By Miles Downard
What’s this?
Much like the Israeli–Palestinian war that’s been raging for centuries, the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes S Class have had their horns locked for as long as I care to remember. History will tell you that it’s the Merc who’s come out on top more often than not, and that’s pushed BMW to pull out all the stops for this, the new 7.
On the outside
It’s not an easy task trying to make something that’s over five metres long look appealing, and some 7’s in the past have been quite ungainly. This one is different though, I quite like it. It’s not brash, in fact quite subtle, but maintains good presence. The addition of accents down near the door sills is rather different but does a good job of breaking up the vast expanse of metal.
On the inside
This is where the magic happens. All four seats (yes it can technically take five, but unlikely to do so too often) are electrically adjustable and infinitely so. Even the headrests move at the touch of a button. Speaking of, the rear headrests come with a plush suede encased pillow for extra comfort.
Rear legroom is vast, in fact the entire car is vast. The boot will easily swallow a handful of people, nevermind the boss’s briefcase. The tan coloured leather, albeit a R120,000 option, is exquisite. Soft and supple to the touch, it’s like your favourite pair of Italian hand crafted shoes. But should it not quite do the job of comforting the stress away, the seats have numerous massage functions to iron out any remaining knots.
Then the creature comforts get all tech savvy. The tick of an option box gets you rear entertainment screens that’ll play movies, broadcast TV, internet streaming and so the list goes on. There’s a Samsung tablet stored in the rear arm rest to control things like the temperature, the car’s three sun visors, the sat nav system and a whole load of other things too. Even the key has a party trick, acting somewhat like a smart device more than a traditional key. Accordingly you can set your climate control by just using the key, or check range on your available fuel.
The radio can be controlled by a mere wiggle of the finger, and calls answered or dismissed by the wave of your hand (using BMW’s gesture control). And the sound that emanates from the (again optional) Bowers and Wilkins speakers will match anything you’ve heard before.
Behind the wheel
The real idea in a BMW 7 is to be driven, if I’m honest. But being a BMW there’s always that element of it needing to be good through a bend. So tugging this two ton barge down the road is BMW’s 3.0l turbo diesel unit, in this application producing 195kW and 620 torques. It’s good for a 6.1 second dash to 100km/h.
What’s nicer is the power delivery. It’s not urgent in any way, whisking you along rapidly instead. And it never stops coming either. Despite its huge dimensions and weight the 7 does a fair job of controlling roll and staying stuck to the tarmac, thanks largely to BMW’s active rear wheel steering system.
The one thing that let me down a bit was the comfort settings on the active suspension. I was often left thinking that the ripple I’d just traversed was far too noticeable in the cabin – and in something as luxurious as a 7 Series it soured the experience somewhat.
Pricing
The 730d starts life at around R1.4 million. It can – and most likely will – cost any number bigger than that depending on how many optional extras you want. I must admit that I actually think R1.4m isn’t that bad – if only it was a little more comfy.
Verdict
There’s a lot to like here. The BMW 7’s interior is quite marvellous as is the way it looks and goes. I will say though that I found a number of the technological additions quite gimmicky. I’m not a fan of the key, nor the gesture control and think the rear entertainment screens should be touch screen to match all the others. Fortunately those are all things for which you don’t have to pay (except the key). Ball’s in your court now, Mercedes.
