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On business trip, so have a newer BMW 740i for rental this week. Here's my initial assessment followed by final wrap-up later in the week.
Highs: Very spacious, gorgeous digital gauges, dual moonroofs, nice ambient lighting setup, very quiet isolated ride
Lows : Very soft un-BMW like suspension, powertrain can get overwhelmed, HK audio not as good as ML, questionable leather quality, no Android Auto support,
Summary: Drives like a Lexus cruiser with a very cushiony suspension (yet bad roads can be felt throughout cabin). Power is decent, unless you really want to get going, then the i6 turbo easily gets overwhelmed. Interior is very spacious and inviting with a clean design using high grade materials, but the leather seems to be made for durability as opposed to suppleness (typical German). Love the digital gauges, but the infotainment lack of support for Android Auto is strange for a premium flagship. Overall, this feels like a more traditional Lexus highway cruiser than the BMW of old.
headed into Detroit now. If they have that in the aisle, pretty sure the staff is going to say step the **** back! You get an altima or impala!! time to choose! lol
3 years later still have not come across a GTI like in HOtlanta 2015....
noticed the FLA tags, there are clearly vehicles like that in Orlando and Miami, Chicago too. but my Emerald Club does not afford me them!
headed into Detroit now. If they have that in the aisle, pretty sure the staff is going to say step the **** back! You get an altima or impala!! time to choose! lol
3 years later still have not come across a GTI like in HOtlanta 2015....
Or do Turo and find a nice luxury car. When I was last looking, in Atlanta, there were lots of luxury options. I think I saw 4-5 different BMW 4-series models for instance, and a couple of C300s. It got kinda pricey for the really interesting stuff, like a Ghibli or S-class. (I ended up getting a G80 5.0, which was the best bang for the buck I could find )
Would be curious to know how the 7 series holds up on the trip. Thanks for writing!
More observations (primarily as back seat passenger, today):
- lots of leg room in the, but 3 across might be a pinch.
- with center down, rear passenger side is uncomfortable fory shoulders/back for some reason; diver side is much better
- the 3.0t S54 might sound great for a 3 series but is rather tepid for the 7. Prefer the V8tt anyday
- infotainment system controls were something rlse; I drive is ok after poking a round a bit, but the air gesture controls is really interesting, albeit unorthodox to use
- parking sensors should be more intuitive for a car this size, where audible beeps should occur earlier
- should have rear side window shade included standard along with the rear sunshade
- Sports mode makes the transmission shift very roughly; very un-premium feel.
PS - have corporate discount so got it for $60/day
Lemme tell you $60/day is great imho. I never checked what it would cost corporate (I will, for kicks, again region is different too), because when I rent corporate, my insurance is through my employer. i.e. self insured so we don't take any insurance. Heaven forbid and knock on wood if anything happens I have to go through them. But they want us to do personal through Emerald Club too because it earns free days--they used to always check when booking our cars, but for whatever reason have not lately.
When I personally rented a Caddy in Chicago, it ran like $53/day, which is why I say a BMW is definitely worth it. also, when I was given a loaner for 4 1/2 mos. by BMWNA, it was a 328i, and it was $93/day incl. CDW and taxes, and that was what the BMW dealership was paying. $60 is definitely worth it for a 7. (I don't usually look too closely since mine are done by the travel desk and expensed anyway--no idea what the rental costs in Detroit--and I got a new Rogue with 7 miles) I'm not in the Executive class, just the regular. It's laughable how when the shuttle stops, the business travelers all scramble to beat each other to the nice cars hahahahahaha I kick back, let them fight, and go further out, then look for cars with dots on the tires, brake calipers that are brand new, airbag notice still in glovebox, etc. Just like to experience brand spanking new.
They don't have any around here from National. I'll try one out when the G70 comes out, since that's the Genisis I'd be interested in.
i meant go test drive one. figured there's no rentals of g90 and g70 obviously isn't similar to the 740i you're driving. was just curious for comparison.
Originally Posted by ST430
More observations (primarily as back seat passenger, today):
- lots of leg room in the, but 3 across might be a pinch. G90 similar
- with center down, rear passenger side is uncomfortable fory shoulders/back for some reason; diver side is much better
- the 3.0t S54 might sound great for a 3 series but is rather tepid for the 7. Prefer the V8tt anyday 3.3tt in my G90 is plenty potent and sounds good, although i sometimes wish i'd at least checked out the v8 but no complains
- infotainment system controls were something rlse; I drive is ok after poking a round a bit, but the air gesture controls is really interesting, albeit unorthodox to use
- parking sensors should be more intuitive for a car this size, where audible beeps should occur earlier
- should have rear side window shade included standard along with the rear sunshade G90 has power rear window side shades as well as rear standard - they're awesome.
- Sports mode makes the transmission shift very roughly; very un-premium feel. interesting... G90 sport mode keeps the revs up higher, downshifts more eagerly, and still velvety smooth, just quicker responding
PS - have corporate discount so got it for $60/day awesome deal!
only mentioning my g90 experience because from your comments it feels like hyundai probably used the 7 as a benchmark.
Lemme tell you $60/day is great imho. I never checked what it would cost corporate (I will, for kicks, again region is different too), because when I rent corporate, my insurance is through my employer. i.e. self insured so we don't take any insurance. Heaven forbid and knock on wood if anything happens I have to go through them. But they want us to do personal through Emerald Club too because it earns free days--they used to always check when booking our cars, but for whatever reason have not lately.
When I personally rented a Caddy in Chicago, it ran like $53/day, which is why I say a BMW is definitely worth it. also, when I was given a loaner for 4 1/2 mos. by BMWNA, it was a 328i, and it was $93/day incl. CDW and taxes, and that was what the BMW dealership was paying. $60 is definitely worth it for a 7. (I don't usually look too closely since mine are done by the travel desk and expensed anyway--no idea what the rental costs in Detroit--and I got a new Rogue with 7 miles) I'm not in the Executive class, just the regular. It's laughable how when the shuttle stops, the business travelers all scramble to beat each other to the nice cars hahahahahaha I kick back, let them fight, and go further out, then look for cars with dots on the tires, brake calipers that are brand new, airbag notice still in glovebox, etc. Just like to experience brand spanking new.
Honestly, the Nissan in this picture looks like a better dash than the BMW at the beginning of the thread. The Rogue is nice cute-ute overall.
Curious that the OP still thought the car rode rough on bad roads. I thought it would've rode great with those bigger sidewall tires in the picture. Maybe BMW isn't just making their cars softer, they just aren't spending the R&D money on suspension/handling like they used to. Which makes sense, the company has wasted a TON of R&D budget on niche products like the i3 toaster, the i8 electric sports car, and all the 30 different model variants they sell. Stamping sheetmetal into different shapes is HUGELY expensive now days with crash testing and having to redesign stuff like airbag systems, sunroofs, etc.
but the leather seems to be made for durability as opposed to suppleness (typical German).
Your rental has the standard Dakota leather, the Nappa leather is an inexpensive option which is a HUGE upgrade. The interior of the 7 is very nice with the Nappa leather.
I was very tempted by the 7 Series. The 750 is S Class money though, in order to get close to LS pricing it has to be a 740, and I like the V8.
i meant go test drive one. figured there's no rentals of g90 and g70 obviously isn't similar to the 740i you're driving. was just curious for comparison.
only mentioning my g90 experience because from your comments it feels like hyundai probably used the 7 as a benchmark.
Yeah, I know but I'm not really into large luxury cars anymore (did that with ls430). But I wouldn't doubt they benchmarked the 740i.
06-05-18, 06:38 AM
2018 BMW 740i Rental Review
