BMW 7 Series 730Ld: review

So with this new 7 Series, BMW is trying to go for a comfier, less rakish image. It doesn’t want to lose the dynamic appeal its brand carries – but it does want to stop letting that get in the way of the comfort-at-all-costs ride a man with a chauffeur expects.

Said man gets a lot of space. So does his chauffeur, actually, so everyone’s happy. There’s no end of Nappa-clad luxury, the seats feel like chaises longues from the Groucho Club and whether you want to check your stocks and shares, navigate your way to the ambassador’s residence or listen to your favourite Chaotic Dischord song the technology doing it for you is top-drawer.

Behind you are 515 litres of boot space, which should be more than enough for your diplomatic bags.

The vehicle tested here is the long-wheelbase model, designed very much with chauffeur driving in mind. But if you also want to take it out yourself at the weekend and have a blast, it’ll come along for the ride.

A gorgeous 3.0-litre diesel engine sees to that. It’s not brand new, but it’s the product of BMW’s continuous development work and it smoothes out its 262bhp and 457lb ft with immaculate finesse.

Behind it is the now-familiar eight-speed auto box, and they go together like peaches and cream.

So far, so comfy. Our test car even had the Executive Drive Pro system, which scans the road ahead and automatically presests the suspension to a softer mode if you’re about to hit a big blemish. And on a fast motorway cruise, you could be floating on a cloud.

The suspension in question features self-levelling air springs and adaptive shocks, the idea being to dish up the best of both worlds. BMW needs the 7 Series to ride like a Merc – while still handling like a BMW.

And it does – but only to a point. The problem comes when you ask it to deal with the sort of road surfaces us Brits are all too used to. We found too many bumps that ruffled its feathers, upsetting the poise of its suspension and sending their evil presence up through the bottoms of the rear-seat passengers who’ve paid strong money not to have to deal with such matters.

Back to the weekend, though. When you select Sport mode, it’s not just the dampers that firm up. Steering feel increases too, and even with its extended wheelbase the vehicle does a good job of defying its proportions in corners.

It doesn’t affix itself directly to your brain, though. In a car of this nature, there will always be a sea of electronic and mechanical systems between your fingertips and what the wheels are up to on the road, and it doesn’t do a good enough job of disguising them. It doesn’t do anything badly – but you do wish it would just open up and let you in.

Back in the cabin, further evidence that this is a car designed mainly for relaxing in comes from the gesture control interface for the iDrive system. If actually touching the dial is too much like hard work, now you just need to give it a lazy wave.

If that’s not enough, from the middle of next year you’ll also be able to specify a front passenger’s seat that rotates and folds out into a footrest. With your rear seat fully reclined, it’ll be about as close as you can get to being in bed.

It’s easy to roll your eyes at features like this, but they go together to make the new 7 Series a genuinely brilliant luxury car. It’s classy, sumptuous and refined beyond description – and, as a bonus, it’s cheaper to buy and keep in fuel than a comparable S-Class.

Our only nagging concern is that the people who will buy this car are used to being masters of all they survey. And superlative though it is in so many ways, the 7 Series is not, quite, the master of all it drives upon.

BMW 730Ld

Engine size: 3.0-litre diesel

Price from: £64,530

Power: 262bhp

Torque: 457lb ft

0-62mph: 6.1 seconds

Top speed: 155mph

Fuel economy: 60.1mpg

CO2: 124g/km

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