BMW F01 7 Series First Drive
by 
We recently had the opportunity to take a quick spin in the new F01 750i. A quick call to the local dealer revealed the new 7’s were in and freshly prepped that day. That’s all I needed, I grabbed a camera, my coat and headed for the door.
Enough has been said about the technical achievements attained in this new car so I won’t duplicate those efforts here. As one who likes the current iDrive, my perspective on the tech I encountered was that it’s primary focus is on enhancing the driving experience without being overly complex. A quick note on the new gauge cluster. Completely dark until on only the dial surrounds and needles are visible. When the gauge faces illuminate, the lower portion is a multifunctional display providing information dependent upon driver demands. A really slick dynamic way of keeping the driver informed. First impressions of the drive are excellent.
Consistent with BMW’s tag line “Ultimate Driving Machine” the 7 is first an excellent drive that happens to be luxurious as well, with excellent use of materials and well-chosen hues. With only 4.8 miles on the clock I didn’t push the car too much, but I didn’t idle about either.The new 4.4L twin turbo mill provides plenty of sneaky shove. Smooth and relentless the big 7 comes up to speed quickly. Coming from an R53 MINI with 18’s, it isn’t really fair to compare steering feel, but I will.The 7 isn’t most communicative but despite this, there’s no vagueness or hesitancy about placement so, like the previous 7, the big car wraps itself around you and instills confidence in the driver immediately. Before long I was tempted to really start pushing limits and having a little fun.
Much of this must be placed at the best implementation of Active Steering to date. Not being a fan of earlier versions, employed in the 3 and 5, the current option feels much better. This could be due to the rear-wheel’s involvement. At lower speeds the rear wheels rotate opposite the front to help the car rotate about the center, while articulating with the fronts at highway speeds. Coupled with electro-magnetic active dampers the 7 can almost be described as lively.
Just my opinion, BMW moved the bar forward with the level of refinement and quality imbued within this new 7 while continuing to escalate the driver to an active participant rather than the passenger-with-responsibilities.
Special thanks to Ed Moes at Knauz BMW for access to the test vehicle.
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