What's the difference?
It was always going to happen - an electric version of the BMW 7-Series - but how well does the i7 handle the limousine fundamentals - comfort, power, room and style?
Well, luxury transport has been missing one major component all these years and the i7 has it.
Let me explain...
Tesla’s Cybertruck truly is a giant wedge of cutting-edge technology, and not only because its edges are so sharp you could literally cut yourself, or chop kindling, with them.
No vehicle, nor indeed even any of his stupid ideas, so perfectly represents the manic mania, the whooping, wanton wackiness of Elon Musk as this comically angular, sharp-edged savager of pedestrians.
And yet people, and American people in particular as we discovered on a trip to Los Angeles to drive one, love the Cybertruck. Tesla is said to be holding as many as 2 million pre-orders for it in North America alone and many Australians have expressed interest in buying one, when the company finally manages to build it in right-hand drive, and get it on sale down here, almost regardless of the price (spoiler alert: it’s going to be a lot).
I’ve seen a lot of strange and wildly ugly cars over the years, but if you parked the Cybertruck next to all of them, they’d just disappear because you really can’t take your eyes off its pointy, almost dangerous looking lines. It’s like a human tried to engineer an echidna on wheels.
It does make me laugh, though, and so it was with a smile on my face and acid dripping from my pen that I arrived at a giant Tesla delivery centre in LA to drive it. Come with me.
The i7 xDrive60 M Sport is close to the perfect 7 Series. From the comfort of being driven in it, to the ease of driving it, even for hours on end.
The i7's range of 625km is outstanding for an electric vehicle, but a petrol powered 740i will get you about 900km on a full tank. How many kilometres a day will you cover? Do you have time and a way to charge the i7 daily if you do cover a lot of distance?
If driving range isn't an issue, the i7 will reward you with a smooth, effortless driving experience and your passengers will have a serene journey in luxurious, high-tech surroundings. Just don't bump the door release button accidentally!
Weird, wild, unnecessary, arguably horrific to look at, or at least challenging, too fast, too silly, the Cybertruck is many things, but all of the bad things are obvious from a distance while you only realise just how impressive, clever and intense it is once you take it for a drive.
The drive-by-wire steering alone is a revolutionary bit of tech that will surely bleed into the wider world.Â
Overall I thought I would hate it, but I walked away, head still shaking, with grudging respect approaching admiration for the Tesla Cybertruck.