BMW X7 2022 Review – International

The 2022 BMW X7 LCI – which means ‘life-cycle impulse’ in BMW-speak, or ‘mid-life refresh’ to everybody else – has gone upmarket. Up in price, up in power and up in technology.

This is BMW tying its biggest SUV in with its biggest sedan, with the dual-deck headlight treatment mirroring that of the upcoming 2022 BMW 7 Series limousine in an intentional slight of design hand.

It also swings the new OS8 operating system in to manage the multimedia and display systems inside the car, along with a new curved twin-screen dash layout, which, controversially, now includes the air-conditioning controls.

The powertrains have been updated to include a new 48-volt mild-hybrid drive, which is now tucked safely away inside the all-new eight-speed automatic transmission’s bell housing and directly drives the crankshaft.

It fills in any turbo lag and also allows the car to drive off (slowly and briefly) in EV mode.

The other news is that the X7 now offers an optional six-seater layout with captain’s chairs for six adults, and has the option of five-zone climate-control air-conditioning. (The latter runs a completely different plumbing system and its energy demands are so extreme that it lowers the top speed on the non-M models from 250km/h to 210km/h.)

The X7 has grown beyond 5.1 metres long, and it’s beyond 2.5 tonnes now (2490kg in 40d form and 2600kg for the M60i), so it’s a significant chunk of manipulated natural resources.

It needs a sturdy car park to manage all of that, but it also needs a big one, because it’s 5180mm long, 1835mm high and a neat two metres wide.

Fortunately, the X7 now comes with a smartphone-operated system where the car can drive itself in and out of tight spaces – but more of that later.

A lot. The 2022 BMW X7 costs a lot, and we don’t even get the cheapest one they make, which is the BMW X7 xDrive40i with the glorious 3.0-litre straight-six petrol engine.

Instead, the incoming Australian X7 range begins with the 2022 BMW X7 xDrive40d at $166,900 plus on-road costs, which is a leap of $28,000 over the previous version.

The $13,000 increase applied to the new 2022 BMW X7 M60i xDrive is not quite so high, but at $197,900 plus ORCs it will now trip you over the $200,000 barrier once you add on-road costs – and any options. Remember, this is BMW…

There are a couple of reasons for these rises, including the arrival of a raft of new technologies and BMW positioning the X7 firmly into the same luxury territory as the 7 Series limousine.

The front-end is the most obvious place for the investment, with the arrival of the same split headlight treatment as the 7 Series, ostensibly to give the DRLs the same signature quad-light look as the main lights.

The three-row BMW X7 now sports the same all-new operating system as the incoming 7 Series, complete with the new curved dash display which incorporates a 12.3-inch digital display in front of the driver and a 14.9-inch display in the centre of the dash. And there’s a head-up display as well.

There are a lot of previously optional pieces that have wound up being standard here, like the panoramic sunroof with its separated third-row panel, and heated and cooled front seats.

The four-zone climate control is now standard, with an optional five-zone system that is so energy intensive and required so much replumbing that it cuts the 40d’s top speed by 35km/h to 210km/h.

The M60’s 250km/h top end remains untouched, which also indicates how much gristle it has to spare…

BMW says the new 2022 BMW X7 has ditched some once-touted features in the interests of moving the game forward, but they’re not all happy exclusions.

Gone are the laser headlights, ditched in favour of LEDs, despite BMW engaging in a no-holds-barred fight with Audi to be the first to market with them a few years ago.

That’s because about half of all X7s are sold in the US, and US law emasculates the laser-light range down from 600-plus metres to no more than 250 metres, and BMW argues it can cover that off more effectively with LEDs.

Also gone is the infrared Night Vision display, because BMW says that: A. Nobody ordered it; and B. Upgraded camera systems do its job anyway. Still, we liked Night Vision.

Another one to bite the dust is the simple single button to switch off driver assistance systems like lane keeping assist whenever you reach a winding road or you find it bugging you. Now you have to delve four layers down into the multimedia system to switch it off.

Yet another to disappear is the simple climate control operating knobs, which have moved to the multimedia system, but not quite.

Through a quirk of whatever the hell went on at BMW’s software development team, the climate control can’t be accessed via the iDrive controller, but has to be turned on via the touch-screen and only then accessed via the iDrive controller or the touch-screen.

It’s awful and clunky and makes very hard work of what used to be a remarkably intuitive thing to operate, and blackens the operational eye of the iDrive as well.

In spite of Australia not receiving the xDrive40i (which pretty sweet with its new engine), the 2022 BMW X7 goes pretty well.

Whoever is on the list of criticisms of the BMW X7, the powertrain people are not among them.

The upgraded 3.0-litre turbo-diesel six in the 40d delivers a 55kW boost over the previous model, lifting its output to 250kW (at 4400rpm) – and that’s just from the combustion engine.

The new diesel also delivers 700Nm of torque from 1750-2250rpm, which shifts the 2490kg (dry) SUV along nicely, reaching 100km/h in 5.9 seconds and topping out at 245km/h.

Like all the X7s, the X7 40d receives the latest 48V mild-hybrid system which adds in 9kW of power and 200Nm of torque. Unlike a lot of these systems, the X7 uses its mild hybrid for filling in torque when the revs are so low the turbos are still asleep, as well as moving off from rest at low speeds and boosting on full throttle.

That’s why it’s not a simple matter of adding the two output figures together. It’s not a clear-cut equation, because the mild-hybrid’s energy only arrives when it’s needed.

And, unlike previous iterations, the new mild-hybrid system sits inside the all-new eight-speed transmission’s bell housing, acting directly on the crankshaft of the engine to reduce losses and increase response.

While it might not outwardly seem to need help, the mild-hybrid system is also tucked away inside the heavy-hitting BMW X7 M60i, even though the upgraded 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 punches out 390kW of power from 5500-6000rpm and has a fat underbelly of 750Nm of torque between 1800-4600rpm.

It’s strong across the board (and needs to be, because it’s toting 2600kg), hurling itself to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds and running on to a limited 250km/h top speed.

The 2022 BMW X7, in both Australian-bound models, is a triumph of engineering perseverance over common sense and the laws of physics.

The entry-level X7 xDrive40d uses self-levelling air suspension all-round, combined with an upgraded raft of driver assistance systems and stock 20-inch rims to get the job done, but we didn’t have one to test, so let’s stick with the M60i xDrive.

That one upgrades the 40d’s layout to add adaptive roll control and active steering to the five-link rear-end. It also gets the more playful dynamic traction control, plus a trick rear limited-slip differential and cornering brake control to help it arrest its mass in bends.

The result is a remarkable machine that is incredibly capable, astonishingly assured, utterly unflappable and not remotely fun to throw around.

The big mean machine can move off under electric energy (hence its pedestrian warning sound) before the V8 – which is 10 per cent larger than its Mercedes-AMG, Bentley and Audi rivals – bristles to life.

It’s a wonderful sound, with the S63 V8’s twin-scroll turbos tucked away inside the ‘hot vee’, and cross-bank exhaust manifold to tighten up throttle response, and it’s so strong it needed a reinforced crankshaft to handle it all.

The new gearbox sees BMW retain its place at the top of the tree for automatic transmissions, with a slightly upgraded gear set moved inside an all-new housing, with the ECU tucked inside the casing as well.

There’s simply no time or place for where the powertrain feels like it’s not enough. It’s smooth, there are no unwanted vibrations and the sound is delicious when awoken.

The ride quality, even on the optional 22-inch rubber (it uses 285/45R20 boots as standard, but has 23-inch options as well) is astonishing, and the body control is exemplary.

The way the big rig gets into corners is a work of engineering genius, because you can feel the chassis working its different systems to fight the tendency of this much mass to just keep going straight, but it all happens effortlessly (for the driver, anyway).

The new seats are a treat (unfortunately, BMW only had test cars with the six captain’s chairs), and it’s even a simple task for adults to climb into and be chauffeured in the third row, with their own air-conditioning vents and controls, and their own USB sockets.

Let’s make this much clear: nobody needs this car, and nobody needs this genre of car, but the 2022 BMW X7 makes a good fist of delivering on most of its promises.

The powertrain in the M60i is brilliant, the ride is superb and the handling is assured, and there is extreme comfort involved in all six seats (a seven-seater is also available).

The downsides are that it’s a 2600kg machine with an enormous appetite for natural resources, both in construction and consumption, and it still only has a 300-litre luggage capacity.

That bumps up to 2120 litres with the seats folded down, but that hardly helps if you’re picking people up with their luggage.

The 83-litre fuel tank should be a sizeable hint that it’s going to drink like it’s payday Friday, too.

The new BMW X7 is competent and secure and luxurious inside, without being fun for the players, and nobody in the rear row of seats will thank you for pushing the envelope.

But it’s a very impressive piece of engineering.

How much does the 2022 BMW X7 M60i xDrive cost?
Price: $197,900 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Late 2022
Engine: 4.4-litre V8 twin-turbo petrol
Output: 390kW/750Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 12.1-12.9L/100km (WLTP)
CO2: 274-292g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested