Published:
7 April 2023Slide aboard an X7 and you will find it feels much more the super-sized, lifted-up BMW 5 Series than an out-and-out, stand-alone luxury SUV. This comes with the territory because, unlike any Range Rover or Bentley Bentayga, the X7 derives from an established family of executive cars, so an element of homogeneity should be expected.
But actually, rather than this being disadvantageous, the link to BMW’s mid-ranking saloon is not a bad thing. The current 5 Series has always struck an excellent balance of ergonomic thoughtfulness and material richness, and the X7 replicates the former and subtly heightens the latter, all to desirable effect. Soft leather and some interesting fascias play off against familiar physical controls honed to perfection by the simple fact they’ve been deployed by BMW hundreds of thousands of times. For an everyday kind of car, the X7 exists in a neat sweet spot of functional luxury, though we would understand if some M60i owners would prefer a bit more individuality for £109,000.
Less immediately lovable is iDrive 8, which integrates the central infotainment and instrument readouts into one vast, curved display. In fairness, this scale of the display looks quite at home in the X7, while in smaller cars such as the facelifted BMW 3 Series it simply dominates the cabin, feeling inescapable. Yet even in something the X7’s size it’s a bit of an odd presence, and we miss the leather-clad cowling the driver would traditionally gaze over. Its absence diminishes the feeling that you’re in the secure, cosseting cockpit of something fast and serious. Not even the M60i’s subtle but effective interior lighting can remedy this.
