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BMW redesigned its 7 Series sedan for the 2023 model year, promising to bring it to market in four electrified variants. Now, that all has come to fruition with deliveries of the luxury car making their way to sellers' lots in the U.S. and beyond.
The company currently sells the 2023 BMW 740i, 2023 BMW 760i xDrive and BMW i7 xDrive60 in North America. Next year, the automaker will add the BMW 750e XDrive to its lineup.
Under the hood of the 740i is an inline six-cylinder mild-hybrid engine. The 760i xDrive gets a mild-hybrid V8. THe i7 xDrive60 is an all-electric sedan while the 750e xDrive fits in between with its plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) powertrain running the car.
This review concentrates on the BMW 760i xDrive. To read our review of the BMW i7 xDrive60, click here.
BMW hasn't had the best track record with front end design the last few years, with the 4 Series and iX making waves for their large kidney grilles. The face of the 760i xDrive carries with it some of the same looks but adds squinty headlights and a large lower jaw to the mix. The circular BMW emblem is laid flat upon an elongated hood.
Finery like 21-inch wheels and headlights decked out in Swarovski crystals are available. A dynamic light display engages the owner on walk up and during walk away. Automatic doors bring a touch of Rolls-Royce, which shares common BMW Group ownership with the automaker, to the luxury sedan. A panoramic sunroof with embedded color light display delivers on a look no mass market car company offers.
The 760i xDrive comes standard with BMW's 4.4-liter V8 engine under the hood and all-wheel drive pushing power to the four corners. It achieves 536 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque. The car's 48-volt mild-hybrid technology allows for quickness off the line with shifts achieved via the car's eight-speed automatic transmission.
The interior of the car has all the hallmarks of a modern BMW, but with some added flare. Ambient lighting is now displayed via a multi-faceted acrylic bar that runs across the dashboard and along the front doors. Rather than a single color or rainbow-like blend, the display features a complex combination of colors and movement.
A curved screen display on the dashboard groups together information for the driver and the center infotainment screen under one housing. A head-up display also features on the vehicle. This is the same setup and operating system as in the iX.
BMW offers a 31-inch rear entertainment screen as a $4,750 option on the 760i xDrive. It features 8K resolution and is able to stream 5G content in 4K. Amazon Fire 4K connectivity is possible.
Safety systems on the 7 Series are top-of-the-line for BMW's current lineup. This means that buyers get blind spot monitoring with assist, forward collision warning with mitigation assist, lane departure warning, and park distance control as standard. Additional advanced safety and driver assist technology is available.
The 2023 BMW 760i xDrive starts at $113,600.
2023 BMW 760i xDrive Review
In the world of full-size luxury sedans, if a buyer doesn't want to go all the way toward a Bentley or Rolls-Royce, they usually settle on a BMW 7 Series, Audi A8 or Mercedes-Benz S-Class. Over the last year, the Genesis G90 has entered the arena with a steeper price tag and more refined luxury offering. What it doesn't have is the power and prowess German-engineered cars tend to offer.
Setting the Genesis aside, does the new 7 Series stack up to the competition? Well, it sure tries. And, it tries with every trick it knows, much in the same way that Mercedes has done with its new EQS all-electric sedan.
The BMW 760i xDrive is the natural choice for buyers who don't give a hoot about fuel economy, but do love power. However, because the 7 Series is an elegant purchase, it doesn't have the throaty exhaust roar that makes a V8 so desirable over, say, an electric powertrain. Having BMW's 48-volt mild-hybrid system helps get it off the line in a more efficient and immediate manner, which is appreciated.
Like most other BMWs, the 760i xDrive minds its manners on the street. The all-wheel drive did a good job keeping it planted on the winding roads of Joshua Tree National Park, though the low-speed travel didn't present much of a challenge.
Where BMW sees its most impactful innovation in the 7 Series is in its interior.
Wide seats in the buyers choice of inoffensive and predictable leather colors provide all-day comfort while offering up ample support around corners without any pesky bolsters getting in the way, exactly as it should be in a 7 Series.
There's abundant passenger space, especially when opting for the Luxury Rear Seating Package, which provides multifunction, ventilated and massaging rear seats. The options of the $3,000 package are controlled by touch screens embedded on the door's armrests.
The straightforward functionality of these screens, and the way they are seamlessly integrated into the user experience in a positive way stands in stark contrast to the controls for BMW's audio, climate and navigation systems.
Issues with iDrive's latest iteration are well documented (too many complex screens that make it hard to use while driving being chief among them) and the user experience in the 7 Series falls victim to the system. So much relies on the system that there's no escaping the dreaded screen maze, no matter how hard someone may try.
While BMW does win points for having some buttons and a rotary dial on the center console that can be used for some drive mode functions and to assist in navigating the screen setup, adjusting the audio system and switching between menus, the process is far from seamless.
That being said, some of the touch points in the car do dive into new tech territory well. Below the vent outlets are open/close function points that allow a user to move their finger along a point to direct the vent without having to use a physical button or knob. This allows for a sleeker cabin look that's worlds better than Mercedes vents, and truly pushes design into the next era without having to dive deep into a screen to reposition like you do with some cars.
The car's available entertainment screen, which stretches about the width of the panoramic sunroof, attached to the car's roof just behind the front row seats, is, on one hand, a stunning experience for in-car entertainment. Picture quality and sound are top-notch.
On the other hand, the size and positioning of the screen isn't particularly well thought out (not that there's anywhere else to put it). Viewing videos must be done in either super widescreen format or have their sides blacked out. The positioning of the screen causes passengers to have to turn inward toward the center of the car, and look up at a strange angle for the best viewing from a traditional seated position.
So much about the BMW i7 and 760i xDrive are the same inside that choosing between the two comes down to drive experience. Switching from one to the other for test drives made it clear that the future of BMW is electric, and the company is well-positioned to move in that direction.
What makes it so clear is that BMW has established a driving signature for its electric vehicles in a way that BMW has not. The 760i xDrive already seems like a relic of the past. It's a fine relic, but a relic nonetheless. At only $6,000 more than the 760i xDrive, the decision is made even easier. The 7 Series to buy is the i7, plain and simple.
About the writer
Eileen Falkenberg-Hull leads the Autos team at Newsweek. She has written extensively about the auto industry for U.S. News & ... Read more