During the 1960’s, “Yank Tanks”—huge American cars were the in thing. But while Joes and Moes enjoyed cruising down Hollywood Boulevard in them, they were often mocked by Europeans for their sheer excess and sloppy dynamics. Oh, how times have changed. Today, the tanks are Panzers—with these German cars getting excessively larger and heavier by the minute. What makes them different though is the way they perform on the road. The BMW 730Ld is such an example—it’s like a quarterback who can sprint the 100 yards in no time despite having a torso the size of a steamer trunk. In the case of the 730Ld though, it obliterates the 100 km/h mark in 7.9 seconds and will run to an eerily silent and comfy 238 km/h top speed.
Coinciding with the availability of BMW’s famed common-rail diesel engines is a heavy modification of the 7 Series’ look. For 2006, most of the body work and lighting units forward of the windshield have been changed to strengthen the car’s aggressive, unmistakably BMW look, particularly with a larger kidney grille and less cutesy accents over the headlights. Although critics have been blasting the 7 Series’ so-called “Bangle butt” trunk line, less obsessed viewers will wonder that the fuss is all about (especially true given that the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class copied the look). Still, the BMW styling guru reshaped the trunk lid and taillights to give them a more cohesive appearance this year.
The trunk space is betting a car of this size (fitting four golf bags laterally). However its claim to fame is the raised lid (the “Bangle butt”) that adds a bit more room. A nifty feature though is that it opens and closes electronically, so there’s no need to get your hands dirty on the way to the board meeting. The same goes for the soft-touch doors, which automatically shut them tight if you’re too lazy to use any effort. Being a true BMW flagship though, the all-automatic doodads are just a tip of the iceberg.
In terms of sheer passenger comfort, the 730Ld has few rivals. Fitted with Rear Comfort Seats, the driver and all three passengers are coddled to the same degree, although only the driver has the only one with a power tilt/telescoping steering wheel. Like a proper luxury car, the steering wheel can be made to retract when exiting the car, further improving ingress/egress. Upon entry, it can be made to go back into position, or if programmed into one of the preset memory positions. The front seats feature a 16-way power adjustment including a four-way lumbar support, articulated back rest, adjustable side and thigh support and active head restraints. At back, you still get 14-way adjustment—a range of motion often not found for rear occupants. All four seats offer memory settings, and are finished in the highest quality leather.
The dominant “L” on the trunk lid connotes that this 7 Series is a “long wheelbase” variant. It equates to huge rear legroom complete with carpeted foot rests. Electronically operated shades for all five windows are perfect for hiding from the chasing paparazzi, and are welcome given the 730Ld’s awesome Rear Entertainment Package. This package includes a 6.5-inch LCD screen that displays anything originating from the six-disc trunk-mounted DVD changer. The screen is also designed to fit unobtrusively between the front seats if unneeded. There’s an option for installing headphones into the system—and it’s needed—given the 730Ld’s powerful 13-speaker system can be rather obtrusive to the driver.
If ever you find yourself in the driver’s seat of the 730Ld instead of the back, then don’t fret. Further improvements have been made to sharpen the surprisingly quick limousine, bringing the 730Ld near the top of its game. Utilizing a next-generation turbocharged and intercooled CRDi engine, 3.0-liter DOHC inline-6 churns out 231 horsepower and 520 Nm of torque. Subjectively though, it doesn’t feel quick maybe because of the car’s ultra thick insulation and well-mannered engine. Squirt on the throttle though, and the 730Ld will accelerate like a rocket thanks to the quick shifting 6-speed automatic.
By now, everyone knows about the 7 Series’ rather awkward shifter. Located on the steering column, it only has three positions—neutral, drive and reverse. However, it can be manually shifted by pressing buttons on the steering wheel. Although we’ve seen a system similar on the new Mercedes-Benz M- and S-Class, the BMW’s system is somewhat clumsier as you can, more than once, accidentally wash the windshield rather than backing up. The parking brake is also electromechanical, but unlike some other systems which disengage automatically when the car’s moving, this one won’t. With enough fiddling of the controls though, the 730Ld can customized to engage the parking brake automatically when the car comes to a complete stop or even briefly say, when at a stoplight.
On the road, the 730Ld’s mass is almost intangible thanks to massive use of aluminum in its suspension and braking components. The variable-assist steering system is seamless and useful, but rather light compared to other BMWs. The 50/50 weight distribution (a trademark BMW trait) enables the 730Ld to have excellent balance through the corners. Its host of chassis-control technologies keeps the driver safe without interfering in the fun. It comes standard with the usual alphabets of safety (ABS, EBD, DTC, DSC, CBC), which are mostly invisible on everyday driving but will become important on less-grippy surfaces.
Perhaps the most discontenting part of the 7 Series’ driving has little to do with the mechanical stuff. It’s primarily the HAL-like iDrive system, which despite its changes is still pretty confusing and awkward. Although it’s an elegant approach to reduce dashboard clutter, quickly selecting a function may take two to three clicks, where in others it will only take one. This makes for a pretty good distraction from driving. BMW has made some improvements such as providing redundant, dedicated knobs and switches for the climate control and audio system, but these tweaks do little to make the iDrive less than baffling.
Despite its bulk, “sedate” isn’t the word to describe the new BMW 730Ld. This is a car that can quickly take intrepid drivers to cornering limits they wouldn’t dare explore outside a racetrack. With such torque from its creamy diesel engine, it can be driven aggressively—if that’s your choice. At the same time though, the 730Ld boasts one of the best and comfortable interiors of any standard production car. It may be a bit cold to the soul because of its confusing technological amenities, but given time you’ll certainly warm up to its impressive performance. It’s certainly not cheap, but discerning buyers will love the 730Ld for its overall package.
By Ulysses Ang | Photos by Ulysses Ang
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