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AUTO REVIEW

The full-size luxury SUv market niche, which I define as big comfort, but that’s not the case here. These are very cushy seats
cushy SUvs with three rows of seats, continues to fill up quickly that have been created to sooth your posterior, and I enjoyed them
with offerings from Cadillac, Infiniti, Mercedes, volvo, and others. more every time I sat in the X7.
(Wasn’t it just yesterday that it was the Cadillac Escalade, lincoln Also comfortable and soothing is the X7’s ride, which is very
Navigator, and nothing else?) This year bMW enters the fray with smooth indeed. The 1970s expression, “like driving on a cloud”
the X7, a new alternative that’s nice to look at, made in America, seems fitting here, and given the X7’s mission—carry up to seven
and, maybe, the best of the bunch. passengers in maximum comfort—I’m not bothered by that in
I’m happy to report that all X7s worldwide are built in bMWs the least. dan Neil of the Wall Street Journal recently took bMW
sprawling plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Thanks to that to task for not making the X7 into a big SUv “Ultimate driving
plant’s huge output of around 450,000 vehicles per year, bMW is Machine,” but I don’t see why they should. buyers from tony zip
a net exporter of vehicles from this country. Anybody concerned codes in the US (and increasingly China) are looking for luxury
that U.S. factory workers can’t compete with those from other first and foremost, and the idea that bMW should alienate them
countries would do well to tour this gigantic facility. I did just that because of an old advertising tag line seems a little silly.
about a year and a half ago and was very impressed. The X7’s curb weight of just over 5,500 pounds means that
It’s possible that the designers at bMW decided that their good fuel economy is not happening. Two versions of bMW’s
newest SUv needed a grille commensurate with the size of the biggest vehicle are offered, the X7 xdrive40i powered by a 338HP
factory that built it, because that grille is big. How big? It’s longer twin-turbo 3.0 liter in-line six cylinder engine, and the xdrive50i
than the Great Wall of China, easily visible from the international that comes with a 456HP twin-turbo 4.4l v8. Their EPA num-

space station, and each end of the grille is located in a different
bers are 20 MPG city and 25 MPG highway for the six-cylinder
time zone. X7, and 15 city/21 highway for the v8. No diesel option will be
The remainder of the X7’s styling is much more understated, offered, so there’s no way to goose the numbers to curb the wrath
looking very much like the taller and more squared off X5 that it of your Sierra Club member friends. Sorry.
actually is. The best adjective to describe the X7’s design is stately, X7 pricing starts at just over $72,000 for a base xdrive40i but
although there’s a lot going on styling-wise if you look closely. moves up quickly as you add options and option packages. My
Many character lines and bodywork protuberances are used to add loaded xdrive50i press vehicle listed for $117,000 and change, al-
visual interest, and the front- and rear lights are now more though I could certainly do without the $2,100 Executive package,
sculpted than on older bMW SUvs. While the aforementioned $3,550 M Sport package, and $4,750 dynamic Handling package.
grille is bigger than I’d like, it does get less jarring with time and (Hey bMW, a handling package on a 2.5 ton SUv? Seriously?)
appears to reflect the future of bMW design. The new bMW X7 is a large luxury SUv just like its competi-
The interior of the X7 is modern bMW, as you’d expect. As tors from Germany, the U.S., and Japan. No, it’s not an Ultimate
I’ve noted previously, a few years ago the bavarian automaker driving Machine, but it is a fine vehicle that I’m happy to recom-
ditched their trademark white-on-black gauges with orange back- mend if you need all that space.
lighting in favor of Audi-esque white lighting with bright red nee-
dles. bMW still uses those black/white/red Audi colors for their As always, call Phil Hornbeak at 210-301-4367 for more infor-
gauges, but now everything’s electronic and located on big screens. mation and to get your best bCMS deal.
bMW isn’t the first company to do this—Tesla was, actually—
but they have certainly embraced the trend. Which I’m warming Stephen Schutz, MD, is a board-certified gastroen-
to, by the way. Once I configured the X7’s touchscreens the way terologist who lived in San Antonio in the 1990s
I wanted them I found them to be helpful and not distracting. when he was stationed here in the U.S. Air Force.
In addition to a large cabin, the X7’s interior features excep- He has been writing auto reviews for San Antonio
tionally comfortable seats, including in the “way back.” The seats Medicine since 1995.
you’ll find in many smaller bMWs emphasize lateral support over

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