BMW 730d SE:BEFORE WE get into a discussion on the merits of this latest €114,000 luxury liner, let's turn the clock back to a time when we Irish believed our own business blarney, writes MICHAEL McALEER
BEFORE WE get into a discussion on the merits of this latest €114,000 luxury liner, let’s turn the clock back to a time when we Irish believed our own business blarney.
Hailed as economic superheroes, the focus of our economic debates revolved around which of our far-sighted leaders could claim to have been the architect of this monumental success. Surely several of these captains of industry – well, captains of building sites at any rate – would stand alongside Dev, Collins and perhaps even Fionn Mac Cumhaill in the annals.
Captains of industry deserved chariots to match their importance. So, into this world of our corporate egos rumbled a new 7 Series, penned by then-boyish US designer, Chris Bangle.
It was derided from the off. BMW fans we knew – including those with the cash reserves to keep their new 7 Series on the road in the 1980s – balked at the new look. It was a travesty, and their faces would turn purple as they moved on to the the topic of the iDrive, a revolutionary turn and click knob that attempted to mimic a computer mouse in terms of user control.
These were people who had staff to operate computers. For them, e-mails were short letters spat out by the secretary’s printer. Did this new device mean they needed their secretaries with them in the car to turn on Pat Kenny in the morning? It was technology gone mad. As expected, sales suffered.
Yet Bangle was perhaps ahead of his time, as he regularly reminded anyone within earshot. Since his original 7 Series took to our roads, the bluster has given way to subtle imitation. Big dominant front noses on cars are commonplace. Designers now talk about the need to pass the 100-metre test: you should be able to easily identify at least the brand of car from that distance. The Germans have long quipped that most Japanese cars don’t even pass the 10-metre test.
The 7 Series of 2001 didn’t just stand out in car parks, it cast a menacing shadow over passers-by. Bangle created a motoring monument to the imagined egos of its potential owners. The problem was that most thought the big metal parody cut too close to the bone.
So it’s after his departure from the motor industry that we must doff our chauffeur’s cap to Bangle, the man who turned the 7 Series into a conversation piece across the world.
Would the great big grille on the Audi A8 have made it off the easel if Bangle hadn’t persevered? And what about Audi’s MMI control system, or the latest turn and click controls on Mercedes cars: would they have been possible without iDrive? Some 10 years on, can we now look back on Bangle’s flagship and say it was a motoring pioneer, a future classic?
Now wind the clock forward to the arrival of this latest iteration of the flagship bavarian. In design terms, the new 7 Series seems to be the culmination of several less warmly welcomed attempts. While I was a fan of the Bangle-inspired 2001 behemoth, it has taken nearly a decade for people to get used to its sheer bulk.
The groundwork has paid off, for the strongest reaction we got to driving around in the new 7 Series had more to do with the 2009 numberplate than the exterior styling of the car.
This new car is strikingly good looking. The front nose is beautifully sculpted while the rear light clusters, with what seems like LED pipes, are as striking as the lighting signature on Audis these days. Inside, it boasts the usual fanfare of gadgets and gizmos, including the latest take on the iDrive that, after several years of experimentation, seems to have got the mix of turn, click and button controls just right.
Much has already been written in praise of BMW’s 3-litre diesel powertrain: an engine that has become one of the great workhorses of the modern era. It’s a fantastic, torque-filled engine that packs ample punch but delivers it with a petrol-like smoothness. This is an award-winning engine and the favoured choice of BMW aficionados in all the firm’s exterior guises. The concern, of course, is that while it’s a powerhouse in the 3 Series, can it carry the flagship? The answer, unsurprisingly, is yes.
While 245bhp is acceptable rather than exceptional, the 540Nm of torque is at the upper end of the range in this class, while 0-100km/h in 7.2 seconds is more than enough in a car of this size. In reality it’s not only one of the best BMW engines, it’s also the only engine you can realistically put in a 7 Series and hope to see some return on resale. The only gripe is that it’s just 3g of CO2 over the band E threshold that would have dropped the car’s VRT by 4 per cent and its motor tax by €420.
However, the greatest surprise of this 7 Series is neither its styling nor its engine: it’s the car’s incredible dexterity on the road. It may measure in at over 5m in length and 1.9m wide but when nestled in the air-conditioned driver’s seat, cold air caressing your back, you can throw this car around like a 5 Series. That sounds preposterous, but it’s the real deal.
This car settles into its stride incredibly quickly. It’s only when you step out that you realise how much metal you’ve been throwing around bends that should challenge a Fiesta. For anyone with even a modicum of physics education, it simply shouldn’t be possible – but it is.
So what of the competition and, more importantly, the price? The starting point for this car is €114,240, but no one leaves a showroom after spending this much without shopping from the options list. For our test car, the added dynamic drive system – which we would regard as a must – adds €2,390. That’s arguably less than some of the sillier features on offer, but it still pushes up the distance between the 730d and its equivalent Audi A8.
Of course the biggest fish in this particular sea is still the Mercedes S-Class. It has the image, presence and engineering kudos of a car that has long held top spot in its segment and will not give it up without a fight. In reality, the BMW challenges it in many areas but the Mercedes still retains the throne.
Where Mercedes ultimately wins out is in resale value: the elephant in the showroom for the 7 Series. That’s largely down to decades of brand building, along with rock-solid reliability in its S-Class range. Others imitate but few, if any, succeed.
Cars in this class have their own loyal band of followers, ideally nurtured from the nipple of their first hatchbacks and increasing in size in line with their office space. The good news is that BMW now has ample model range to be able to tap a sizeable pool of premium motorists.
The downside is that Mercedes has been playing the game longer, and it will take a lot to knock it off this particular pedestal. Then there are the other rivals nibbling away on the fringe, like Jaguar’s new XJ.
The new 730d deserves a test drive. The problem is, it needs potential buyers to set aside their brand prejudices, established over years of motoring. Even then, the question remains: has BMW done enough to strengthen residuals? That’s a problem even BMW’s former oracle Bangle couldn’t solve.
Factfile
Engine:2,993cc six-cylinder in-line turbocharged common-rail diesel engine putting out 245bhp @ 4,000rpm and 540Nm of torque @ 1,750rpm
Specification:front, side and curtain airbags, dual front advanced head protection system (AHPS II), automatic stability control (ASC), cornering brake control (CBC), park distance control (PDC), rain sensor with automatic headlight activation, runflat tyres, auto four-zone air-con, radio/CD with 10.2" colour display screen, sat-nav, 18" alloys; options include dynamic drive system (€2,390.34), reversing assist camera (€427.58), lane departure warning system (€530.61), lane change warning system (€628.49), active cruise control (€1,906.09)
L/100km (mpg):urban – 9.0 (31.4); extra-urban – 5.5 (51.4); combined – 6.8 (41.5)
CO2 emissions:192g/km
Tax:VRT – 32 per cent; annual motor tax – €1,050
Price:€114,240