Befitting the flagship sedan for the performance luxury manufacturer BMW, the 760i, which has a price tag that hovers around $100,000, looks like a world-class athlete on the outside and rides with a Ritz-Carlton level of sophistication and comfort inside.
My tester was an upgrade to the V12, which delivers 0-60 in 5.4 seconds. This kind of horsepower usually is enough to get the lead in any review I might do, but I have to admit it was the interior cabin that stole the show for me. So, with all due respect to the aforementioned V12 power, I respectively start the review inside, where leather and wood trim and technology come together to deliver the interior equivalent of 0-60 in 5.4 seconds.
The first thing that strikes you as you enter the interior of the 760i is the roominess. For driver and front passenger, you have access to amazing comfort and an abundance of legroom. Power adjustments are infinite and tinkering with the settings is addictive until you find the perfect setting. The leather was rich and refined.
Given the amount of technology and the sheer power under the hood, you might expect the dash to reflect that, but thankfully, it is not overly distracting, nor is it hard to gauge at a moments notice. On the other hand, the gearshift, a small flipper stalk off the steering column, was probably the hardest part of driving the car to adjust to. It was not intuitive, but like most repetitive actions, after a while you grow accustomed to the function.
Rear-seat legroom is in the "extraordinary" class. If you happen to be a rear seat passenger, you may find yourself surrounded by uncommon options such as TV screens in the back of the front headrests; a Cool-box (not quite a refrigerator) in the console between the back seats and heated and ventilated seats with individual climate control. At this stage the only thing missing is a chauffeur.
If there have been any darts thrown at this amazing vehicle, they have come from the exterior design and the drive control system. As someone who was lukewarm at the introduction of the Chris-Bangle-inspired design, I have crossed over to the 'other side' and now embrace the change. As for the drive system, I still cannot get my enthusiasm up for such a distracting mechanism. The drive system, a round knob in the center console which utilizes shifting and turning motions to control everything from the audio and climate settings to the phone and navigation system, becomes more intuitive the more you use it. I think it feels a lot like using an iPod. After a week of struggles, I found it still far too distracting from my driving focus to endorse.
I had the privilege of taking the 760i on a road trip from Chicago to Baraboo Wisconsin, a 3-hour trip at highway speeds which brought out the very best of the sedan. This is what the 760i does best, long stretches of open road with gentle winding turns and twists that serve to remind you that you are ina car--not on an airplane.
The six-liter V-12 delivers big numbers: 438 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 444 pound-feet of torque at 3950 rpm. The 6-speed automatic transmission is butter smooth and barely recognizable even in city navigating.
At 15 city and 23 highway, Exxon should be underwriting the BMW 760i's advertising costs. As gas gas prices increase (gas-guzzler tax of $1,700 not forgotten) operating a 760i is for the very rich.
With four versions of the 7-Series in BMW's stable, all of which offer amazing performance and luxury amenities, you cannot go wrong with the lowly (wink-wink) $71,800 entry or the high-end $118,900 Li. Those prices do not include some great option packages or taxes, but they do reflect the uncompromising level of refinement BMW delivers. |
