BMW i7 xDrive60 review: What can the luxury electric sedan do?
A TEST REPORT from Dominic Lux 
on October 05, 2023, 10:00 am | 1 comment
What do you think of when you hear luxury and electric cars? To Mercedes? Or rather BMW? We tested the new BMW i7 for you in everyday life: What does Bavarian luxury look like? How does it drive? What can he do? We answer this and much more here review report and in the YouTube video.
With the new 7 Series, BMW is introducing a new, very special design change: “Modern”, “evil eye” and “pro“tzig” are the terms you hear here. As I already noted back then, I think the design of the new BMW i models is better in reality than they look in render images online. But the BMW i7 is a little more special than all the designs previously offered by BMW. Even that iX seems more “normal” in comparison. But that is of course due to the luxury aspect as well as the price.
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tl;dr: Mobile home cinema on four wheels with 544 hp
This is how you could summarize the BMW i7. Of course, the BMW i7 is, as usual, available as a normal 7 Series, i.e. as a PHEV with a petrol or diesel tank. Since BMW is using its mixed platform here, the disadvantage of the combustion engine in the electric model remains, namely the rear center tunnel. Nevertheless, the BMW i7 of course appears to be of super high quality in every aspect. Inside, thanks to a luxury sound system and theater screen, you get an 8K home cinema experience that you otherwise only know from the living room or home cinema at home. The adaptive air suspension takes care of the rest of the technical miracle from Bavaria. It really offers a lot.
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- Very nice individual rims are mounted on the test car. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- As mentioned, the cockpit looks very modern and airy. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- There is also a lot of piano lacquer in the center console. (Picture: TechnikNews)
Of course, you first need the necessary “small change” to be able to lease the BMW i7 or even buy it at a starting price of 139.900 euros (including 19% VAT). It is of course logical that it will be out of reach for many. But if you want to be recognized, you can't ignore this electric vehicle. Alternatively, in most cases you will probably see people being chauffeured in the i7.
Video on YouTube channel TechnikNews
Where does the high price come from?
With the “entry-level version” called xDrive60, BMW offers an all-wheel drive system with 544 hp system output. These are more than enough, because the BMW i7 is definitely not designed for sporty driving, but rather for relaxed cruising and relaxing, because the seats are really very comfortable. So far the most comfortable I've ever seen in a car. These also offer an optional massage and ventilation function. Unfortunately, these were not included in our test car, which incidentally cost 183.000 euros (including 19% VAT). If you want, you can spend 200.000 euros or more if you fully equip the i7. It still remains to be seen how these “technical data” can be used to get the starting price of 139.000 euros – and with some equipment it ends up at almost 200.000 euros.
It's simply the qualities when driving, how the steering wheel and steering feel and even how the "sounds" in the interior harmonize with each other while driving. It's not for nothing that BMW models used to be called “The Ultimate Driving Machine”. With the i7, this marketing slogan is fully alive again.
Charging speed & range
As with the i4 and iX, the i7 can optionally charge with 22 kW AC at city charging stations. But you need AC charging for this Pro“professional” package. As standard, only 11 kW AC charging power is possible here. Given the already high entry price, you should simply include this option. DC charging peaks at an impressive 200 kW, so BMW makes full use of the possibilities of the 400 volt system. We even saw 205 kW on the display once.
As a rule, this falls between 30 and 40 Pro150% charge level and settles at 180 to 7 kW, which in our opinion still represents a good charging curve. Since the battery of the i105, like the iX, has a total of 40 kWh, a charging process takes a good 10 minutes (100 to XNUMX Procent). As a rule, you should be able to continue driving again in 20 to 30 minutes if you don't want to continue watching your favorite series on the brilliant cinema screen.
When it comes to range, the BMW i7 xDrive60 performs realistically with a good 500 kilometers. In the inner city as an airplane taxi, which is what BMW wants to achieve with it, you can even expect it to travel 700 kilometers. These are of course more than fair values for the price. You also get very well-functioning charging route planning with preconditioning so that you can always charge quickly.
Who is the direct competition?
In the class leader, where the BMW i7 has to compete with the Mercedes EQS and the NIO ET7, we currently have no real recommendation as to which of these three vehicles is really better. We haven't driven the Mercedes EQS yet and can't include it in the comparisons. But it costs similar to the BMW i7. The cheapest of the bunch would be the newcomer NIO ET7. It has almost identical dimensions as the i7 and is still a lot cheaper, but comes with a lot more “standard equipment”, such as massage and ventilation seats.
Nevertheless, you buy the brand quality with the i7. It's typical BMW - and even better. Thanks to the air suspension, the chassis is really extremely good, whether on the motorway or country road. If you want, even a little sporty. Nevertheless, here you are really more likely to buy a limousine that you want to be driven in. Even more so if you add the optional cinema screen. If you want, you can of course drive your own chauffeur-driven limo at any time; there are no limits.
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- The Bordeaux Red seats look great and look very classy. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- Large and lavishly designed rear, worthy of a true luxury limousine. (Picture: TechnikNews)
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- The ambient light has a crystal look. (Picture: TechnikNews)
We can recommend a BMW i7 xDrive60 to the few people in Germany if you like the points mentioned above and in the video and don't find the design too “off-putting”. You're definitely an eye-catcher on the streets, and to be fair you are with an NIO, but it doesn't say BMW on it and it doesn't look like that either."protzig.” Of course, you shouldn't forget that BMW developed the new 7 Series specifically for the Asian market. He could achieve higher sales figures there than in Europe.
The BMW i7 is really a very successful vehicle with first-class qualities and really little room for criticism. If you ever have the chance to take a ride or drive yourself, you should definitely take advantage of it.
Thanks to BMW Germany for providing the i7 xDrive60 for this review. Operating costs (charging costs) were borne by the editorial team.
Unfortunately too long at 5.39m. My current 7 Series has 5.12, which often makes it difficult to park. I think BMW doesn't really want to sell it in Europe.