BMW 750i xDrive Road Test

BMW’s are known as The Ultimate Driving Machine®.  After spending a week in the BMW 750i xDrive Sedan, I’m staring to think of BMW as “The Ultimate Luxury Machine”.  The 750i xDrive has more luxury then a country club lounge and spa combined (in fact you can choose from three cabin fragrance packages with 8 scents to choose from).  Powered by a 445-hp V8 TwinPower Turbo engine matted to an 8-speed sport automatic transmission and a best in class 0-60 mph time of an astounding 4.3 second, it’s the fastest moving spa I’ve seen.

So with a $130,000 luxury sedan with every option and feature you can possibly imagine (and even some you can’t), where do you start?  Usually I would start with the engine or the transmission or that new safety feature or new wiz-bang technology.  But with the 750i BMW, you have to start with the backseat.  My two kids have actually gone to blows fighting for shotgun.  My kids took one look at the backseat of this car and never once sat in the front.  At one point I think I had eight kids in the backseat (its really that big).   A week without someone yelling shotgun. Almost worth $130,000!!!

This car’s interior was designed with the backseat foremost in mind.  With the proper accessory packages selected, the rear passenger cabin turns into a spa-like oasis equipped with massaging and ventilated seats, electric reclining seats and footrests, dual 10 inch flat screens (curiously operated by remote control and not touch screens), panoramic Sky Lounge LED roof (with 6 different LED ambiance lighting settings), ambient scented air (8 scents to chose from – I had naturalness of lush grasses), a 16 speaker 1,400 watt Bowers and Wilkins surround sound system with 10 fully active amplification channels, all controlled by a removable 7 inch touch command tablet docked in the center arm rest.  Over 44 inches of legroom – this is first-class luxury defined.  I spent over 2 hours sitting in the backseat playing with all of the options and controls (its possible I may have dozed off for an hour of that time – it was just that comfortable).  Its really hard to explain the level of comfort found in this car without actually spending some time in it. If you are looking for a luxury sedan, spend a few hours in the back of the 750i xDrive and you won’t have to look much further. The backseat sells this car.

Even the key is amazing. Perhaps a minor detail and one I don’t think I have ever included in a review. But this one is worth a mention.  BMW calls it a “Display Key” Its basically a state-of-the-art remote control – almost like a mini tablet in your pocket.  It has a color LCD touchscreen that provides the status of the vehicle, fuel status, allows for remotely activating interior ventilation at a preset time and even provides service requirements. It can be charged wirelessly in the wirelessly charging pocket in the center console (along with your compatible smartphone) or by USB cable.  This is the most sophisticated key fob I have ever seen — which is pretty appropriate given the level of technology in this car.   As a computer friend of mine said when speaking of the 750i xDrive, “It has more technology in it then the average data center!”.

The 2016 BMW 750i xDrive Sedan isn’t all comfort and luxury.  The backseat may suggest that this is a car for those to be driven.  But after piloting this luxury machine around town and on the highway for a week, I can tell you its also a car that was built for drivers. It is a BMW after all.  The Ultimate Driving Machine.  It has all the safety features and advanced driver technology you would expect in a luxury sedan at this price point.  I could list all of these features and options, but there’s simply no point.  I couldn’t find a single one that was missing!!!  And with 445 horsepower and a 0-60 mph time of 4.3 seconds (an astounding time given its size and weight), you can go fast if you want to.  Although with this amount of luxury and comfort, I don’t know why anyone would be in such a hurry.