Recently on ignition gt we spent time with a head designer gaining insight into the fascinating world of car design we’re talking incredibly creative bunch that are driven by a hunger for originality and inspired by fresh ideas but then you look at the current crop of luxury cars that then you kind of wonder what happened to all that originality and fresh thinking
This big grill fixation makes it feel less like design and more like a collaboration of cut-and-paste plagiarists well the new face of this design inspiration has been launched here in south africa bmws xm we’re looking at the conversation starter with bmws x7 the biggest kidney grill ever on a bmw and clearly judging bhama opening link i’m not a fan of this
New big grill approach that manufacturers have adopted but can i tell you what i see it in the fish and i actually kind of liked it at believenot it actually works and it burns me to say that that actually works the contrast of grill meeting slimmed to an headlights not only balances the facial features but definitely emphasizes the x7 to 2 meter width it comes
Standard with led headlights but the blue egg-shaped detailing indicates the optional laser lights with the depth of led headlights with a non dazzling high beam that can reach 600 metres now because we’re driving in the m50 diesel the grill and all the feature accents are finished in this brushed almost rose gold detailing and i can’t believe i’m gonna tell you
This but i actually prefer the bling-bling higher chrome finish that you get with a design pure excellence trim the sporty look in this car now it just doesn’t work the chrome looks the pot it looks executive and looks at market and it finishes it off beautifully there is no hiding the fact that this is a massive car to serve a 5.1 metres in length and standing
At just on six foot in height the rear doors are larger than the front to improve access and the x7 is fitted standard with 21 inch light alloy wheels which can be sized up to 22 inches and they are of course a variety of styles the x7 sheer size is also expressed at the rear the horizontal detailing emphasizing the width with vertical edges under the slim led
Taillights squaring it off nicely the standard air suspension also allows you to lower the car from the boot for easier loading and i do like the electronically driven split tailgate design fantástico there is no manual labor in x7 everything opens closes folds at the push of a button obviously it is a seven-seater and the third row comes with full-size seats
I don’t think i’ve ever been this comfortable sitting in the third row of a vehicle it’s actually unbelievable i’ve got my own climate controller and little touch of the button here i can open and close this little glass roof which godsend you watch actually helps to give that spacious and airy feel when you do have it open it really is cool i’m happy sitting in
The back really happy way in the back these aren’t cheap seats now our test unit has the option of the individual seats in the second row this is business class luxury and refinement makes it a six seater what’s also nice because you choose this option you can also access a third row with this little gap over here which is really cool we’ve got the optional extra
Of this privacy setting i can actually control these shades i can also have access sitting here in the second row to the three-piece panoramic roof which is standard and at night it’s got such a beautiful skyline led light effect really really special also not standard is this infotainment system in the rear which comes with two 10.2 inch touchscreens dvd player
Which is blu-ray compatible it also gives you two usbs it’s got an hdmi port and two headphone jacks but what’s also nice it gives you two usbs in the rear for the third row passengers alright listen they’ve thought of everything like i really am quite happy sitting a third row second row this is business class actually correction the only usb you’ll find is up
Front the rest are all the latest usb c connections apple carplay is supported and there is a wireless charging mat as well as onboard wi-fi making connectivity a breeze now because it is a seven you know you’re getting the very best in terms of luxury and technology that bmw has to offer just sitting a little higher off the ground and it really is a plush and
Elegant space you have sports seats up front which can be spec to multifunction with massage and there is also heating throughout all of the rows of course the interior look and feel can be further personalized with the design pure excellence and m sport packages their new live cockpit professional is tastefully displayed on slanted surfaces with two 12.3 inch
Screens the control display as well as a fully digital instrument cluster which team up with the centre console and the idrive controller as well as through the steering wheel buttons the touch screen gesture control and even voice prompts keeps you the driver fully engaged and in control of all functionality by launching with two engines initially the x30 d
And then the m50 diesel and then later on the year they’re gonna be adding the petrol version the m50 i’m we’ve gone for the m50 diesel purely because i’ve never driven this engine before and i’ve only heard really good things it’s a 3 liter quad turbo diesel engine that produces some pretty impressive figures 294 kilowatts and 760 newton meters of torque that
Is plenty and it really is as good as everyone said it is super super smooth delivery very refined and obviously lots of available talk when you need it we’ve left it in comfort mode and it literally wafts along and that is the nature of the x7 but because we’ve gone for the m50 diesel that gives us that sport differential do we need it yeah this is the thing
I can flick this into dynamic mode and that m sport differential is going to transform this elevated limousine to a bruiser of a bavarian battleship it’s gonna make it so dynamic the performance is there but is that really what this car is about does it suit the nature of it i don’t think so which makes me think that i’ve probably chose the wrong model because
Actually this x30 diesel perfectly sums up the nature of this per variant beast just like the design pure excellence package for me works better than the m sport but you know the consumer that is shopping in this segment is an intriguing and interesting buyer because they are driven more by perception than by purpose so i’m expecting to see the one that is the
Most expensive the higher spec being the volume seller so the x7 literally is the 7 series just on a pedestal more noticeable and i think its arrival is just another nail in the sedan’s coffin
