BMW 7 2006 Review

But if you're not fazed by these factors, read on because BMW's huge 750Li is a Lear jet waiting for a pair of wings.

The V8-powered, long wheel base version of BMW's flagship 7 Series will set you back a whisker under $230,000 - that's before options and on-road costs.

For those not familiar with the car, it is a favourite with hire car operators, bigger and more powerful than a Holden Statesman but more than three times the price.

The sheer size of the car becomes apparent when parked shoulder to shoulder with something like the Statesman which we just happened to have at the same time.

The long wheel base version is a shade under 5.2m, designed to seat five at a pinch and gets 138mm more leg room in the back.

It is targeted at the chauffeur driven set, although truth be known most Aussies prefer to drive themselves.

The 750 series was offered previously only with a 6.0-litre V12 engine.

But this is now restricted to the top of the range 760Li.

The previous 4.4-litre V8 has been sup-planted by a 4.8-litre unit that powers the 750Li.

It delivers 270kW of power at 6300rpm and 490Nm of torque at 3400rpm, an 10 per cent increase in power and nine per cent increase in torque.

For a big car, weighing in at just under two tonnes, it certainly gets mobile quickly.

The 750Li is able to spring from 0-100km/ h in six seconds flat and on to an electronically governed top speed of 250km/h.

Impressive figures, but not nearly as impressive as the fuel consumption which is a claimed 11.4L/100km.

We clocked up more than 900km behind the wheel at a rate of just 12.8L/100km, which is simply outstanding for a car this size.

Power is fed through a six-speed sequential automatic transmission to the rear wheels.

We're not big fans of the steering wheel mounted shift lever either.

You get change buttons on the steering wheel, but they do not lend themselves to enthusiastic driving.

A separate button is used to change between auto, sport and manual modes, but you can't switch transparently between modes just by hitting the gear change buttons.

The 7 Series copped a lot of flak when it was launched a few years back, most of it directed at the raised boot lid section and tail light design.

The raised section became known as the Bangle Bustle after designer Chris Bangle.

Thankfully, this has been scaled back with the current model and in our view is no longer an issue.

The "iDrive" computer system which can now be found in other models has also been a sore point.

With this system, a large, round joystick-like knob, mounted prominently in the centre console, is used to access and control various functions of the car.

These range from the sound system, to the phone and on-board data like fuel usage.

While iDrive has been refined, it's still way too complicated for the average person in our humble opinion.

Apart from the switch to a large V8, the new 7 Series benefits from improvements to the all- aluminium suspension which sees a 14mm increase in rear track.

The 750Li features adaptive, self-levelling suspension to reduce body roll in corners, with fully variable front and rear anti-roll bars.

The luxury equipment list is a long one, suffice to say rear seat passengers get their own fold out monitor on which they can watch movies or digital TV, in addition to the dash mounted screen.