When a luxury car really gets it right on all levels. The sound, the comfort and the driving feeling!

Those of you who have been following along for a while here at CarsCollection.se may have read my article about the Abarth 500e that I just published. As a motoring journalist, you get to borrow the press cars we test and write about for one week per journalist and media. It was the Abarth 500e that I had the week before I loaned out the BMW i7 here in Sweden. Now I had the opportunity to also borrow a BMW i7 that my friend Aleksander had and that I stayed with on my trip to Miami, Florida at the end of April, beginning of May. Since Aleksander's BMW i7 was fully equipped and also had the brilliant "BMW kidneys" at the front, which the Swedish press car was not equipped with, I chose to take the pictures of Aleksander's BMW i7 in Miami and only test drive the one I borrowed at home in Sweden. 

The contrast in the change between the Abarth 500e and the BMW i7 on the same day was probably as far as you can get between two cars that run entirely on electricity. And the fact that they run on electricity is probably the only similarity they have apart from the fact that they have a steering wheel and four wheels. Those of you who read my article about the Abarth 500e may remember that I chose to turn off the artificial engine sound Abarth's technicians spent 6,000 working hours creating. In the BMW i7, there is also an artificial sound when driving. Of course, this sound can also be turned off, but instead of sounding annoying, the sound really feels right for this car. You can change the sound depending on which driving program you choose. But all sounds are harmonious and not disturbing like that in the Abarth. The feel of this sound is more like a future sound that really does the car right. It becomes a futuristic feeling that makes you feel like you are in a Science Fiction movie. A really cool experience, even if after a while you get tired of the sound and want to enjoy the silence that can only be achieved in an electric car.

As a driver, it is really easy to enjoy the BMW i7. You literally sit like a king and the driving experience, whether calm or sporty, is truly maximum. BMW can do this and the i7 is no exception, rather the opposite when everything is completely perfected. The power available is truly maximum, a total of 544 electric horses, which is a lot and they never sleep. Add to that the complete silence and calm that is constantly there despite all the power. The steering is also top class. Directly and you really feel that you have one hundred percent control over the car, even though they are big and weigh a lot. Speaking of calmness, it is also something that is reminiscent of the BMW i7 and its suspension. They have really succeeded here. In the comfort mode, the unevenness of the road is hardly felt at all. If you switch instead to Sport Plus, you feel everything in the way, but not so that it bothers you, but so that you become aware of what you're driving. A feeling you want when you change your driving style from a calm driver to an active corner hugger. 

So as a driver, it's hard not to enjoy the BMW i7. But now it is after all from the back seat, and preferably on the right, the experience is perfected in the BMW i7. Because quite honestly, a car like this is probably partly for being driven in and not a car you drive yourself. The front passenger seat can easily be moved forward so that you can fold the right seat back almost completely and fold up a leg rest so that you can almost lie straight. Then, if your BMW i7 is equipped with it, you can fold down a 31.3-inch screen in the roof. The passengers in the back can enjoy a movie experience that can even be compared to that in the cinema. The sound experience in the BMW i7 will of course not be worse because BMW was kind enough to push a total of 39 speakers into the passenger compartment. So the back seat is really in the maximum top class and where a BMW i7 should be experienced. 

But as previously mentioned, you also have a good time beyond the normal even as a driver in the BMW i7. One feature I had the opportunity to try on Aleksander's BMW i7 in Miami was the autopilot system, which is still not allowed in Sweden. The car really drives itself and you only need to have minimal control even if you can't completely let go of focus. We really have to keep our fingers crossed that this will be allowed in Sweden so that drivers can relax on longer drives. On a full charge you get 625 kilometers according to WLTP. In just 34 minutes, the 105.7 kilowatt-hour battery can be charged up to 195 kilowatts. 

I did the photography of Aleksander's BMW i7 outside the very famous and actually six-star hotel The Breakers on Palm Beach. A more suitable place, I think, is difficult to find for a BMW i7. Because with the BMW i7, BMW really hits the spot. Aleksander owns many other cars and has finances that allow him to buy pretty much any car he wants. But he has chosen a BMW i7 as his "daily driver" and after a week with a BMW i7 in Sweden and the days in Florida with his, I can actually understand his choice. Few other cars, if any, can measure up to the BMW i7 right now.

BMW i7 xDrive60

Basic price: From SEK 1,580,000

Motor: Rear electric motor

Power: 544 hp, 745 Nm

Acceleration: 0-100 km/h in 4.7 seconds

Top speed: 240 km/h

Range: 625 kilometers according to WLTP

Weight: 2,715 kg

Dimensions (length/width/height): 5391/1544/1950 mm