BMW 750i Review New Zealand
Austrian Psychotherapist Alfred W Alder was the founder of the school of Individual Psychology and focused on humans feelings of inferiority. Among his list of achievements and contributions to the medical world; he coined the phrases ‘Inferiority complex’ (a lack of self worth, self doubt or uncertainty) and ‘Superiority Complex’ a psychological defense mechanism in which an attitude of superiority and ‘showing off’ belies actual feelings of inferiority and failure – The latter being what I felt when I slipped in to the driver’s seat of the new BMW 7 series 750i.
This plus 5m in length; luxury near limousine style sedan is definitely a kerbside statement. It shouts out premium class driving and looks like it should be parked outside plus 5 star accommodations. It has a style that flows and yet a presence that looks stoic. For the first time BMW have (strategically) used carbon fibre throughout the 7’s body, making stronger and yet lighter – increased fuel economy and greater driving stability – I’m not so sure you need the ‘Carbon Core’ badge on the door strut to remind you though.
The Driver’s seat really is command central, the have virtually everything you need at your fingertips and with ‘Gesture control’ you hardly even need that. Gesture Control is basically an unnecessary feature that you can’t stop using. It can be set up for multiple uses but I’ll explain its use under the music section. With your arm resting on the centre console, a simple twirl of your index finger will increase or decrease the volume and a ‘V’ shaped stab will change the track – yes you can reach the controls on the wheel or the infotainment system but there is something intoxicating about doing it just by a gesture. Like I said, unnecessary but you’ll want to do it – A lot.
The cabin is refined and full of high gloss materials but it’s the little touches that made the difference to me. Leather backing to the gear paddles may not sound like much but believe me when I say you will notice it. Slip into the back seat Executive lounge and you immediately feel under-dressed (well I did anyway). You get the sense that you should be wearing a big brand named suit or something by an exclusive designer – rather than something from the Mall. Luxurious leather surrounds you and you are filled with the illusion (or in my case delusion) of power. You can control the front passenger seat (should you require more space or just want to be annoying), you have BMW’s touch command centre in the armrest – watch TV, adjust the temperature, mess with the infotainment all from your removable tablet. Or switch it all off and look up through the Panoramic glass roof and bask in the ambiance of its 15,000 light elements.
At night things come even more alive. The Bowers and Wilkins stereo pumps its beautifully warm sound through illuminated speakers (the tweeters near the side view mirrors have a flower effect) and down dark country lanes the cars Laser lights take full effect – 600 metres of near daylight (vs 300m for LED).
The 750i has a 4.4L twin turbo V8 that effortlessly delivers 332kW’s of power and over 650Nm of torque, it gets you to 100kph in under 5 seconds and gets you over that with barely a feather touch of the accelerator – and it does all of this with hardly a sound. There is no ferocity just a simple ‘you asked for power so here it is – fait accompli’ approach, it’s delicious.
A couple of months ago I spent some time giving it an enthusiastic drive through NZ’s Northland, so I am perfectly aware of what this big car is capable of, it is a lot of fun on the open road. But one thing I would say is that (with lane keep option on) it has an adversity to crossing over white lines and will fight you to stay where you are – make sure you indicate when overtaking.
The BMW 7 series is elegant and self assured, it is a confident driving machine that is more than capable of backing up all that it says on the packet. So when I say I got behind the wheel of BMW’s new 7 Series and the term ‘Superiority Complex’ sprung to mind – I was Not thinking about the car – I was of course referring to me!
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