BMW i7 review

The car adopts height-adjustable air suspension, with adaptive dampers, as standard – something of a departure for a saloon that has hitherto stuck with steel coils as a default option. It is offered in de-facto long-wheelbase form only, and has also grown by around 50mm in terms of both overall width and height compared with the old G11/G12 version, the car’s front axle showing a matching increase in track width. Integral Active four-wheel steering is technology offered as an option on most versions, as are Executive Drive active anti-roll bars. Our test car had both.

The all-electric i7 xDrive60 is powered by a pair of electrically excited drive motors, the more powerful at the rear. They combine to create 536bhp and 549lb ft – enough to shade a non-AMG-branded Mercedes EQS, but a way off Tesla Plaid territory. They draw power from an under-floor drive battery of 101.7kWh of usable capacity, which the equivalent EQS trumps but a Genesis Electrified G80 doesn’t really approach.

Those in need of the most extroverted, powerful i7 money can buy will gravitate towards the M70. It uses a new, six-phase electric motor at the rear axle, which BMW claims is both more efficient and power-dense than using two separate motors. It takes the M70's total output to 651bhp and an ample 811lb ft of torque, and 'M Performance' revisions have been made to calibration of the damping, rear-steering, active anti-roll bar, by-brake torque vectoring and, of course, the character of the torque-split between the axles. 

There’s little heave or sway about the car’s body even when driven fairly hard, and little undamped or unsupported movement. The i7 is always isolated, always comfortable, but neat and precise too; seldom loose, never wallowing. The modern limousine just as a great many might want to find it.

Those craving a marginally more engaging i7 driving experience will get that from the M70. However, it's important to note that targeted revisions to the car's chassis and electronics, along with a set of 'lightweight' M-specific alloy wheels, do not transform this 2.6-ton limousine into something you could reasonably describe as a super-saloon. 

Nevertheless, in it's sportier driving modes, which is where the M70's alterations come to the fore, it cuts a remarkably controlled and balanced figure on roads that should, by all rights, put the i7 well out of its comfort zone. Few will ever need their i7 to be so proficient cross-country, but as ever, it's nice to know the ability is there.

Comfort and isolation

The i7 is offered with alloy wheels of between 19in and 21in in diameter. Ours ran on 21s, and conventional rather than run-flat tyres. Clearly, you could order a car in a more optimal specification if you wanted to minimise road noise and maximise ride isolation – as well as cutting rolling resistance and boosting real-world electric range, which we will come to shortly.

Yet our test car kept surface roar very well filtered. The axles can fidget and fuss – just a little but perceptibly enough – over broken edges, giving enough room to question whether one or two super-luxury rivals might offer better low-speed compliance. But these moments are rare. In terms of settled touring comfort, few luxury operators do it better than this – perhaps because the slightly taut edge of the i7’s suspension tuning so effectively prevents longer-wave body movement at a fast cruise.

A little wind noise can present itself, but hardly enough to mention. The i7 registered 63dBA of overall in-cabin noise at a 70mph motorway cruise: three decibels less than the Range Rover Sport D300 we tested last year (which itself won praise for its cabin isolation), although three decibels noisier than the Rolls-Royce Phantom tested in 2018.

Assisted Driving

BMW fits its Driving Assistant pack to the 7 Series and i7 as standard, including an AEB crash mitigation system with both pedestrian and cyclist detection, which also monitors traffic at a junction. A manual speed limit detection and assist system also come as part of the car’s standard cruise control offering, and likewise a lane departure warning system. Our car had the Driving Assistant Professional option (£1500), bringing BMW’s full suite of driver assistance systems (also including active lane keeping and auto speed limit assist).

The level-two assisted driving features work well on the motorway, helping you stay in the centre of the lane but not fighting for control. The AEB system avoided unnecessary activations during our testing, and the speed limit assist system recognised most posted limits, getting caught out only once or twice by speed limit indication signs on nearby lorries.