[TEST DRIVE] BMW's i7 offers speed, style and a cinema on wheels

Tap a touchscreen, and a 31.3-inch screen will drop down from the roof and blinds will come down to cover the window.

BMW i7 xDrive60 electric sedan [BMW KOREA]

GIMPO, Gyeonggi — Tap a touchscreen, and a 31.3-inch screen will drop down from the roof and blinds will come down to cover the window.

Seats and lights will be automatically adjusted, and all you have to do is select what Netflix series or YouTube video you want to watch. A relaxing massage is optional.

I'm not describing a private theater — these are all features of the latest BMW i7 electric sedan.

BMW earlier in the month introduced the latest Series 7 to the Korean market, the first fully revamped version released in seven years. The German carmaker brought two versions to Korea, a fully electric model and a mild hybrid model.

The Korea JoongAng Daily recently got behind the wheel of the fully electric i7 xDrive60 on a 90-kilometer (56-mile) journey from Incheon to a cafe in Gimpo, Gyeonggi. Half of the test drive was done in the backseat so reporters could experience a chauffeur-driven service as the 7 Series is widely known as a popular choice for CEOs.

The word to best describe the first impression the vehicle gives would be majestic. It is the biggest sedan this reporter has ever seen.

The front end of the sedan is refined, with split headlamps and a larger kidney grille. The headlights, which are designed with Swarovski crystals, sparkled.

Interior of the i7 [BMW KOREA]

Taking the wheel, the sedan surprised this reporter from the beginning. There is an automatic door button and when there is a car or human right next to the vehicle, it automatically adjusts the angle.

If you feel too lazy to press a button, just sit down in the driver's seat and press the brake pedal, then the door will be closed itself.

An augmented reality (AR) navigation service was notably comfortable as it shows real-time road conditions through the dashboard. It also offers navigational arrows to assist in driving directions. The size of the arrows increase when the vehicle is getting closer to the point that it has to make a turn. Honestly, with this system, it seems nearly impossible to get lost.

The sedan can run 438 kilometers (272 miles) per charge, according to Korea’s Environment Ministry. It is equipped with a 105.7-kilowatt-hour battery made by Samsung SDI. Last week, Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with BMW CEO Oliver Zipse. The company delivered 10 i7s which will be used as corporate vehicles at Samsung companies.

The speed was amazingly fast but smooth as the vehicle boasts a maximum 544 horsepower and only takes 4.7 seconds to get 100 kilometers per hour from zero.

It felt like safety was perfectly guaranteed even traveling at extremely high speeds. The vehicle is equipped with a radar that can recognize around 300 meters of distance and more than 30 radar sensors.

One downside was that the vehicle does not offer a digital rear-view mirror. This could be a problem as the driver cannot exactly see what's happening in the back of the car if there is a passenger sitting in the backseat using the Theater Screen service.

The Theater Screen in the backseat of i7 [BMW KOREA]

There’s a touchscreen on an interior door handle, and when a passenger taps it, a 31.3-inch screen comes down from the interior roof.

Blinds cover the rear doors and rear windows automatically, which prevents drivers from looking at the rear windshield.

Passengers can freely watch streaming services including YouTube, Netflix and Disney + through the screen, with resolutions of about 8,000 pixels, a feature better known as 8K. Other devices can also be connected with an HDMI cable.

This made this reporter feel like I was sitting in a movie theater. An amazing experience, but a reporter who test-drove with me said he felt motion sickness.

However, this sedan is not for the cash-strapped.

The sticker price of the i7 starts from 216 million won ($169,000). Rival electric EQS from Mercedes-Benz starts from 190 million won.

BMW has currently been rapidly chasing Mercedes-Benz, the No. 1 brand for seven consecutive years in terms of the number of units sold, in the Korean market.

The Series 7 has a very important role in the local market as whether BMW can reclaim the No.1 import brand crown depends on the popularity of the Series 7.

In 2022 as of end of November, BMW sold a total of 71,713 units in Korea, beating Mercedes-Benz's 71,525, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.

BMW i7s are parked at BMW Driving Center in Incheon [BMW KOREA]

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]