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By
ALISTAIR KENNEDY
23 February 2009
BMW has given the local motoring media a preview of its new 7
Series sedan, due to begin arriving in Australia within the next
few months. First shown at last year’s Paris Motor Show, the big
Beemer is the fifth generation version of the model that has been
the company’s flagship for over 30 years. This is the first
all-new model since 2001.
Styling
of the new 7 Series is more mainstream and less controversial than
that of its predecessor. In profile it retains the traditional BMW
long bonnet with a short front overhang. Most of the engine is
positioned behind the front axle for the best balance.
The
sweeping rear roofline gives the car an almost coupe-like
appearance, at least in the standard wheelbase models, with a
distinctive single crease-line running along the car’s shoulder
joining the front and rear lights, dissecting all four door
handles on the way.
The
biggest change in the appearance of the big Beemer is at the front
with a larger, bolder version of the famed kidney-shaped grille.
The
new 7 Series will come to Australia with the choice of three
engines. The 740i and 740Li, are powered by a 3.0-litre
straight-six twin-turbo petrol; 750i and 750Li by a 4.4-litre V8
twin-turbo petrol; and the 730d with a 3.0-litre straight-six
turbo-diesel. The ‘L’ in the two petrol-powered models
indicates that they are long wheelbase variants, the diesel engine
only comes with the standard wheelbase.
The
730d will be the first diesel 7 Series to be sold in Australia,
and so will match its main competitors, the Audi A8 and
Mercedes-Benz S-Class, that have included this option for some
time.
At
$198,800 the 730d will also be the lowest priced of the five 7
Series variants. It's likely that there could be a lag in early
sales as potential customers await the diesel’s arrival before
making their decision on which model to buy.
Although
there’s more power and torque from all three engines, fuel
consumption has been lowered through a combination of reduced car
weight, mainly by using aluminium in more areas, and also from
greater engine efficiency. Based on European testing the 750i is
rated at 11.4 litres per 100 kilometres, the 740i at 9.9 L/100 km
and the 730d at just 7.2 L/100 km.
We
were able to drive both long and standard wheelbase variants of
the two petrol 7 Series during the car’s launch to the
north-west of Melbourne. It almost goes without saying that this
is a superb cruising car, capable of purring along effortlessly
all day. Fortunately we were able to test it in its natural
habitat, the German autobahns, during last year’s international
launch rather than the mind-numbingly low Australian highway speed
limits.
For
those looking for extra driving enjoyment the driving
characteristics of the new 7 Series can be adjusted using BMW’s
Dynamic Driving Control system which allows adjustments to the
car’s steering, throttle, transmission and suspension ranging
from the smoothness of the ‘Comfort’ setting to the agility of
‘Sport-Plus’.
A
remarkable amount of technology has been crammed into the BMW
flagship including five cameras: the now-common reversing camera,
one to warn if the driver is drifting out of his lane, a thermal
imaging camera to identify pedestrians, animals and other objects
at night, and one each on the front wheel arches to assist in
tight areas such as narrow streets or car parks by monitoring
crosswise traffic that the driver is unable to see.
Also
new is a Head-Up display which projects selected information onto
the windscreen, allowing the driver to view it without taking
their attention away from the road. The information can include
the car’s speed, satellite navigation instructions and lane
departure warning and can be moved around the windscreen to suit
each individual driver. There’s also the capacity to display the
current road speed limit which we were able to use in our overseas
test but which is currently unavailable in Australia but which BMW
Australia hopes to be able to activate within the next year.
The
Lane Departure Warning system uses a camera mounted near the rear
view mirror to scan the road markings and warns the driver, by
sending a vibration into the steering wheel, when the car is
approaching one or other of the marked lines. The system only
operates at speeds above 70 km/h and is designed to alert drivers
who may be about to fall asleep. We found that the system worked
well on main highways but struggled on some minor roads where the
lines had faded.
BMW’s
much-maligned iDrive system, used to control the various
navigation, entertainment, information and telecommunications
within the car, has been upgraded and is now more user-friendly.
Among the improvements are direct access and favourites buttons to
allow one-touch access to selected functions.
The
system now includes an 80 Gigabyte hard drive including space for
8 Gb of audio files and uses a 10.2-inch high resolution display
screen. There’s also the facility to allow internet access
although, again, that’s not available in Australia as yet.
Voice-activated input has also been improved and we found it more
accurate than in the previous iDrive.
The
new BMW 7 Series is a superb vehicle, comfortable to cruise in yet
enjoyable to drive hard when the opportunity arises and now with a
long-overdue turbo-diesel option. Add the staggering array of
technology, much of it safety related, and BMW could well
challenge Mercedes-Benz for the limousine top sales spot that it
conceded to its German rival several years ago
The
740i/740Li and 750i/750Li will go on sale at the end of April with
the 730d to follow around June.
The
complete BMW 7 Series range, with prices (excluding on-road costs)
is:
730d 3.0-litre turbo-diesel: $198,800
740i 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol: $203,000
740Li 3.0-litre twin-turbo petrol: $218,000
750i 4.4-litre twin-turbo petrol: $274,200
750Li 4.4-litre twin-turbo petrol: $291,200
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Marque Publishing Company
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