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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 i7 xDrive60. To read our reviews of the BMW 760i xDrive, 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 i7 xDrive60 carries with it some of the same looks but adds squinty headlights and an elongated hood. Unlike its gasoline-powered counterparts, the i7 has lower front fascia that color-matches the hood and sides of the car.
Every i7 rides on 20-inch wheels, the color depends on whether or not a buyer checks the M Sport package box (a $0 option).
The new electric car has some features traditionally relegated to far more expensive models. 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 all-electric i7 is powered by a battery and electric motors setup that delivers 536 horsepower and 549 pound-feet of torque. Immediate power is available upon pushing the throttle, delivering the car from zero to 60 miles per hour (mph) in a zippy 4.5 seconds.
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 part of the Rear Luxury Executive Seat Package, a $7,250 option on the i7 xDrive60. 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 i7 xDrive60 starts at $119,300.
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.
Unlike the Mercedes in the EQS Sedan, BMW has harnessed its electric driving power and continued with its traditional driving signature at the same time. The i7 electric vehicle (EV) propelled itself up hills and down, around curves, and on straightaways surrounding Palm Springs, California with the vigor of a BMW V8, only smoother, quieter, and with instantaneous power upon a push of the accelerator.
The well-balanced weight of the i7 helps it stick to the road rather than holding it back. And, it adds to the driving appeal, giving the notion that the driver is inputting steering commands that require attentiveness rather than passive, zippy glide like you get in the EQS Sedan.
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 $600 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 iDrive 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.
The car has comfortable seats that can be wrapped in untraditional fabrics, like a cashmere blend that includes stitching usually reserved for leather giving a new tip toward modern, sustainable luxury.
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.
Buying the i7 over the EQS Sedan or similar gasoline-powered Audi is a no-brainer unless you're one to take the car on extended road trips that would require multiple recharging stops. For that, the upcoming PHEV from BMW may be a better fit.
The i7 excels on delivering what BMW drivers want and expect, albeit with some infotainment hiccups that were foreseen. This car should make BMW brand enthusiasts excited about what is to come from the company as it dips its toe deeper into the electric vehicle pool.
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