This BMW Hybrid Boasts NASA-Worthy Tech

By Jeremy Taylor & Jessica Talbot-Ponsonby

6 mins ago

Plus 49 miles of electric-only range

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BMW 7 Series M760e xDrive: motoring editor Jeremy Taylor and Jessica Talbot-Ponsonby drive one of the world’s most advanced luxury cars.

Long Term Test: BMW 7 Series M760e xDrive

J-TP I know size isn’t everything but how big is the keyfob for our 7 Series? You need a hand/man bag for ferrying that beauty around.

JT – Ah, you noticed. The key obviously mirrors the whopping dimensions of the 7 Series itself. The styling of this latest model harks back to boxy old-school BMWs, with one massive difference – the 2025 version is crammed with tech and lights up light a Christmas tree at night, quite sinister headlights!

Yes, technophobes beware. Look elsewhere if you are freaked out by a £120,180 car that offers three ways to shut the driver’s door – either a button on the outer edge of the dashboard, by pressing the brake pedal, or manually by hand.

It is pretty overwhelming – perhaps more so than the Mercedes EQS saloon we tested last month. For example, the BMW unlocks automatically if you approach with the key in your hand, with a button by the handle to swing the door open automatically, too.

Well, it should open. Except there are cameras to detect anything that might be in the way – which includes the driver, if you happen to be standing in the wrong place. The doors are annoying but at least the feature is only a £1,485 option! One to avoid perhaps, but the BMW does get much better.

It certainly does. The M760e hybrid shares the same luxurious interior as the all-electric i7, with a swathe of touch sensitive controls, first-class build quality and an elegant display of ambient lighting unlike any other car.

The cabin feels classier than the Mercedes EQS, with extra space and more comfortable seats. This is a flagship BMW designed for chauffeuring, so those in the back seat get even more pampering.

Our test car is loaded with just about everything you could expect in a limousine. That includes the optional executive pack – heated, cooled and electrically-adjustable massaging seats. A snip at £11,025!

And don’t forget the optional 31-inch theatre screen either: it rolls down from the roof as a set of window blinds scroll up automatically around the back seat. Great for screening the new series of SAS Rogue Heroes using the BMW’s onboard 5G data connection.

We’ll come back to that next time. Up front, the digital dashboard and infotainment screen house most of the major controls. As usual, rather annoyingly, you either accept the safety and driver-assistance features or need to turn them off manually each time you enter the car. They include a speed limit warning and lane departure warning.

Your pet hate, I know, but the 7 Series is a fabulous driving experience, whether you are a passenger enjoying the comforts of air suspension, or a driver experiencing the improved handling offered by all-wheel drive and four-wheel steering.

There’s no V12 or V8 engine like older versions of the 7 Series, but our car mates a 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine with a battery pack that gives the BMW a proper turn of speed, despite the dimensions.

And we are recharging at home every day to make best use of that plug-in battery system, too. More on our filthy 7 series in late February – after we have visited a car wash!