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The BMW i7 is the first all-electric version of the BMW 7 Series, and what a car to come out of the gates with. It’s one of the best luxury cars on sale, and the performance and refinement of its electric drivetrains only contributes to that.
The driving experience, technology, and quality are the i7’s main highlights. Price was a downside when new, but that is sure to change as more models find their way onto the used market.
There aren’t many true electric luxury cars as yet - in the UK, the only others that really fit the bill are the Rolls-Royce Spectre, which is three times the price of a new i7, and the Mercedes-Benz EQS. The latter plays to different strengths from the BMW i7, but is worth a look if you’re considering electric power for your next luxury car.
If you want the best luxury electric car on the market right now, then short of the incredibly expensive Rolls-Royce Spectre, the BMW i7 is the one to have. Incredibly comfortable, packed with technology and suitably imposing, it’s everything you’d hope for from a luxury EV.
That’s if you can get on with the styling of course, as we know the i7 isn’t to all tastes, but the traditional three-box silhouette has enormous presence to go with its substantial size, and it liberates huge space inside - it’s hard to imagine anyone tall enough to not get comfortable in the rear seats, and things are just as good for the driver and front passenger, with some of the most comfortable seats ever installed in a car.
The driving environment is high-tech but also tasteful too, though the trend for touch-based controls hasn’t escaped the i7, so you (or your chauffeur) will have to deal with sometimes fiddly minor functions. Quality though is up with the best, and some of the features - like the 31.3-inch Theatre Screen for rear seat passengers - are spectacular.
To bring Rolls-Royce up again, that’s how the 7 Series feels to drive - it really is a car from a class above even compared to the usual high 7 Series standards. It’s incredibly isolating, but can move when you need it to, both in corners and in a straight line. An enormous battery pack ensures decent range too.
The i7’s closest rival is the Mercedes-Benz EQS, which has some of its own spectacular luxury and technological features. Its styling is likely to be similarly divisive to the BMW, but it does have a range advantage. Otherwise, your only other real alternatives are existing combustion luxury cars such as the Audi A8, Mercedes S-Class, and the regular BMW 7 Series.
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In the past, opting for the entry-level in a car’s lineup might have resulted in some kind of compromise - even on a BMW 7 Series, you’d have got a six-cylinder engine rather than eight or twelve. But with the i7, an eDrive50 is just as refined as an xDrive60 or an M70, and while it’s not quite as quick, we suspect most buyers would be more than happy with a 0-62mph time in the five second range, and range is in the same ballpark as the more expensive xDrive60 too.
The situation changes a little with trim levels, as the M70 does get the fanciest kit, though keep an eye out for cars where the original owner might have ticked a few option boxes, as cars like the i7 rarely leave the factory in their most basic form.
BMW has so far offered three trim levels on the i7, with Excellence and M Sport available for both the eDrive50 and xDrive60 drivetrains, and the M70 getting its own trim level. Equipment levels are as you’d expect on a high-end luxury car - for avoidance of doubt, we’ve not even listed more obvious items below like climate control and BMW’s latest infotainment setups, but rest assured it has them - while the M70 adds BMW’s latest high-tech chassis dynamics features too, such as active anti-roll and four-wheel steering.
The BMW i7’s dimensions are:
The BMW i7’s boot size is:
The BMW i7 might be a luxury car but it has the VED tax bill of the smallest electric supermini: zero. You’ll still get a reminder through the post as you would for any car, but as yet there’s no cost to tax any EV.
No surprises here, as each and every BMW i7 falls into the maximum insurance group rating of 50. There will still be differences between models when it comes to your premium, but by and large insurance costs should be much the same as other luxury vehicles and large EVs.
Read our full BMW i7 review