BMW 740i Quick Review

PLUS

• Decent power. Its 3.0-litre turbo six-cylinder engine breaks no sweat hurling the long sedan up the road.
• Cushy, comfortable ride. The 740i floats along like it’s on a small cloud…
• … yet its relatively light chassis (which is built with carbonfibre) and tricky suspension technology (the rear wheels turn into corners too) means the 740i also handles sharply.
• Its interior is predictably classy and a new benchmark for the brand. A new cabin design debuts in the BMW 7-Series and introduces a wide suite of new features while still feeling and looking familiar. The infotainment system is new, along with gesture command technology that allows you to control functions without touching a button.
• It’s just as sumptuous and high-tech in the back. Lower the middle backrest and you’ll find a 7-inch Samsung tablet nestled in the armrest. It’ll allow you to play with the cabin’s ecosystem and infotainment, and also able to be pulled from its dock and used as a regular tablet by switching to Android mode.

MINUS

• There’s so much tech inside you’ll need to set aside the time to learn how to operate everything. The infotainment system takes a while to warm to if you’re used to the standard system in less expensive BMWs, and the gesture command works better controlling some functions (volume) than others (switching tabs).
• Run-flat tyres spoil the ride around the city, adding a bite over tram tracks and edges.
• Although the standard rear seats are already beautifully comfortable, a set of heated, titling, and electric massage units will set you back $15K.
• Semi-autonomous driving technology, which comes standard and operates with the radar-controlled cruise control, sometimes misses lane markings and shouldn’t be trusted on even long corners.
• The transmission feels too keen to kick down. While cruising at highway speeds, it only takes a small prod of the throttle for it to drop gears and accelerate too hastily.

Click here to find out more about the BMW 740i.