This is the BMW i7 and it's your relaxation room on Wheels it's your private theater on the go it's a full party overload
Size and styling
It's also BMW's EV sedan flagship the i7 is the all-electric version of the BMW 7 Series both models are built on the same platform and the i7 is where everything we like about the 7 Series meets The Silence of an electric powertrain if you think about it the loudest thing on the i7 is its styling that front end split headlamps on a BMW and an even larger iteration of that ever-growing kidney Grill the designers have clearly thrown the style template out of the window to come up with the most rad-looking BMW limousine of all time love it or hate it you just can't ignore it.
Once the initial shock and all subsides there are a lot of finer details to take in the upper daytime running light strips, for instance, are embellished with Swarovski crystals that gleam as you walk along them a sporty bumper with a contrast black surround for the grill and Main headlights adds more Flash and there's no missing that Grill even at night it comes outlined by an LED strip iconic glow in BMW speak the i7 is more conventional in profile.
It's got a traditional three-box shape shared with the petrol and Diesel versions of the seven the 5.4 meters long i7 has a stately air about it a look helped by block-like and flat surfacing.
Boot
All around a high deck boot-wide sweeping tail lights and a diffuser-like element at the bumper then the i7's rear end distinction to the tailgate lives to reveal a well-shaped 500-liter Boot and there's a compartment under the floor too but there's no spare tire and also unlike many other EVS.
Powered doors
the i7 doesn't offer any storage under its vast bonnet make what you want of the i7's design because you would want to be on another side of the doors the interior Tech experience starts before you're even inside power doors those power doors guarantee very cool entries and exits now the doors can be opened and closed on the inside via a button on the dashboard and a long press on the brake pedal will also automatically close the door for you you can also open all four doors via voice commands now before you ask there are sensors on the door so if there's an obstruction or a hazardous exit the doors won't open or will only open to a certain degree I do have to tell you that as cool as these power doors are over the course of the day I have found myself reverting to the manual doors release which is hidden.
Interior, lighting, and features
Slightly lower down in look this is a new age BMW interior with this twin-screen layout but this car has a 7 in its name so everything is of the finest quality the soft touch materials everywhere are really high-grade leather and also quite a few crystalline elements that you'd find on the seat adjust the iDrive controller and even on the dashboard now it is slightly polarizing some might find it over the top some really classy what adds genuine vowel appeal to this the interior is the lighting there's 15 colors ambient lighting and each theme has its own mix of colors there's Lighting on the roof too.
There are some quirks and features packed into if you look at the dashboard you'll find that there are no AC vents inside and that's because they're concealed behind this panel still cooling is really effective and you can adjust the vents wire this rubberized switch lower down.
There's a temperature control on the touchscreen's home screen itself but for anything more even blower control you'll need to go into the climate menu as for the touchscreen, it's a 14.9-inch unit that is again very slick to use and very responsive to touch inputs and what also helps functionality is the option to use the iDrive controller you can also use gesture commands and the screen is also your display for the 360-degree cameras.
The other screen up front is for the instruments the digital dials are really really high grade it's a high contrast screen so you can read it in all manners of Lights it packs in all sorts of features every theme has its own layout and you can further adjust it to your like there is Head-Up Display as well. but the coolest feature to me here is AR now what that does is it superimposes Direction arrows on a camera feed. so you really can't miss the right turn the only catch is it works only with the onboard navigation system and not with Google Maps.
Rear seats
Those sat up front have it good on Comfort too the seats are large and supportive and adjustable in multiple ways and get all the Comforts you'd expect. but the best seats in the House are the ones at the back this is a luxury limousine so of course the seats you'd want to be on are the ones at the back just check out the room. I have checked out the space to the front seats now the seats are superbly cushioned and also pack in all manners, of Creature Comforts there's massage there's ventilation and there's heating as well. but for The Full Experience, you want to be on this seat the one I'm on that we popularly called the boss seat.
That offers a full extension the whole process takes about 40 seconds and transforms the seat into a business class throne this is how you'd want to move about to nitpick I just wish the back seat offered a few more degrees of recline that would have made it absolutely perfect on the plus side the i7's battery pack under the floor is Slim at 110 millimeters and what that means is the flow is no higher than a standard 7 Series. so with the seats in their stock position, you don't get that Eevee typical knees-up seating all your seat settings the controls for the blinds the ambient lighting, etc, are packed into this 5.5-inch touchscreen on the door, and it is not the only screen.
You'll Rear seat entertainment find inside the back of the i7 your very own 31-inch screen the screen natively runs sim based on Amazon Fire TV but it wasn't configured on our test cup you can also plug into a device via an HDMI port and I used a fire stick to watch YouTube and Netflix you won't find content to fit the full screen given the unusual aspect ratio, but you can zoom in you also have the option to move the screen far enough for your comfort and it's adjustable for Angle 2. an 18 speaker Bowers in Wilkins sound system that includes speakers integrated into the headrest make the viewing experience all the more immersive drivers, however, will frustratingly find their view out the rearview mirror completely blocked by the screen Jaguar like digital mirrors would have done the trick.
Ride comfort and refinement
With the static intro done let's get moving first thing of note is ride comfort Comfort is really really well judged it softens the blow of the worst of our roads so so effectively and when you are going faster it doesn't wallow or float.
As you'd expect a big limousine tooth and what that means that you won't feel nauseous when you're watching your favorite movie on the go or maybe it's just me I don't think that
the big screen in such close proximity will be for everyone if not your theater on the go the i7 sure offers a city in setting to reconnect with your thoughts, of course, this is an electric car. so you don't really hear much of the powertrain but on the whole sound insulation is just spectacular that you're totally cut off from the world outside so you can actually meditate in here.
Performance numbers
What the silence does hide is the other facet of the i7's personality speed might not hear it but you will feel this car's performance in your gut a quick getaway will yield a sports car like 4.5 seconds zero to 100 kph time and kick down acceleration is Mega as well the source of that performance is a Powertrain pair of electrically excited synchronous Motors one at each axle that produces a combined 544 horsepower and 745-newton meters that's supercar part but then the i7 also tips the scales at a road crushing 26-40 kgs on the odd occasion.
Driving in the city
If you want to take the wheel I'd advise you to take over from your chauffeur only outside City Limits because driving the big and heavy i7 in town can be nerve-wracking U-turns need planning even with the standard fit four-wheel steering that adds 3.5 degrees of rear steering lock you'll also have to work in the 3.2-meter wheelbase and 136 millimeters of ground clearance into root plants the i7 doesn't scrape on speed Breakers as often as an eqs, but you have to still take it to slow a suspension lift function adds in a crucial 20 millimeters of clearance and thanks hopefully the shortcut to the feature is the physical button in easy access at the center console you'll also need to make full use of the 360-degree cameras when parking the i7.
Auto parking
However, there is Tech to make this bit of living with an i7 easier so let's say you have a very tricky path to your office parking lot and you don't want to deal with the stress of maneuvering it through these tight turns on a daily basis so what you do is make the car memorizes your route and then save it and when you're in position just click on it and let the tech do everything maneuver assistant memorizes up to 200 meters of vehicle trajectory into parking and can subsequently do the job of automatically steering accelerating and breaking the car into a slot when you need it to it works superbly over the convoluted route to our office parking and there we go it's on wide open roads.
Performance
That the i7 comes into its own this is a properly brisk card but because your cocoon from the outside world so well the i7 masks its speed and more often than not on an empty patch of Road you'll be going faster than you think you are and I'm talking of the car in its most mundane setting switch it to Sport and your journey will get a whole lot more exciting throttle responses become sharper and there's a greater urgency all around but you also have a boost mode which is activated by a tug at the pedal on the steering wheel and this does is it gives you 10 seconds of all that the motors have to offer so here goes this is properly fast and the effect is similar to what NOS does to a super tuned car.
Sound modes
What will also keep you entertained are the sounds the i7 makes the BMW i7 packs in sound profiles that have been composed by noted Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer and The has a very different take on what EVs should sound like now let's try expressive mode it's like having a violinist giving the soundtrack for your drive experience sport mode gives you a more traditional sound more in line with what you probably hear at a planetarium.
Handling and braking
The Sounds add a layer to the otherwise polished Driving Experience there's a nice weight at the steering there's a good feeling of connection and as you'd imagine you can carry big speeds with big confidence the i7 doesn't forget that at the end of the day. There's a BMW in its name as well even the Regen brakes are very nicely tuned and you can choose the level of Regen to your liking it's just that you don't get pedals for that as you do on many other EVS it's a two-step process.
So you have to first go into a mode menu and then select it and I think it should have been a more straightforward process to be fair you won't really feel the need to shuffle through the settings all that often adaptive regen mode does a fine job of judging regen levels for the conditions there are a whole host of Adas features on board 2 and they work well on well-marked roads notice in all.
Battery, range, and capacity
While I haven't mentioned the battery or range that's because range or the lack of it isn't something you'd have to think about often and it shouldn't be the i7 uses a huge one-zero point seven-kilowatt lithium-ion battery pack in our test the i7 delivered a range of 396 kilometers in town and 489 kilometers on the highway the figures will easily meet the requirements of most typical owners the i7 supports DC charging up to 195 kilowatts but it's likely the complementary 22 kilowatt AC charger BMW provides with the car will be the one that owners will make the most use of a full zero to 100 charge with the said charger takes 5 hours.
Price and verdict
The decision to go for an all-electric limousine is as much about luxury as it is about making a statement it's about establishing yourself as a forward thinker ready to embrace a new world of Electric Mobility the BMW i7 has you covered on both fronts it's everything you want a limousine an opulent interior First Rate Comfort loads of tech and ample power and also packs in a politically correct image delivered by its green number plates the polarizing styling means the i7 is not a car conservative buyers will take to readily and then there's the matter of price at 1.95 crore rupees X showroom the i7 X drive 60 is pricey even by full-size luxury sedan standards more so when you see the fully imported i7s pricing in light of its closest competitor Mercedes is locally assembled eqs 580 that comes in at 1.59 crore rupees even so there's no taking away from the fact that the i7 is a superb addition to the escape it's an Indulgence that's got a what your sight do feel good Factor the i7 Aces it.
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