Long-Term Test: When the tires get worn <strong>and</strong> the factory warranty runs out, that’s where we come in. <strong>Car</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Driver</strong> is your source for the 40,000-mile evaluation. 2016 BMW 740i Arrival: Apr/2016 Departure: Apr/<strong>2017</strong> — BMW gets a little too comfortable with its big, cushy sedan. _by Eric Tingwall Even as crossovers continue to conquer America, <strong>and</strong> seemingly every automaker has a two-door vanity project to cast a glow over its lineup, big luxury sedans still project gravitas in the German-car business. Audi’s, BMW’s, <strong>and</strong> Mercedes’ largest cars remain totems of br<strong>and</strong> values <strong>and</strong> stylistic themes, as well as vanguards for the technologies that trickle down to the rest of the fleet. A year <strong>and</strong> 40,000 miles with Munich’s latest flagship, a Rants & Raves 2016 BMW 740i, confirms what we’ve been “I’d like just the saying for almost a decade: The soil under opposite of what this 7-series offers: more BMW HQ has truly shifted. The 7 makes body control <strong>and</strong> less clear that the drift of the 3- <strong>and</strong> 5-series impact harshness over sharp lateral seams.” from sports sedans to less athletic luxury —Dave V<strong>and</strong>erWerp cars isn’t a fluke but a br<strong>and</strong>-wide movement. It’s evident in the way this limo rolls Put it in comfort-plus “This car is a boat. down the road with enough float in the suspension to raise the Edmund Fitzgerald. —Jeff mode <strong>and</strong> it feels like a Kia K900.” Sabatini That buoyant ride, in concert with a placid cockpit, plush seats, <strong>and</strong> a 500-plusmile range, definitely had its virtues. The 7-series shined brightest when our staffers treated it as a more dignified alternative to commercial air travel. Our drivers piloted the 740i through 12 states, one Canadian province, <strong>and</strong> the District of Columbia during its 12-month stay, filling the logbook with high praise from occupants arriving refreshed <strong>and</strong> relaxed. But serene highway cruising is hardly special in this segment of German big boys, <strong>and</strong> BMW’s failure to stake out a more compelling position leaves the 7-series chasing the competition. The latest S-class introduced Mercedes’ progressive <strong>and</strong> opulent interiors, Audi’s A8 champions intuitive tech, <strong>and</strong> the Cadillac CT6 is the driver’s choice. BMW could have delivered a knockout by blending those attributes into the complete package. Instead, it served up a conservative evolution of aging design motifs, dubious infotainment advances, <strong>and</strong> the soggiest suspension from a Bimmer in recent memory. Our long-term 740i hid its biggest technological advance beneath a coat of rich Jatoba Brown Metallic paint. The 7’s structure is a cocktail of aluminum, steel, <strong>and</strong> carbon fiber, the only visible clue being a pair of “<strong>Car</strong>bon Core” badges behind the doors on the B-pillars. The weight savings helped our 740i undercut a Mercedes-Benz S550 (which admittedly lugs around two extra cylinders <strong>and</strong> one additional turbocharger) by more than 400 pounds. And while the dynamics engineers failed to make full use of this advantage, the sophisticated material mix delivers a sturdy structure <strong>and</strong> a cabin insulated from the din of traffc <strong>and</strong> the rush of wind. It’s even more diffcult to quantify the benefits of the in-car tech. With only metoo semi-autonomous features such as a lane-centering function that falls short of a true self-steering system, BMW’s hallmark for the 7-series is literally a bunch of h<strong>and</strong> waving. Gesture Control gives front-seat occupants six h<strong>and</strong> motions that can raise or lower the volume or dismiss an incoming phone call by miming a little routine in front of the touchscreen. Even after a year of exposure, this sort of orchestral conducting proved less precise <strong>and</strong> more hassle 082 . CAR AND DRIVER . JUL/<strong>2017</strong> photography by MARC URBANO
“THIS CAR SOAKS UP MILES LIKE A SPONGE. IT RIDES ALMOST AS WELL AS A ROLLS-ROYCE AND IS NEARLY AS QUIET TO MY EAR.” — K . C . C O LW E L L , SENIOR TECHNICAL EDITOR 083
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