At RM594,800 on-the-road without insurance, the long-wheelbase Bavarian flagship which will be locally-assembled will go on sale from July 19 in Peninsular Malaysia and from July 26 in Sabah and Sarawak at all authorised BMW dealerships. This is the same price as the pre-facelift model variant.
The new 7 Series is offered in four colour choices of Mineral White, Black Saphire, Bernina Grey and Imperial Blue and can be paired with either Black Nappa or Cognac Nappa leather upholstery.
With a five-year unlimited mileage warranty that includes free scheduled service programme and tyre warranty programme, the new 7 Series is powered by an uprated hybrid system over its predecessor.
Primary power comes from a 3.0-litre (2,998cc) turbocharged inline-six engine - producing 286hp from 5,000 to 6,000rpm and 450Nm of torque from 1,500 to 3,500rpm, and is managed by an eight-speed Steptronic Transmission.
A lithium-ion battery under the rear bench sends power to its electric motor to produce 113hp at 3,170rpm and an instantaneous 265Nm of torque from 0 to 2,700rpm which allows it to travel up to 46km at a top speed of 140kph.
Malaysia is the only country that is maintaining the 740Le badging in order to keep the government tax incentives the previous 4-cylinder PHEV was enjoying without having to go through the hoopla of securing the perks and pricing the six-cylinder engine would entail. In other countries, the latest 7 Series PHEV is marketed as the 745Le by virtue of the increased cylinder count.
Cumulative output stands at 394hp and 600Nm of torque - allowing it to sprint from 0 to 100kph in 5.1 seconds and reach an electronically-limited top speed of 250kph.
The new 7 Series gets adaptive dual-axle air suspension system and has a much bigger kidney-grille design with active shutters, accompanied by an enlarged BMW-roundel that's 95mm (+13mm) in diameter.
Versus the outgoing model, its done away with the lower fogs and uses new laser-light headlights with a light range of up to 600m along with its newly designed front bumper.
For the first time, the lower part of the new front apron also has large air guides running across the outer air inlets, whereby incoming air is directly guided to the brake air channels and the Air Curtain. A new aspect of the side view is the almost-vertical Air Breather just behind the front wheel arches.
The air vents integrated into the side panel now extends further up to help optimise the air stream through the wheel arches that are filled by the front 19x8.5 and rear 19x9.5 lightweight alloy wheels in Double-spoke style 630 Bicolour with staggered front 245/45 and rear 275/40 series run-flat tyres.
At the rear, it uses a wider and more distinctive chrome trim and the new LED taillights are now 35mm slimmer than before and are now joined by a 6mm-wide light strip that illuminates the rear of the vehicle. For added character, a special taillight animation sequence is performed whenever the car is locked or unlocked.
Due to modifications made to the front and rear total length has been increased by 23mm to 5,268mm while keeping the wheelbase (3,210mm), width (1,902mm) and height (1,479mm) the same.
Inside, the cabin's seats, instrument panel as well as the front and rear upper section of the door rails are wrapped in Nappa leather while fine grey Poplar Grain wood inserts provide contrast for the modified cockpit with redesigned displays and controls.
Among the list of improvements are the acoustics which benefits from better noise insulation in the rear wheel arches and B-pillar to further reduce the intrusion of tyre and wind noise into the cabin.
There is now a repositioned mobile phone tray with wireless charging for better visibility, while seated in the comforts of the automatic quad-zone air conditioning and rear powered seat with massage function.
Passengers can also enjoy the colourful Sky Lounge panoramic glass roof and increase privacy via the powered roller sunblinds while soaking in the audio ambience of the 16-speaker 460-watt Harman Kardon surround sound system.
There is also the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant as standard in the infotainment set-up - an adaptable digital personal assistant that is voice-activated and can be woken with a personalised activation word.
The assistant can deliver information about the functions and status of the vehicle and provide support for navigation and entertainment - even control the new Caring Car functions of Vitalize and Relax programmes as well as the two Experience Modes of Executive and Expressive that adapts the interior ambience to the driver’s mood.
The new BMW Live Cockpit Professional with BMW Operating System 7.0, includes a 12.3-inch instrument cluster and a central 10.25-inch Control Display with touchscreen functionality.
Drivers have five possible input methods to control vehicle functions: the steering wheel buttons, iDrive Controller, Touch Display, Voice Control and Gesture Control.
With the integration of navigation to the Info Display, the central Control Display can now focus solely on infotainment and advanced vehicle functions.
The innovative Gesture Control has been updated to register individual finger movements and can distinguish up to seven hand movements.
Of course, this flagship isn't complete without the inclusion of Connected Package Professional, which offers services such as Remote Services, Concierge Services, Apple CarPlay and Intelligent Functions.
To bolster safety, this 7 Series comes replete with a wealth of driver assistance systems that include BMW Personal CoPilot driver assistance systems is now complemented with standard equipment such as the camera and radar-based approach and pedestrian warning system that can now detect cyclists.
There is also the Evasion Aid which uses steering interventions to support the driver in sudden evasive manoeuvres as well as Crossroads Warning with City Brake Activation to warn the driver of a potential collision with crossing traffic and preconditions the brakes for increased power during emergency braking.
While the Steering and Lane Control Assistant provides support for narrow road sections, parking is also made easier thanks to the Parking Assistant and Reversing Assistant. The BMW Digital Key is also available for selected Android mobile devices to provide ease of accessibility.
"The new BMW 7 Series is set to raise the bar once again with prestige, elegance, comfort, exceptional sporty performance and most importantly, an understanding of premium that is strongly defined by sustainability," said BMW Group Malaysia head of corporate communications Sashi Ambi.
