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HIGH ROAD
JOURNEYS
HIGH ROAD Magnificent SEVEN
BMW’S 2023 ALL-ELECTRIC I7 FLAGSHIP SETS A NEW BENCHMARK FOR AUTOMOBILE LUXURY
BY HOWARD WALKER
It’s time to recalibrate how we think about luxury cars. No longer is it about purring 12-cylinder engines, smooth-shifting 10-speed automatics, and having more leather than a Hermès boutique. All you’ll need is one drive in the 2023 all-electric BMW i7 to know that the luxury automobile rule book has not only been torn up, but it’s been unceremoniously tossed in the dumpster too.
This is the new benchmark in passenger car refinement, ride smoothness, and interior comfort. Did I mention the jaw-dropping 31-inch Theater Screen? At the tap of a button, this mega-monitor folds down out of a recess in the roof lining. It can stream your favorite programs courtesy of Amazon Fire TV connectivity, playing through the car’s 655-watt, 18-speaker Bowers & Wilkins surround sound.
Want a true IMAX experience? Opt for the B&W Diamond system and get 36 speakers, 1,965 watts of power, and integrated seat-back “exciters” that jiggle your spine in time with every cinematic explosion, earthquake, and train wreck. And to really feel like you’re inside a Gulfstream G500 biz jet, check the box for the Executive Lounge package to receive the most complex passenger front seat ever installed in a vehicle. It slides and tilts like some contouring Transformer, reclining to 42.5 degrees and producing a footrest to support those weary dogs.
This i7 (or i7 xDrive60, to give the car its full title) is the flagship of an improved BMW 7-series lineup that includes a V8-powered 760i and an upcoming plug-in hybrid version. But it’s this new electrified i7 that is going to fire up the imaginations of potential buyers the world over. Much of that will come down to its remarkable electric power train. Using similar hardware that debuted in the iX compact electric SUV, it packs a combined 536 hp and stump-pulling 549 lb-ft of torque from electric motors in the front and rear. This nearly 6,000-pound
leviathan can catapult from standstill to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds, and it won’t stop accelerating until it hits the electronic limiter at 130 mph.
Tucked away beneath the fl oor, the i7’s lithiumion battery provides 101.7 kWh of useable energy. Need to get to grandma’s house in a hurry? The EPA gives the car an offi cial range estimate of 318 miles, though fi nd yourself a 195-kW DC fast charger and you should be able to add 80 miles of range in 10 minutes—just long enough to check emails and sip a latte. And BMW is providing owners with three years of unlimited charging sessions at Electrify America stations.
But this new i7 isn’t just any straight-line rocket ship; it’s also a remarkable thing to pilot when the road turns curvy. A mix of standard air springs, adjustable dampers at all four corners, and a half-ton battery pack mounted low makes for near perfectly fl at cornering. Add to all that gloriously precise steering, leech-like grip from 21-inch rubber fi tted to our tester, and brakes that can stop time. For a car that stretches 212 inches bow to stern—the same as a Cadillac Escalade—the i7 is amazingly fun to drive.
Those in the front can ogle the i7’s curved glass display, which sprawls across 27 inches and looks more like a piece of art fl oating on
POWER FILE
PRICE: FROM $120,295 ENGINE: TWIN ELECTRIC MOTORS POWER: 536 HP TORQUE: 549 LB-FT RANGE: UP TO 318 MILES 0-60: 4.5 SECONDS TOP SPEED: 130 MPH LENGTH/ WIDTH: 212/77 INCHES WEIGHT: 5,917 POUNDS WHY WE LOVE IT: BECAUSE LUXURY IN A LIMOUSINE LIKE THIS HAS NEVER BEEN SO ELECTRIFYING.
its slender brackets. But regardless of where you sit, the i7 is a spectacular place to spend a journey. And while leather is certainly available, there’s also a gorgeous steely-gray, cashmere-wool fabric you won’t be able to pass up. With all this style and substance, the new i7 is certainly a deal at $120,295. However, in typical BMW fashion, all those irresistible options jack up the fi nal price. Our loaded test car topped out at $156,595. But as arguably the Ultimate Electric Driving Machine, it sets a lofty new standard that others will fi nd hard to beat. «
OUR DOCTORS
Jaime Landman, MD • Zevy Landman, MD • Philip C. Mirmelli, MD Kfir Shamir, MD • Barry J. Mark, MD • Stacy M. Nassau, MD Ornella Papadias Feria, MD • Jose E. Rojas Camayo, MD
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