BMW i7
There are two types of people in this world—those who love the BMW i7 and those who hate the BMW i7. I feel like the people who dislike this car, though, only feel that way because they don’t really understand it, and it’s my mission today to bring you all to your senses. Cuz I feel like if you don’t love this thing, there’s clearly something wrong with you—or me, maybe—but hear me out.
Firstly, maybe the main point of contention is the looks. It’s challenging, like many recent BMWs. It’s big, it’s bold, and it has the most enormous grille I’ve seen on any car, along with a contentious light design. But in profile, to me, it has the looks and proportions of a muscle car. Squint, and you might mistake it for a Dodge Challenger. Around the back, from a distance, it looks a tad more normal, but if you get up close and personal with the BMW i7, you’ll start to notice some very clever touches.
This grille can actually illuminate all the way around the outside edge. It feels like BMW is beating us over the head with this massive grille design until we love it. I’ve fallen for it—I think it’s really, really impressive. Sadly, this car doesn’t have that particular option on it, but I’ve seen it, and it looks great. I also think these headlights look great. You’ve got this split-level design, so the DRLs are up top, and the LED main beams are down at the bottom. You can get optional Swarovski crystals in the upper level. Again, this car doesn’t have it, but I’ve seen it, and I love it.
Speaking of things I love, which this car also doesn’t have—these doors open automatically. You can actually use voice activation. You can say, “Hey BMW, open the doors,” and they’ll open to let you in—and close as well. Or you can press this button, and they’ll do the same thing. They haven’t fitted it to this car, but I’ve seen it, and I do love it.
Speaking of things that I love, down here on the C-pillar, you’ve got the BMW triangles, and just down there in that corner, you’ve got a little heart shape. See? This car loves you. You should love it back.
BMW i7 Interior
The interior is extraordinary, too. It looks upmarket, as a 7 Series always should, with high-quality materials, including leather, wood, and, in true modern BMW style, crystal. There’s also a lovely interaction bar running the full width of the dashboard and into the doors, which can change color depending on your drive mode or alert you of danger when you open the door and there’s oncoming traffic or when you’re about to hit an object.
The seats are wonderfully comfortable, too. They’re soft, with good support and plush headrests. It’s not all perfect, though. While I do like the look of this screen, it’s got this big curved display in front of you—one screen for the driver, one screen for your infotainment system—and it looks beautiful. The graphics are absolutely insane. If I actually start the car, you’ve got some information for your vehicle there. If I turn the wheel left and right, you can see the wheel turning left and right in the graphics. It’s beautiful to look at, and it’s very, very responsive as well. If I go into the navigation screen and zoom in, you can see how quick and responsive that is. You don’t get that in a lot of cars in this class, so I like to see it.
However, I don’t like the fact that it does take a little bit of time to get used to the actual user interface. It’s very, very difficult to wrap your head around, and you’re going to need to use the manual. Look at that mess of a climate control menu—it’s absolutely overwhelming at times and very difficult to use, particularly when you’re on the move.
There are some buttons—you think they’re physical buttons at first, but they’re actually not. They’re capacitive, and they do make things slightly easier to use because they’re shortcuts that put you directly where you want to be in the menu, but they don’t feel fantastic. Even the iDrive controller, which looks gorgeous—it’s a crystal knob—is essentially just a big capacitive button.
Speaking of capacitive, the hazard lights aren’t on a physical button. It’s a capacitive touchscreen. And how do you open the glove box? There’s no button down there. It’s this weird-looking folder thing—you press that, and the glove box opens. It’s just not… it’s just not intuitive. Sorry, I know I’m meant to be defending the BMW i7, but I can’t hide my true feelings.
BMW i7 Rear Passenger Experience
So, what’s it like in the back? Well, this is where all BMW 7 Series cars excel, and the BMW i7 is no different. It’s magnificent in the back of this car—a proper space to just lounge and enjoy yourself. Loads of room in terms of legroom and headroom—plenty of that.
You’ve also got a big fold-down armrest here. Where are the cupholders, you might be asking? Well, you push this button, and they pop out. You’ve got two cupholders in there. Fold that away, pop that open, and you get a little bit of storage—two USB ports. Bosch. Bish. Bash. I believe that’s the saying.
The BMW i7 actually has two displays in the rear doors, and these do an awful lot. So, let me talk you through a couple of my favorite features. If you push the blinds button and close all, it will shut the blinds in the doors, the ceiling, and around the back. If I press open all, it will do that—except in reverse.
You can also control the media playback from the radio, etc., and control the seats as well. Not only can I recline my rear seat slightly, but I can also control the front seats and move that away from me to give me even more legroom. If I kept this button pressed long enough, I could probably crush the front passenger as well if I’m feeling particularly unkind.
And there’s even massage—several different massaging programs in here, including a random setting to keep you guessing when you’re on the move.
But that’s not the best thing about the back of this car. The best thing is the fact that it comes with the Fire TV app. Push that, and then push fold down, and you’ve got yourself an enormous 31-inch 8K widescreen display. Incredible. It’s just outrageous, isn’t it?
BMW i7 Driving Experience
So, it’s got good specs. What does it actually feel like to drive? Genuinely exceptional. I mean, it’s a really, really plush car. You expect 7 Series cars to be plush, but this takes it to a whole new level, as far as I’m concerned.
First of all, the suspension in this car is brilliant. Normally, in EVs, the suspension tends to be very firm—they tend to be heavy cars, and you need stiff suspension to control the vertical body movement. But in this, it’s really plush.
The refinement is exceptional as well. It’s a very quiet car—it’s electric, so you’d expect that. But even in high-end electric cars, sometimes you can really hear the electric motors whining, especially when you accelerate. But in this car, they’re almost completely silent.
I like this car. I really do. In fact, I might actually love it, which I know is controversial, but there’s an awful lot to love. Yes, the design is different, but just look at how the M3 and M4 have grown on us—this car will do the same.
It also drives pretty much flawlessly and has cutting-edge technology, some of which we’ve never seen before. It’s not perfect—usability is an issue, as we’ve seen in many modern cars. But that aside, the BMW i7 is a technological tour de force, with driving comfort and enjoyment to match. As far as luxury goes, this might be the new benchmark.
