Oh dear - I've just ordered one for delivery in early May too.

Still, I never did believe everything I read in the press. I used to drive a
Cadillac Seville STS which I loved but the UK press & people like Clarkson
slated it.

Everyone needs to make their own mind up. I had a 2003 E65 & found it a very
comfortable car to drive over long distances. Looking forward to May


"Dori A Schmetterling" > wrote in message
...
> One of the Sunday Times UK motoring journalists, Andrew Frankel, rated
> himself not a fan of the updated BMW 7 despite the many improvements and
his
> love of the 3 and 5.
>
> He still thinks that the Merc S-Class does luxury saloons/sedans the best.
>
> http://driving.timesonline.co.uk/art...510977,00.html
>
> Copy text below my intials.
>
> DAS
>
> BMW 7-series
> By Andrew Frankel of The Sunday Times
> You asked for it, Fritz
>
>
>
> There's a rather simple but devastating ruse almost all car
> manufacturers employ to encourage people like me to write nice things
about
> their products. After flying us in great comfort to somewhere warm and
> inviting, giving us a few hours at the wheel and then wining and dining us
> at some fabulous hotel, someone will always produce the Killer Question:
> "So, what did you think of our car?" You have about two seconds to
formulate
> your response. Muttering something inaudible into your double Laphroaig
will
> result only in the question being repeated; while staring gimlet-eyed at
> your interrogator and saying that you would rather take the bus back to
the
> airport is tempting but impractical. But answer you must and by far the
> easiest option is to shrug and say "Oh, pretty good" in as non-committal a
> way as you can.
> And then they've got you. If you write anything else, you
appear
> at best inconsistent, at worst plain mendacious.
>
> I wrestled with this one as I drove BMW's new 7-series across
> 150 miles of pristine Andalusian countryside, discovering yet again that
the
> company that makes the M5 - the best car I drove last year - has failed to
> channel this talent into making a truly convincing luxury saloon.
>
>
>
> BMW has worked hard on the 7-series to bring about this
> comprehensive midlife update, cleaning up its once dubious looks, working
on
> its suspension and the infamous iDrive operating system and installing a
new
> range of scintillatingly powerful engines under the bonnet. And, as I said
> to the first BMW man who asked the Killer Question that evening, the whole
> is much improved.
>
> This should surprise no one. Not only has BMW had four years
to
> raise its flagship's standards, but the bar was, in my view, not high to
> begin with.
>
> So here are my criticisms: the car's ride quality is still not
> good enough, there's too much wind noise in the back, the iDrive remains a
> nonsense and the driving position is too high for me. These specific
faults
> merely support the altogether more subjective concern that the 7-series
> still does not feel like a truly luxurious car.
>
> Sure, it comes dripping in wood and leather and there's
> reasonable (if not exceptional) room in the back, but I could say as much
> about a Peugeot 607. To me, the truly luxurious car of the 21st century is
> one that makes every journey an occasion, one that makes you feel
privileged
> simply to be on board. It's a feeling I get every time I drive a Mercedes
> S-class, Audi A8 or Jaguar XJ. And it's a feeling I've never yet had in a
> 7-series.
>
> Even the car I tested, the £59,700 750i - which boasts a truly
> wondrous 4.8 litre, 362bhp motor and will go around corners at speeds many
> sports cars would find hard to follow - fails in this most important
regard.
> It's not sleekly beautiful like the Merc or Audi, nor, for all its sheer
> grip and raw speed, does it talk to its driver on the open road like the
> Jag.
>
> The second man to ask me the Killer Question got a eulogy on
how
> powerful and responsive I found the new motor, and with a 0-62mph time of
> 5.9sec and a top speed that would crack 170mph were it not restricted, I
> told no lies. What I didn't mention was that the car still felt like a
> conventional saloon that has been at the steroids to bulk it up and
provide
> more power.
>
> Above all, it creates the impression that BMW's innate
> understanding of what makes a car stand out in any given class - and what
> makes the 3-series and the 5-series the best cars in their respective
> categories - has gone missing at this level. The exterior may no longer be
> ugly but it's still some distance from being attractive - let alone
> beautiful - while the cabin, instead of standing as the crowning
achievement
> of BMW's interior designers, is the least pleasing of all its model
ranges.
>
> And after two days and many hours on board, including quite a
> few in the passenger seat with nothing better to do than fiddle with the
> controls, I still could not get my head around the allegedly simplified
> iDrive system that, via the medium of a single rotary dial, controls
> everything from the heating to the navigation, the radio to the suspension
> settings.
>
> One engineer was kind enough to imply that this inability said
> more about me than the car, so I referred him to Audi's MMI system, which
> does the same job but does it in such an intuitive way that even a dunce
> like me can figure it out in minutes.
>
> Yet despite it all, I can still see why a certain type of
> customer would find the prospect of 7-series ownership enticing. It's
still
> an exceptionally well-engineered car, and to someone who has come up
through
> the BMW ranks and expects BMW-style performance and handling, it feels
like
> they would expect it to: just like a very big 3-series or 5-series.
>
> I had decided I was not a 7-series person long before someone
> was unlucky enough to be the third person to ask me the Killer Question.
> "Are you a fan?" he inquired politely. This time I didn't need my two
> seconds of thinking time. I simply said "No" and left it at that.
>
> Vital statistics
>
> Model BMW 750i
> Engine type V8, 4799cc
> Power/torque 362bhp @ 6300rpm / 361 lb ft @ 3400rpm
> Transmission Six-speed automatic
> Fuel/CO2 24.8mpg (combined) / 271g/km
> Performance 0-62mph: 5.9sec / Top speed: 155mph (limited)
> Price £59,700
> Verdict A big sports saloon, not a true luxury car
> Rating 2/5
>
> The opposition
>
> Model Jaguar XJR, £60,970
> For Excellent performance, ride, handling and build
> Against Looks far too traditional and boring
>
> Model Mercedes-Benz S500, £63,910
> For Still the best luxury, looks, comfort, and strong
> second-hand value
> Against Showing its age, particularly on the inside
>
>
>
> For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling
> ---
>
>
>