2022 BMW 7 Series

BMW 7 Series 2021-2022 Review

From a traditional perspective, the BMW 7 Series represents the flagship of the Bavarian brand’s range. It’s the biggest, most complex, and most refined sedan product that they offer – but among its rivals, the 7 Series is a bit of an oddity. Fans of the brand may understand that they put pride in sportiness and driving dynamics, which are rarely priorities when it comes to a product like this.

After all, what is the 7 Series known for? In popular culture, it has appeared in both The Transport and James Bond franchises, being the effective hero cars – albeit being two different generations. In both cases it was displayed as an agile, lithe machine, capable of evading the proverbial baddies in an exciting, action-packed fashion.

This is at odds with what the 7 Series is meant to be and who it is meant to appeal to, which has resulted in a rather convoluted and meandering path of development until today. Its most current form is the sixth generation of the model, globally unveiled back in 2015 and going through a mid-life facelift in 2019.

Rather interestingly, when this generation of model was first launched in Malaysia there were two or three different powertrains on offer. By the time the facelift rolled around, it was streamlined to a singular plug-in hybrid electric vehicle variant – with a second M Sport variant introduced in early 2021-2022.

It’s also worth noting that we only get the larger, long wheelbase variant of the 7 Series in Malaysia. This is in contrast to its rivals, some of which are not offered in their larger variants which is especially peculiar considering that these larger models usually prove to be more popular when shopping in this segment.

BMW 7 Series 2021-2022 Specifications

As mentioned earlier, the BMW 7 Series in Malaysia is only offered in a singular variant – which means a singular powertrain. In this case, the variant is a 740Le xDrive – and we can break this down into its specific components to understand what the variant is. The 40 and e represent the powertrain: a plug-in hybrid with a turbocharged 3.0-litre petrol engine as its base, pushing 286 PS and 450 Nm of torque.

The hybrid electric motor adds another 113 PS and 265 Nm of torque, creating a total system output of 394 PS and 600 Nm of torque. The xDrive suffix also denotes an all-wheel drive system, meaning that all of that performance is spread across both the front and rear axles of the 7 Series.

Form a platform perspective, the BMW 7 Series is the first of its generation to feature the BMW CLAR, or Cluster Architecture. It was designed as a completely new modular platform, and it currently underpins everything from the BMW 3 Series to the BMW Z4 – of course varying in terms of overall length and slight changes to the geometry to make these cars handle better in their specific use cases.

Keeping the car a little lighter and adding a level of rigidity is a carbon core that forms the backbone of the 7 Series, also being incorporated into the aforementioned CLAR platform. The overall length of the 7 Series in this long-wheelbase form, as denoted by the L in the variant name, is 5,268 mm, with a wheelbase of 3,210 mm, and a width of 1,902 mm.

BMW 7 Series 2021-2022 Exterior

Between the non M sport and M sport variants of the BMW 7 Series, the most obvious changes are in the bumper designs and garnishes, with the former looking a little more prim and proper, and the latter obviously being the more aggressive and sporty of the pair. Both models get 19-inch wheels albeit in different designs, and the non M sport variant still gets the Design Pure Excellence package that adds a few aerodynamic cues for an ever so slightly sporty look.

The facelift brought some changes to the headlights and taillights as well, with slimmer designs and the newer L shaped lighting elements that define BMW’s current product offerings. Both variants also get dual exhausts – one on either side – with chromed surrounds.

BMW 7 Series 2021-2022 Interior 

On the inside of the BMW 7 Series, you see surprising colourways for a modern car – beige and brown tones and wood trim are present, with the M sport variant getting Fineline Black with metal effect as well as Anthracite Alcantara roof lining. The non M sport variant does with Poplar Grain Grey wood trim, and both variants get brown Nappa leather upholstery.

BMW 7 Series 2021-2022 Safety Features

Safety is something that has been especially focused on by BMW for their Malaysian product line, and being the range topper the 7 Series is no different. The Driving Assistant Professional package comes a standard, adding features like lane departure warning, lane change assist with warning, front collision warning with autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist, and active cruise control with stop and go functionality.

BMW 7 Series 2021-2022 Strengths & Weakness

In our time with the BMW 7 Series, it was hard to place exactly where its strengths and weaknesses were. For one, it was pretty good at pretty much every subjective test you could throw at it for a car in this class – from rear legroom to overall refinement and comfort, to functionality and amenities, and fit and finish.

Where it stands out is in the driving dynamics department, which is again something that doesn’t really concern the average 7 series owner or buyer. It may be a plus point for those driving this large sedan themselves, although we also don’t foresee it being used to carve up some back roads or canyons.

Perhaps as a counterpoint, while the 7 Series is good in relation to the design brief, it again isn’t the top of its class when it comes to the objective and subjective tests for a large luxury sedan. It certainly is better than pretty much every product that BMW offers in these regards, but both German and Japanese counterparts take this level of refinement to what is arguably another level.

BMW 7 Series 2021-2022 Price

Being a locally assembled car has its benefits, and you can see that in the pricing of the BMW 7 Series which starts at RM 544,352.87 for the 740Le xDrive. The M Sport package tacks on an additional RM 22,451.82, for a total price of RM 566,803.05. This price is not inclusive of the extended warranty and service package, which in both cases is an extra RM 24,700 on top of the quoted prices. These prices are inclusive of all current tax exemptions in place by the government.

BMW 7 Series 2021-2022 Features

The feature list is fairly flat for the two similar variants of the BMW 7 Series, with a 16-speaker sound Harman Kardon sound system and two 10-inch rear displays – one for either rear occupant. There is also a tablet for additional control over the infotainment and other functionality from the back seat, usually tucked away within the armrest. The 7 Series also comes with BMW Operating System 7.0, as well as the Connected Package Professional and the Navigation System Professional to really make use of the infotainment system.

BMW 7 Series 2021-2022 Fuel Consumption

The efficiency of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle can be incredible if you use it properly and keep it charged – an important caveat when considering whether you have the place and the means to charge your vehicle overnight. In the case of the BMW 7 Series in its variants here, the claimed fuel consumption figure is just 2.8 litres per 100 km, or 35.7 kilometres per litre.

Of course, that figure is contingent on your driving style – being a turbocharged car means that if you’re constantly accelerating quickly, you will have a much larger fuel consumption figure. On top of this, it also requires that you keep your hybrid battery charged as often as possible, to as high of a level as possible. If you start your journey with a full battery, you can get up to 46 km of all electric range, at speeds of up to 140 km/h.