selecting between a trio of fragrances was easy.

Indeed, whether adjusting the suspension firmness or the cabin temperature, few of the operations require the handbook and the climate controls in particular impart a sense of opulence with their very own dedicated LCD screen and touch-sensitivity.

Hit the little steering wheel button and the car will try to keep itself in its lane and even attempt to go around corners. There's a 'traffic jam assistant' that will ensure the car plods along congested roads and it works most of the time. That said, having sampled a number of these semi-autonomous systems in recent times, BMW's tech is not class-leading – particularly the active steering. And it should be.

It struggles to maintain steering angle on even the mildest of corners and often gets confused if lane markings aren't pristine. I generally left the automatic steering system on during all driving and at times it was useful but we're talking maybe 10 per cent of the time. It's no wonder California is looking at banning autonomous cars.

As mentioned, the 740i is a big car, Andre the Giant big, and parking such a behemoth has traditionally been dicey. But not anymore. The 'display key' fob lets you get out of the car and it will park itself... but it's been disabled on Australian cars because such technology is not yet legal. Sigh.

Nevertheless, we've seen it in operation and it's very cool. The LCD display key fob that helps park the car also monitors the security of the car, fuel reserves and can be used to switch on heating/cooling ahead of your arrival too.

Another tech feature that'll boggle your mind is the advanced 'around view' camera system, which shows you the car from dozens of different angles and can be manipulated via the wide touchscreen or via gesture control. But like some of the systems this car premieres, it's rubbish at doing what it was designed for – in this case parking.

The tech toys don't stop there either. A 7.0-inch Samsung tablet integrated into the rear seat armrest that can be used to operate the window blinds, temperature, fragrance, audio and more. It's a simple but clever solution for rear seat passengers and can be used to browse the Internet too.

Moving beyond all the whiz-bang gadgetry that'll turn your colleagues green with envy (and little else), the new 7 Series turns out to be a very pleasant car to drive. Almost all external sounds fade to vague mufflings as it glides down the road and compared to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class it's a more agile, more athletic performer.

The steering, handling and dynamics of the 740i are not what you'd expect of something of this size, which is refreshing – particularly if you plan on driving – and not being driven. It's a whale of a thing but it motivates like a much smaller car thanks in part to a significant weight loss program that sees some models slip under 1800kg.

The 3.0-litre turbocharged engine is a corker, and when fitted to smaller 3 Series gives it wings. Although acceleration isn't as razor sharp in the 7 Series it's certainly not slow – far from it. It hurtles away from standstill if you gun the throttle but with its long wheel base and supple suspension it never feels rushed, but always confident.

Acceleration is buttery smooth, helped by supple suspension and a charming eight-speed automatic transmission, and there's a lovely sonorous exhaust note that adds emotion to proceedings, should you open up the throttle.

With 240kW and 450Nm pumping through its 3.0-litre turbo-petrol in-line six-cylinder engine, the 740i is claimed to sprint from 0-100km/h in 5.5 seconds.

Fuel economy was pleasantly surprising too. Although I didn't achieve anywhere near the 7.0L/100km claimed by BMW, I wasn't displeased with 8.7L/100km after a week of blasting around in the lap of luxury.

Like all good luxury cars, there's an options list as long as your arm for this model, including massaging front seats ($2000), Bowers & Wilkins Diamond surround sound stereo ($9,900) and ceramic surrounds for controls ($1100). And who wouldn’t want the rear seat indulgence package at just $17,400?

Laser headlights, autonomous reverse braking, remote control parking (eventually), adaptive suspension, wireless phone charging… There's simply not enough room in one review to talk about everything the new BMW 7 Series offers. But unlike the final instalments of the Twilight and Hunger Games franchises, this isn't a drawn-out double act that reduces your IQ. It's intuitive to use and although some of the tech seems superficial, it's admittedly very cool.

If you're looking for a sensible mode of transport that goes from A to B, the 7 Series is not for you. Try a Toyota Camry. But if you want something that's engaging to drive and has more luxury and technology than almost any other vehicle available today, this is where it's at.

2016 BMW 740i pricing and specifications:
Price: $224,200 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 240kW/450Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 8.7L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 164g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: TBA

Also consider:
>> Mercedes-Benz S-Class (from $216,700 plus ORCs)
>> Jaguar XJ (from $197,585 plus ORCs)
>> Audi A8 (from $196,900 plus ORCs)