BMW 730Ld review, road test

Entertainment

The 7-series Gets BMW’s latest entertainment system with touch and gesture inputs for the first time. The high-resolution interface is clean and easy enough to operate. There are four USB ports in the cabin and connecting your phone to the system via Bluetooth is straightforward. Also part of the package is 20GB of on-board memory though a lot of that is taken up by the navigation system. At the rear, there are two 10-inch HD screens that are linked to a Blu-Ray drive. The screens can also be connected to external players via HDMI, MHL and USB ports. The 7-series comes with a 600W, 16-speaker audio system as standard. Audio quality is top rate.

Display key

The Seven’s tech experience starts even before you enter the car thanks to what BMW calls the Display Key. Similar to the one on the i8, the key features a touchscreen that displays time, service reminders, status of central locking system and distance to empty. You can also use the key to ‘pre-condition’ the car by remotely starting the fans, though it won’t start the air-con compressor. The Display Key has a range of 300 metres. In the very near future, this key will also allow Remote Parking. At the touch of a button, the car will automatically drive into or reverse out of a straight parking spot. A few years back, only James Bond’s 7-series could pull off a trick like that!

Laser lights

The BMW i8 was the first car in the world to be offered with laser headlights and the feature is now available on the 7-series too. The set-up comprises standard LED low-beam headlights, and LED high-beam headlights with a laser module. What makes laser lights special? In a word, range. Where standard LED lights have a high-beam range of 300 metres, the laser lights have a high-beam range of 600 metres. The headlights really do make day of the darkest nights. Laser lights are also lighter, more compact and more energy efficient than LED lights. Expect to see this bit
of technology trickle down to mass market cars
in the years to come.

Gesture control

The E65 7-series launched in 2001 gave the car world the revolutionary iDrive system. The latest G12 debuts another bit of tech that could find widespread application - gesture control. It sounds sci-fi because it is. Specific hand movements detected by a 3D sensor under the rear-view mirror control certain infotainment functions. Move your hand with the index finger extended towards the central screen to accept a call or swipe you hand past the screen to reject it. Or make a circular motion with your index finger to increase or decrease volume. The system can read six gestures to control as many functions. While it is a party trick, its functionality is quite temperamental.

Cabin lighting

Ambient lighting isn’t new to cars of this class but BMW has taken things to the next level here. For starters, there are six different colour themes for illuminating the dashboard, footwells, doors and even the map pockets on the front seatbacks. There’s also soft lighting on the B-pillars to illuminate the rear section of the cabin. However, the defining bit is the ‘Sky Lounge’ panorama roof that’s available only on the M Sport version. Light from the side LEDs falls evenly on the top glass and illuminates graphics imprinted on its surface. And you can change the colours too. Really cool!