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 A few months back , when we were planning an article , the BMW 750Li took away the honour of being the fastest in its segment. i wasn’t really surprised because a Beemer has always been known to be a rewarding driver’s car. Even when my ex-colleague , Amit Chhangani pitted the new 7 against its competition way back in March 2009 , he shared the same opinion and correctly summed up the car as a functional fusion of athleticism and serenity. It would be fair to say that even before I took the 730Ld for a spin last month , I was expecting this limousine to set the fastest pace once again for diesel cars in this premium luxury segment.
A lot has been discussed previously about the 7’s looks , interiors as well as the way it rides and pampers four occupants on the move. The changes here lie under the hood , hence let’s get down to discussing that first. The 730Ld makes use of the same 3.0-litre straight six cylinder engine that also powers the smaller 5 Series in India. However , with an additional four hundred kilos of weight to lug around as compared its smaller sibling , the 7’s powerplant has been tweaked in order to produce around ten more horses , and more importantly , forty more Newton meters of torque. This engine is mated to a standard six-speed automatic gearbox with an option for manual shifts. When engaged in the Sports mode , the two tonne lump of metal blisters past the hundred kilometers per hour mark in just 7.54 seconds , making it the fastest diesel in its class. The strong gush of seamless torque from 1750 to 3000rpm gives the 7 incredible overtaking abilities even when the speedometer needle is around the  200km/h mark.
So strong is the engine that it pesters you into switching off the traction control completely and indulging in rear wheel antics on curvy roads. For Scandinavian buyers , BMW decided to offer a little secret – when you disable the DSC , (Dynamic Stability Control) a special setting sharpens the steering , makes the rear suspension softer and tightens the rear differential. Now , how cool is that? In fact , this car shares its platform and wheelbase with the 5 Series GT and when you select Sports+ from the four different driving modes , the 7 completely changes the way it rides and handles.
All modern BMWs make use of the EfficientDynamics technology. This not only maximizes economy and reduces emission figures , but also improves engine performance for a better driving experience. In addition , the 7 Series also features brake energy regeneration that makes use of the engine’s power on overrun (such as braking) to charge the battery for the car’s electrical system. Other features remain the same as the petrol model we tested earlier. The interiors are typical BMW – the same characteristic lines and topnotch leather quality. You get almost every imaginable luxury feature including heated , cooled and massaging seats , iDrive controls for the rear passengers and electronic adjustments for every single thing. On the outside , the front headlamp ‘rings’ and the rear flame effect tail lamps add to the sporty touch. This is where I would like to add that the 7 at times ends up confusing itself. For One , it doesn’t seem to know what it wants to prove with its appearance. It intends to show multiple abilities  which might not go down well with everyone , however , some believe that this Beemer is a good mix of being luxurious on the inside and sporty in the way it behaves and moves. True , no other car in its segment drives like this - smoking the rear wheels while it goes sideways around corners while making sure that the passengers are cocooned in utter comfort.
But why would any one in the world spend a fortune to buy a car that is fun to drive? Aren’t there cheaper options like the 3 Series available for that? This segment is all about status , luxury and announcing your arrival in the grandest manner. So does it deliver? Perfectly well. The car’s sales have been on the rise in India. It accounted for as much as 15 percent of the total BMWs sold in the country during July this year. The 730Ld is aimed squarely at the chauffeur driven section of cars around the world. This recently added long wheelbase version has an extra 14cm inserted into the length of the car. All this , of course , comes at a price. At Rs 77.3 lakh (ex-showroom) , the 7 is expensive , however , it comes loaded with frills and technological marvels that only a few can understand and respect.
More photos:
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A lot has been discussed previously about the 7’s looks , interiors as well as the way it rides and pampers four occupants on the move. The changes here lie under the hood , hence let’s get down to discussing that first. The 730Ld makes use of the same 3.0-litre straight six cylinder engine that also powers the smaller 5 Series in India. However , with an additional four hundred kilos of weight to lug around as compared its smaller sibling , the 7’s powerplant has been tweaked in order to produce around ten more horses , and more importantly , forty more Newton meters of torque. This engine is mated to a standard six-speed automatic gearbox with an option for manual shifts. When engaged in the Sports mode , the two tonne lump of metal blisters past the hundred kilometers per hour mark in just 7.54 seconds , making it the fastest diesel in its class. The strong gush of seamless torque from 1750 to 3000rpm gives the 7 incredible overtaking abilities even when the speedometer needle is around the
200km/h mark.
So strong is the engine that it pesters you into switching off the traction control completely and indulging in rear wheel antics on curvy roads. For Scandinavian buyers , BMW decided to offer a little secret – when you disable the DSC , (Dynamic Stability Control) a special setting sharpens the steering , makes the rear suspension softer and tightens the rear differential. Now , how cool is that? In fact , this car shares its platform and wheelbase with the 5 Series GT and when you select Sports+ from the four different driving modes , the 7 completely changes the way it rides and handles.
All modern BMWs make use of the EfficientDynamics technology. This not only maximizes economy and reduces emission figures , but also improves engine performance for a better driving experience. In addition , the 7 Series also features brake energy regeneration that makes use of the engine’s power on overrun (such as braking) to charge the battery for the car’s electrical system. Other features remain the same as the petrol model we tested earlier. The interiors are typical BMW – the same characteristic lines and topnotch leather quality. You get almost every imaginable luxury feature including heated , cooled and massaging seats , iDrive controls for the rear passengers and electronic adjustments for every single thing. On the outside , the front headlamp ‘rings’ and the rear flame effect tail lamps add to the sporty touch. This is where I would like to add that the 7 at times ends up confusing itself. For One , it doesn’t seem to know what it wants to prove with its appearance. It intends to show multiple abilities
which might not go down well with everyone , however , some believe that this Beemer is a good mix of being luxurious on the inside and sporty in the way it behaves and moves. True , no other car in its segment drives like this - smoking the rear wheels while it goes sideways around corners while making sure that the passengers are cocooned in utter comfort.
But why would any one in the world spend a fortune to buy a car that is fun to drive? Aren’t there cheaper options like the 3 Series available for that? This segment is all about status , luxury and announcing your arrival in the grandest manner. So does it deliver? Perfectly well. The car’s sales have been on the rise in India. It accounted for as much as 15 percent of the total BMWs sold in the country during July this year. The 730Ld is aimed squarely at the chauffeur driven section of cars around the world. This recently added long wheelbase version has an extra 14cm inserted into the length of the car. All this , of course , comes at a price. At Rs 77.3 lakh (ex-showroom) , the 7 is expensive , however , it comes loaded with frills and technological marvels that only a few can understand and respect.
More photos:
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