BMW's Fantastic Flagship

(page 2 of 2)

The 750Li is rated to get 17 mpg in the city and 25 on the highway, as does the 750i, and uses premium gasoline. In 355 miles of mixed driving, I got 19 mpg.

The 7-Series hasn't exactly been burning up the track this year when it comes to sales. Overall 7-Series sales fell 28.6%, to 4,864, in the first quarter of this year.

Sales of the 750Li, the biggest seller in the lineup, dropped 31.2%, to 2,528 units, during the quarter. Then again, that's par for the course for the entire luxury car segment, which is in the doldrums (see BusinessWeek.com, 4/10/07, "Luxury Cars Losing Luster?").

Behind the Wheel

The 750Li won me over in the first 10 minutes I drove it. The car offers a perfect balance between luxury and performance.

The ride is incredibly smooth, even on washboard-rough country roads. I directed it into every pothole I could find on the back roads around my home in rural Pennsylvania, and the suspension ate up every bump. The front wheels would dive into a big hole in the road, and I wouldn't feel a thing inside the car.

On smoother roads and out on the freeway, the 750Li handles exceptionally well for a full-size luxury sedan. I whipped the car as hard as I could, accelerating into curves on rain-soaked back roads and weaving in and out of traffic on the way into New York City. I always felt absolute confidence that I could accelerate, brake, or steer out of any dicey situation I found myself in.

The V8 is powerful enough to make this car highly athletic. The standard six-speed automatic transmission never seems to hunt for the right gear.

There's a manual shifting mode that's different from the ones in other BMW's I've driven. You up- and down-shift by pushing either of two small, dainty-looking buttons on the steering wheel, and by reaching around with your fingers and depressing hidden buttons on the back of the steering wheel.

The 750Li weighs 4,553 lbs, 67 lbs more than the shorter 450i, yet there's no indication that the extra length and weight inhibit performance. BMW says both models will accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds, as opposed to 5.4 seconds in the 760Li. I consistently got times of about 6 seconds in my 750Li test car.

One of the 750Li's strongest features is the spaciousness of its cabin. Up front, there's plenty of leg, shoulder, and head space, and the car's extra length all goes into added space in the back seats. Rear leg space is rated at a substantial 43.4 inches—more than 6 inches greater than in the 750i, and an inch or more greater than in the Mercedes, Audi, and Jag (Lexus doesn't publish legroom stats for the 460L).

The leather-and-wood trim in my test BMW were impeccably made. The manual controls are tasteful and intuitive to use. The shifter, parking brake, and starter are all electronic, and work via push-buttons and a stumpy little shift lever on the steering wheel.

You'd think 20-way power seats would be too complicated, but the seats are easy to adjust using controls mounted on the sides of the center console. The trunk lid is power operated and—wonder of wonders—actually works when you push the button on the key fob. On many luxury cars I've driven, you have to push the button over and over again to get the trunk to open.

It has been said many times before, but the big negative about the 7-Series remains the complicated iDrive electronic control system that integrates the control of numerous functions in a single big knob on the center console. If you get into the car without studying the owner's manual, you find yourself spending many minutes figuring out how to do simple tasks such as changing the channel on the radio or working the trip computer.

The iDrive system is handy once you learn how to use it, but it takes a lot of patience to get over that hump. BMW has added buttons that allow you to, say, change channels on the radio the old-fashioned way. But the system is still far too aggravating.

Buy It Or Bag It?

Of the 7-Series' three trim levels, the 750Li offers by far the best value, in my opinion. The extra space versus the 750i is worth the additional three grand it costs, and the extra length doesn't seem to affect performance or fuel economy. I can't see any reason to pay a huge premium to get the 760Li, which is only marginally faster and has lower gas mileage.

Keep in mind that the price of the Bimmer can easily approach $100,000 if you start loading up on options. A key decision is whether or not you take the $11,000 Individual Composition package. Skipping it, obviously, will help keep the 750Li's price from soaring.

Of the competing models, the Mercedes S550 probably comes closest to matching the BMW in terms of sexiness and class. It's beautifully designed and has a bigger engine (a 5.5 liter, 382-horsepower V8) than the Bimmer. But its $85,525 base price is seven grand higher than the 750Li's, and its ride is cushier. It doesn't have the handling and road feel of the BMW.

The BMW's other main rivals are all cheaper. In dollar terms, the toughest competition is the Lexus 460L, the longer version of Lexus' flagship luxury sedan. It starts out at $71,715 and ends up costing a lot less when you factor in how pricey BMW's options are. It's a great car, but it seems uninspiring after you've spent a few minutes behind the wheel of the Bimmer. Another alternative is the long-body version of the XJ-8, Jaguar's top luxury sedan, which starts at $67,750.

The Audi A8 L Quattro starts at $73,520. It has sporty, Germany-style handling and all-wheel drive at a base price that's six grand lower than the Bimmer's (see BusinessWeek.com, 9/22/06, "Audi A8: Autobahn Burner").

All I can say is that I've driven all those cars, and liked them. But after 10 minutes behind the wheel of the 750Li, the Bimmer had become my favorite.

Click here to see more of the 2007 BMW 750Li.

Thane Peterson reviews cars for BusinessWeek.com.