Prod the starter button and the twin-turbo V8 of the 750 Li silently fires up

As far back as I can remember there has always been a BMW 7 series in the Kronfli household, my late father swapping his mk2 735i for an mk3 which remained for several years until yours truly, brand new license in hand, violently ended its tenure. Insurance money in hand it was back to the BMW dealer this time for a V8 engined mk4 735 il.  This 7 series love affair ended abruptly with the arrival of the Chris Bangle designed mk5. Despite it going on to become a resounding sales success, that car never grew on me. In my eyes it remained visually painful and uninspiring as a driving experience. I was reminded of my indifference while sitting in the back of the previous generation big Beemer while being chauffeured from the airport to my hotel, in the charming centre of Dresden, venue for the launch of the latest 7. While I hopelessly struggled with the (deservedly) much maligned iDrive system, I found myself wondering whether the new car would be another step in the wrong direction or have BMW gotten it right this time? The answer to that is resoundingly the latter, for the boys from Munich have produced a fine luxury sedan.

The first thing that grabs you is how much more aesthetically pleasing the 5th generation car is. The initial press photos of the car didn’t do it justice. In the flesh it is a seriously handsome car. The styling is both powerful and elegant at the same time, with the swooping taillight treatment particularly worthy of praise. Step inside and it quickly becomes apparent that they have also rediscovered how to make a class-leading interior, an area in which many recent BMW’s have been surprisingly disappointing. The new car returns with rich materials and a modern finish, lending a very expensive feel to the cockpit. The seats are armchair comfortable, although I was surprised at the relative lack of adjustability of the seating position. No such problems in the rear, where the reclining back seats are a wonderful place to be. My other gripe inside is the impractical and ugly electronic gear selector lever. Prod the starter button, and the twin-turbo V8 of the 750 Li silently fires up. Pulling away and onto the cobbled streets of central Dresden the car displays a cosseting low speed ride, admirably filtering out most imperfections in the road, although you would expect that from any car in this category. Out on the autobahn the 7 series feels rock solid and does a great job of keeping out unwanted noise. Select Sport + mode (the most sporting of the 4 available settings) and mash the throttle, and the big BM leaps forward with surprising urgency, the 407bhp hurtling us down the highway at what would normally be license losing velocity. On more twisty roads the 7 series does a decent job of disguising its very considerable mass, although it doesn’t feel like it is defying the laws of physics in the way the X6 does. When you start to press on, the heavy nose of the car will push into understeer, although it will oversteer if you disengage traction control and are aggressive with the throttle. The steering gives surprisingly good feedback of what is going on below and is especially lively when you change lanes without indicating, triggering a vibration in the steering wheel courtesy of the Lane change warning indicator. This is just one of a very long list of innovative technology that has found its way into the 7 series. The most significant being an incredible 3D navigation system, in-car internet, Night vision that detects people in the distance, a blind spot indicator, a hard drive that stores music and the owners manual, cameras that read the posted speed limit off street signs and display it on the black panel instrument cluster. Oh, and I nearly forgot, the iDrive is now brilliant and really easy to use, even for a techno-phobe like myself. It now feels like its working with you rather than against you.

In short, the new 7 series has moved the luxury sedan game onto a new level, by combining mind boggling technology, with impressive driver dynamics. Over to you Mercedes.