By Hadi Soedarsono

WHEN THE CURRENT BMW 7 Series was launched in 2001, there were mixed feelings about its styling and some found its iDrive system just too complex to use. However, these niggles didn’t seem to affect the German automaker significantly. To date, BMW claims to have sold about 160,000 units worldwide, which makes this fourth-generation model the best selling 7 Series so far.

To continue (or boost) this sweet success, BMW has given the 7 Series a mid-life revision. The car receives a range of newly developed engines, interior fine-tuning, chassis improvements and enhancements to the exterior styling.

Except for the 760i, the rest of the 7 Series gets new engines. Starting with the entry-level 730i, which now boasts BMW’s new lightweight, 3.0-litre magnesium / aluminium composite, in-line six-cylinder powerplant, which was first seen in the 630i and upcoming 330i. The powerplant has an extra 27bhp over its predecessor and giving the 258bhp 730i the highest power output per litre of any car in its class.

Next is the 740i with a 4.0-litre V8 that pumps out 302bhp – an increase of 30bhp over the 735i it replaces.

The 745i will become the 750i with an all-new 4.8-litre V8 that delivers 362bhp, which makes it 29bhp more powerful than the 745i. BMW says the fuel efficiency of these new engines is better than the old units, too, despite the extra horsepower and increased engine displacement.

In the chassis department, the 7’s all-aluminium suspension receives minor tweaks to offer better ride quality and 14mm wider tracks to provide higher levels of stability. A ‘Sport’ option will also be made available with the Adaptive Drive package. This combines BMW’s Dynamic Drive active anti-roll bar setup with its Electronic Damper Control (EDC) system. The former is supposed to minimize body-roll during cornering, while the EDC offers three ride settings – Comfort, Normal and Sport.

Externally, the shape of the car has remained pretty much unchanged, except for new head and tail lamps, bumpers, reprofiled double ‘kidney’ grilles and a beefier looking bonnet. The brake lamps now feature Brake Force Display, a two-stage lighting system that alerts following drivers of an emergency stop with a brighter than normal illumination of the brake lights.

Inside, apart from the revised iDrive system, which is supposed to be more user friendly, and a new three-spoke steering wheel, the leather, wood and aluminium filled cockpit is similar to the old car.

The facelifted 7 Series range will be available here with the first units arriving in the middle of 2005. No prices have been set as yet.

NOW… AND THEN… BMW 7 SERIES IN 30 SECONDS
BMW has decided to make the 7 Series look beefier than before, with almost everything re-styled in bigger proportions. The bonnet has a prominent bulge (1) to make it look more muscular than the old car and the ‘kidney’ front grille is larger with contoured sides (2). The refreshed headlights (3) and front airdam (4) visually align it with the current 5 and new 3 Series. At the back, a larger tailamp (5) joins continuously to the boot and there’s a generous amount of chrome bits to give the 7 Series more ‘bling’ factor. Lastly, the rear bumper now has a prominent crease (6) and it sports a new air diffuser too (7).