BMW has just unveiled the new, seventh-generation 7 Series. Completely new from the ground up, the main highlight of the new 7 Series range is the fully-electric i7. Competing squarely against the Mercedes-Benz EQS full-size electric luxury sedan, the i7 looks more traditional compared to its bulbous rival. Stick on to find out whether the BMW i7 is perfect for you, or if the Mercedes-Benz EQS is a more convincing electric luxo-barge.

Unlike the Mercedes-Benz EQS, which rides on a dedicated electric vehicle (EV) platform, the BMW i7 shares its fundamentals with the 7 Series. This means that the platform is also meant to accommodate an internal combustion engine, and that does bring a few compromises, which we’ll get to a bit later.

The BMW i7 undeniably looks controversial from the outside, but if you were to ask us, it solely has to do with the car’s enormous grille. It’s the same familiar face we’ve seen from the facelifted X7, which was likewise updated for 2023. The kidney (or rather, lung) grilles are bigger than ever, and those split headlights with LED daytime running lights housed in a crystal housing truly diverge away from the traditional BMW design language. Oh, and the trim surrounding the grille glows at night, for better or worse.

Other than its controversial front end, the 2023 BMW 7 Series looks good everywhere else. Codenamed G70, this iteration of the 7 Series follows a more upright design, with less visual clutter on its side and rear end. As a matter of fact, the clean and stately design of the rest of the vehicle is enough for me to forgive its front end. The side of the vehicle features flushed door handles, and it includes a button to open the doors automatically.

Lastly, unlike past generations, the new 2023 BMW 7 Series only comes in one wheelbase option, which is already 5.1 inches longer than the outgoing model’s long-wheelbase version. Yes, this is definitely a long boy.

The colors shown here are from the German configurator. Some of these colors may or may differ from what will be offered in the United States.

Because this is a completely new car that no one has driven yet, it’s hard to gauge how the 2023 BMW 7 Series will perform. If the previous generation G11/G12 serves as any indication, the new model should be just as plush and comfortable. However, if you’re hoping for a large sedan that drives in a sporty manner, the new 7 Series probably won’t satisfy what you’re looking for.

Over the years, the BMW 7 Series has slowly traded sporty handling for all-out comfort and refinement, and we expect this new G70 model to continue improving on that aspect. Compared to the Mercedes-Benz EQS, this will probably handle better in the corners, but it will never feel like a BMW 3 Series or even a 5 Series for that matter.

The 2023 BMW i7 (and the standard 7 Series for that matter) has been blessed with the brand’s most beautiful and luxurious interior to date. Apart from the usual leather choices, you can even opt for cashmere upholstery. Taking things further up a notch are its illuminated crystal trimmings called the Interaction Bar, which you can interact with to change the climate temperature and other vehicle functions. Correspondingly, this crystal bar will change its illumination depending on what kind of functions you are accessing. For instance, if you increase or decrease the climate temperature, the color will change from red or blue, respectively.

Because this is a flagship luxury sedan, rear-seat comfort is a priority. The optional Executive Lounge package upgrades the i7’s rear seats, with the one on the right side (left for right-hand drive markets) having the ability to recline by as much as 42.5 degrees. A footrest is then deployed when the seat is at its flattest position.

The 2023 BMW i7’s trunk space measures 17.7 cubic feet, which is 1.4 cubic feet less than the standard 7 Series. Because the i7’s rear seats are power-adjustable, these seats can’t be folded down for more space. Seriously though, you did not buy an i7 or a 7 Series for that matter to haul long items, let’s be honest here.

The 2023 BMW i7 comes with two curved glass displays that are powered by iDrive 8, and it thankfully still comes with the easy-to-use rotary controller. It’s a system that debuted in the BMW iX, and they’ve expectedly made their way into the new i7. As expected, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto come as standard, and your sounds are then played through a standard 655-watt Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system.

Unfortunately, iDrive 8 also migrates all of the climate control functions into the screen. We’re never a fan of car manufacturers ditching hard buttons for frequently-used functions such as the air conditioning, so that’s minus points towards iDrive 8.

But perhaps the most striking feature of its interior is the optional BMW Theatre Screen. Measuring 31 inches, the thin screen is housed at the ceiling, and then it deploys downward if the rear occupants want to transform their 7 Series into a drive-in cinema. The screen has an insane 8K resolution, and it comes built-in with Amazon Fire. If the standard version of the Bowers & Wilkins still isn’t cinematic enough for you, there’s an upgraded version of the same sound system that now produces 1,965 watts and is now composed of 36 speakers. Oh, and to set the cinematic mood up for you, the Theatre Screen’s start-up sound has been created by Hans Zimmer. Yes, that same guy who makes soundtracks for movies, and the same person who composed the ambient noises of every new electric BMW.

Theatre Screen aside, the BMW i7 also comes with a 5.5-inch Touch Command digital screen located on each rear door. Through this screen, you can access features such as making phone calls when equipped with the headrests speakers that are part of the upgraded version of the Bowers & Wilkins sound system or control the other amenities such as the power-adjustable rear seats, powered rear sunshades, or ambient lighting.

And lastly, the BMW i7 (and also the 7 Series) can be optionally equipped with self-opening and closing doors. At a push of a button from the outside or a touch panel on the inside, the i7’s doors will open on their own. If you’re worried that these doors might hit something, rest assured that there are numerous sensors that detect any nearby obstacles. The doors are also linked to the car’s blind spot warning, so if it detects an oncoming vehicle, cyclist, or pedestrian, the doors won’t open.

Every new BMW, whether it’s their EVs or gas-powered models, has a standard 4-year/50,000-mile warranty, whichever comes first. However, since this is an EV, its 101.7 kWh lithium-ion battery pack comes with an 8-year/100,000-mile warranty, whichever comes first.

For the first three years or 36,000 miles of ownership, all brand-new BMWs come with BMW Ultimate Care. With this, you don’t have to spend a dollar on maintenance for the first three years or 36,000 miles. There’s also free roadside assistance for the first four years and with no mileage limit.

Being an electric car, the i7 should theoretically be easier and more affordable to maintain post-warranty. Since the car is still too new, we have no real gauge on how reliable the BMW i7 will be.

However, due to the car’s sheer amount of tech, we wouldn’t be surprised if five to 10 years down the line, one of those features will eventually break. This is often the case with cars that have so much tech that’s buried into them, and with the i7 even featuring a motorized 31-inch screen that whirrs down from the ceiling, expect a hefty repair bill if one of its motors breaks down.

Since this car is still too new and is still being homologated for the North American market, the BMW i7 has not yet been officially rated by the NHTSA. Stay tuned to this page if you want to keep yourselves updated regarding some of the i7’s critical information.

The 2023 BMW i7 is confirmed to come with automatic emergency braking as standard, but you can spec for the optional Driving Assistance Professional with Highway Assistance and Augment View. With this feature, you can take your hands off the wheel while driving on highways and well-separated roadways at speeds of up to 80 mph.

Augmented View, on the other hand, is basically augmented reality navigation. A video feed from a forward-facing camera is displayed in the digital gauge cluster, and then arrowheads and other navigation information are being overlayed into the video, letting you know specifically which street or freeway off-ramp you should take and at what moment.

Another new feature is called the Parking Assistant Professional. Self-parking feature isn’t something new, but the i7’s system can now recognize curbs and road lines as guides. More impressively, you can now control this remotely through the My BMW App on your smartphone, away from your vehicle. If you’re not keen on the idea of your car parking on its own without you inside, you can still use this feature while seated inside.

Lastly, there’s also a new feature called Maneuver Assistant. With this tech, you can set a fixed start and endpoint, and the i7 will remember every steering, gear change, and throttle input that you make. Once you’ve programmed your start and endpoint, the i7 can then pilot itself through a difficult parking spot you don’t enjoy navigating on a daily basis. Mind you, this doesn’t even require you to be inside the vehicle. You can control this through the My BMW App on your smartphone.

On paper, the 2023 BMW i7 isn’t just a good car. It’s a very good one at that. BMW is once again pushing the boundaries of tech with the new 7 Series and the i7 for that matter. Like all of these flagship luxury sedans from the German “big three”, expect some of the i7’s features to trickle down into more mainstream BMWs. Its design may be controversial, but there’s no doubt at the here and now, the 7 Series and i7 are breaking boundaries of what’s possible in a car. Just don’t expect it to drive like your typical sporty BMW.

The 2023 BMW i7 will start at $119,300 for the xDrive60, and this does not include the $995 destination fee and the federal tax credit that’s expected to slash $7,500 from the car’s MSRP. Of course, this is the absolute base price for an i7, and as we all know, no one specs their 7 Series with just the bare minimum of features.

A high-performance BMW i7 M70 is expected to debut later this year, and it will be an indirect successor to the V12-powered M760i. Pour one out to the iconic BMW V12 engine as we are now headed towards an all-electric future.

While pricing has already been announced, the US configurator is not yet live. Stay tuned to this space to keep yourselves updated regarding the BMW i7’s additional packages.

For now, only one version of the BMW i7 is available, and that’s the xDrive60 variant. This is your only choice for now, but if you’re keen on the idea of a high-performance Luxo barge with the most torque in BMW’s history, the i7 M70 might be worth the wait.

The one thing that separates the EQS from the i7 is the fact that it rides on a dedicated EV platform. As a result, the EQS is more aerodynamically-efficient and thus leads to a better range. And since the EQS’s platform was designed from the outset to not accommodate a combustion engine, the interior space is better optimized for people and cargo. Lastly, in terms of driving dynamics, the EQS solely has one job—to shuttle rich folks from A to B in comfort, something that the i7 is also able to do, albeit with a degree of sportiness. Again, just don’t expect it to perform like a 3 Series.

See our review of the Mercedes-Benz EQS here.

Actually, the Tesla Model S isn’t its true competitor. Since it’s a size class lower, the Model S is truly aimed at a future BMW i5. Still, most will compare the i7 to the Model S because why the heck not, right? It’s after all the single reason why we now have a plethora of excellent fully-electric vehicles right now. The BMW i7 won’t outpace a Model S in a drag race, even if it’s the base Long Range model. What the i7 will have in spades is decades of know-how in developing a car that feels like a finished product as opposed to feeling like you’re part of a beta experiment before the final product is released.

See our review of the Tesla Model S here.

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