Driving the BMW i7 eDrive 50Powering the BMW i7 eDrive 50 is a single motor placed on the rear axle. You no longer get the xDrive 60 variant, which had a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup. There is, however, a full-blown M70 version which gets a dual-motor setup that puts out 650 BHP and costs Rs. 53 lakh more. As for the eDrive 50 variant, the motor puts out 449 BHP and is mated to a 101.7 kWh battery pack. You walk up to the car, and you’re greeted with automatic doors that open for you when you press the button on the door. Get in the driver’s seat, and the first thing you’ll notice is that the floor isn’t high like you see on EVs that share their platform with an IC-engine variant. The floor height is just like your regular 7-series, which is great. You can long-press the brake pedal, and the door will close automatically, or you can press the button below the right-hand side AC vent to close the door. With the doors closed, you’re cut off from the outside world, and the cabin insulation is quite impressive. Start driving in the city, and you’re constantly aware of the massive size of the car. I started off in the efficient mode, which was perfect for driving in Mumbai traffic. The throttle response was very linear and progressive in this mode. There’s a lot of power on tap, and closing gaps in traffic and making quick overtakes is very easy. More importantly, the car doesn’t feel excessively aggressive even when you try to get through the traffic quickly. It’s very easy to drive this powerful car sedately in the city, which is something a lot of the owners will appreciate from the backseat. Out on the highway is where you get the chance to experience the 449 BHP on tap. The i7 is quick to build up speed even in efficient mode. You won’t really feel the need to switch to any other mode to make those overtakes on the highways, nor do you need to pre-plan them. Switch out of the efficient mode, and the i7’s senses are sharpened. It responds to the slightest of inputs and feels comfortable while doing so. You will easily be doing silly speeds without even noticing it. In the sportiest setting, the i7 feels extremely sharp, and you will feel the typical ‘pushed into your seat’ acceleration that we’ve come to associate with EVs. The top speed is limited to 240 km/h, and it does the 0-100 km/h run in just 4.7 seconds. Those acceleration runs can very quickly get addictive. For reference, though, the Mercedes EQS 580, which gets the 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system, is quicker in the 0-100 km/h run at 4.3 seconds.Regenerative BrakingOne of the alternate uses of paddle shifters in electric cars is to adjust the regenerative braking. However, that’s not the case with the i7. There are no paddle shifters for adjusting the regenerative braking. You have to do it through the touchscreen, which is annoying while driving. There are 4 modes of regenerative braking to choose from – Low, Moderate, High, and Adaptive. In the adaptive setting, the car decides the amount of regeneration needed as per the throttle inputs. I didn’t find this mode to be very intuitive and preferred having the car in low regeneration mode. In the B mode, one-pedal driving is activated.Noise, Vibration & Harshness (NVH)As mentioned earlier, the lack of engine noise or gearbox noise is perfect for a luxury sedan. The overall NVH levels are excellent, and you can, in fact, enjoy a nice conversation with all the passengers during your drive. Even at highway speeds, the wind and tyre noise are kept well under control.Range and ChargingWith a massive 101.7 kWh battery pack, the WLTP claimed range is 603 km, which is somewhat close to the real-world range. Anything close to 550 km is plenty for our roads, and with the growing charging infrastructure, range anxiety should be taken care of as well. The only possible way that you’ll be draining the battery is if you’re doing nonstop acceleration runs or gunning it on the track lap after lap. The battery supports maximum DC fast charging of 200 kW if you need to top up quickly. Suspension The BMW i7 is equipped with adaptive air suspension with auto levelling. In theory, the suspension’s air supply is controlled for each wheel, which helps maintain the optimum ride height at all speeds. Right off the bat, the system has been tuned for maximum comfort, and that’s evident pretty quickly. Going through potholes and small bumps on Mumbai roads was surprisingly plush. Of course, you have to be careful through them, but the ride isn’t bone-jarring as you’d expect from an EV. There is a firm edge to the suspension, but the i7 manages to filter most of your everyday road irregularities with ease in Comfort mode. On Mumbai roads, more often than not, you will encounter a speed bump that’s way bigger than the standard speed bump. On such occasions, you will have to raise the ride height by pressing the button on the center console. This raises the ride height by 0.8 inches, and I found myself using this a lot, along with driving over speed breakers diagonally. You really do have to be careful with the low ride height and the long wheelbase. Out on the highways, the car feels planted and masks speed quite nicely. You will not even feel that you are doing 100 or 120 km/h on the expressway. There is a bit of vertical movement, but it’s not excessive. You can stiffen things up by switching to Sport mode, where the ride height is reduced by 0.4 inches. Start attacking some corners and you will be impressed by how well this massive sedan can hold its line. The body roll is minimal, and there’s plenty of grip on offer. The turn in is sharp, and while you are aware of the ~2.7 ton weight that you’re hauling, it never feels cumbersome. The steering gives you good feedback when pushing hard and feels quite direct. You also get rear-wheel steering, which helps with the turning radius in the city. It’s not a game-changer, though, given the massive size of the vehicle. However, in terms of handling, it does sharpen things up a bit. If you wish for an all-out handler, then you will have to make the jump to the M70, which gets the all-wheel drive setup along with active roll stabilization. The brakes have a strong bite, but they’re not as progressive and sharp as we’ve seen on some of the IC-engine cars from BMW. They do the job well of stopping the car in an emergency situation, and that’s what will matter to most of the owners who’ll be sitting in the backseat for most of the time. Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.
