Refreshed 7

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



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