In a market that now puts SUVs on a tall-riding pedestal and treats sedans like soil-tilling peasants, the three-row X7 has clearly usurped the 7 Series throne, especially as King of America. Since its debut as a 2019 model, this South Carolina-built challenger to the Mercedes GLS-Class, Range Rover and Cadillac Escalade has found 47% of its global buyers in the United States with another 28% coming from China. Only 2% found homes in Germany.
With one eye to protecting that throne, the X7 receives an especially robust refresh for 2023. Decisive upgrades include new inline-six and V8 engines, both with a 48-volt mild hybrid assist for added efficiency, reduced emissions and a helpful shove of electric torque. The X7 xDrive40i model (starting from $78,845), brings 375 overachieving horsepower and a peak 393 pound-feet of torque from its turbocharged 3.0-liter inline-six. That’s a jump of 40 horses and 67 pound-feet, but it also runs the more efficient Miller cycle and features exhaust valves that can close during engine shutdown to reduce torque on overrun by about two-thirds.
To read more about the 2023 BMW X7 M60i and other BMW news click the links below:
https://www.autoblog.com/2022/08/28/2023-bmw-x7-first-drive/
https://www.autoblog.com/buy/2023-BMW-X7-M60i__4dr_All_Wheel_Drive_Sports_Activity_Vehicle/
TranscriptZAC PALMER: Hello everybody. I'm Zac Palmer, and welcome to the "Autoblog" garage where in the fleet this week, we have the BMW X7 M60i. The X7 is refreshed for 2023 with a whole lot of changes. I'm going to call this a pretty heavy refresh on BMW's flagship, which you can honestly call it that these days because they sell way more of these than the BMW 7 Series.
So some of the big changes immediately that you'll see up front is we have basically a whole new front end. So we have a revised grille that is actually illuminated. If we were in the dark, you could see it. We have a totally new headlight module with these separate headlights and LED DRLs. This is the first time that BMW has done this on any of their SUVs. So we'll see this really neat LED signature there, and then the actual headlights are down there in a separate module.
Now this being the M60i, it has its own front fascia with some larger side air intakes, larger grille area for more air to get into that big 4.4-liter V8, which is actually updated this year. Gets a few things to strengthen the engine as a whole. Still the same power, 523 horsepower, 553 pound-feet of torque.
So now that we've seen what's new up front here, let's move along to the side. Now, BMW is offering 23-inch wheels on the X7 this year. This car doesn't have it though. It's an option. But this is the first time that BMW has thrown 23-inch wheels on anything. Regardless, we have the M60i with the really big wheels and tires. So these are 275 section width up front, and 315 in the rear. Huge, huge rubber for this performance SUV.
Now, I'll also point out this really awesome blue paint because here we can see the whole car in profile now. This is called Marina Bay Blue. It's the frozen Marina Bay Blue, which means it's a matte finish. Really, really cool. I would absolutely go for it on this car. It's worth it.
Moving along the side here, the M60i gets its own treatment. So you'll see the black, this chrome-ish black trim down there. The mirror has a really cool wing design. It's very BMW M-like, like you'll see on M3, M4, M5, and whatnot. And then moving all the way back to the back here, we will get to the changes that BMW made. This is the last of them. They really didn't do anything to the side for the refresh.
But back here, you'll see the new LED taillights. These are really cool taillights. And if you look real closely in the design here, there's a really cool intricate pattern that we have going on in there. I really, really like that look. It gives it a nice upscale vibe that other cars may not have.
And then just the fascia in general is new. We have a new exhaust down here, new exhaust outlets, new trim all around it. And, of course, the M60i badge, which is really neat-looking on the back. Denotes, of course, you have the big V8. So now that we've taken a look around the outside, we should probably hop inside and check out a lot of the changes BMW made because there's a lot to go over.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
So welcome to the inside of the BMW X7. I'm starting in the third row just because this is a BMW with three rows. So it might as well highlight that, right? This is what you get when you need to throw six or seven people into a car, and I'm also starting here because the third row of this thing is surprisingly nice.
The legroom itself is, well, fine I'm. 5' 10," and my knees fit behind this second row seat right here. No problem. Is it a little tight? Sure. Could the floor be a little lower? Yeah. But it's not so bad particularly because I have my own climate zone back here. This is a fully automatic climate. I can set the fan, the temp, just as I can in the first or second row, and I have heated seats. So who doesn't love heated seats in the third row? Do I wish they were ventilated seats too? Yeah, but I guess you can only get so much for a little over $100,000.
Now that we've seen back here, how about we hop up into the first row and check out all of the changes? Welcome to the first row of the BMW X7. Now, this is where a lot of the changes are made for the refresh this year. I'm going to start by talking about this new center console area.
Now, you'll notice there's no big shifter that you used to sing with the BMW. Now instead, we have this really cool crystal model stable-like-- I don't know-- rock sort of device here to shift. You rock it back for drive. Rock it forward for reverse. Press a button for park. Very similar operation to the normal BMW shifter, but it doesn't take up the same space. So you can get a cup into the cupholder area a lot easier. It's just more ergonomic this way.
Now, you also notice a glass controls for the start/stop engine button, and for the iDrive control knob. I really love those luxury touches. Moving up from there, we have a totally new center console. This is really cool-looking. You have some really neat geometric shapes there. However, you lose a lot of physical buttons and controls, which kind of sucks, honestly. There's no more radio presets you can stab here. No more heated seat button or anything like that. It's just all design and control.
Now, you do still have a volume knob and a skip and go back and some defrost buttons, but that's all you got now. Everything has been moved into the screen, which is the BMW curved display you can see right here. You have a 12.3-inch screen in front of the driver, and then a 14.9-inch infotainment touchscreen right there that both the passenger and driver can use.
It runs BMW iDrive 8, which is a totally new software system for BMW. And to get to some of those frustrations, to change the climate control or heated seats, you kind of got to go into this climate menu right here, which, OK, you open that up. That is very intimidating right off the bat, but this is how you change your heated seats. Your cooled seats right there. You have a lot of different settings for all of them, just really granular control to scroll over. You get to the passenger controls. It's definitely not as easy to do as before. And in general, this new infotainment system is more customizable than before, but we definitely have our hang-ups with it from a usability standpoint.
So moving on from the screens, we have some really cool design touches in here that BMW have updated the X7 with. One is this new light bar across the side passenger display area here. This is LED backlit. With the M60i, of course, you get the M logo up there. You can make that whatever color you want, essentially, through the infotainment system.
And then from there, we have some really, really neat seats. These are the four Merino leather seats that you get standard with the M60i. I really love all of the quilting that we have on here. It's a nice design. And then the headrest itself, super soft, pillowy soft, but not quite as soft as what Mercedes has. Still, super comfortable.
So now that we're talking about the seats, how about we happen to the second row of seats and see what they have to offer? So welcome to the back seat of the X7. This one has the captain's chair so we have two across as opposed to three across. That makes this one a six-seater. Back here is, well, very luxurious. You'll notice we have the same quilted seats. Super comfortable.
The back seat does have the pillows for if you're an executive lounging back here. And you'll notice, I mean, we just have luxury touches everywhere. Even these little pull straps for the back of the doors have some really great quilting and stitching on them. This whole center console area is super nice too. We got some big old cup holders down there for whatever drinks you might have. And, of course, your own custom climate controls, each side can have their own temperature control. Heated seats there as well.
Now, if you want to be really private and tucked away here, BMW allows you to control the shades. Just from a button here on the door, you can control that shade electronic, and, of course, you can also control the shade up top. That one will completely close you in and you'll stay very private in here.
So let's go hop around to the back and check out the hatch for the BMW X7, which I think is a really cool feature for it. You'll notice when you open it up right here, it is a two-piece hatchback, just like the BMW X5. I really like that feature. So you open that. This stays put. Then you go ahead and press the button there, and this guy falls down, and you have a nice easy loading area you can chuck stuff in. It can even be a seat. You want to go to a tailgate or whatever, it's a great place to hang out at and you don't have to be all the way tucked into the trunk.
Now, of course, you have your third row here. There's not a lot of space behind it, but if you do go ahead and set that down, there is considerably more space. Press the button there it. Is electronically folding, and you have a big old expanse. So this is where you put all of your cargo when you go to the grocery store. You got a bunch of kids, this will work for that purpose. It's probably one of the reasons why Americans love it so much, and there are so many sold here.
So the last thing we have to talk about here is what's under the hood of this beast. This being the M60i, we have the 4.4-liter twin turbo V8 from BMW. They applied a few updates to it this year. Most notably, there's a mild hybrid assist. So that gives you a little electric boost right off the line. Aids the start/stop process.
It doesn't add any power per se. It just still has the same 523 horsepower 553 pound feet of torque rating, as the pre-Refresh X7 M-Sport version. It goes to 60 in 4.5 seconds. Sounds a ruckus.
[ENGINE ROARING]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
It's really, really fun to drive around. It also has a new 8-speed automatic transmission, which is really snappy. Some really great violent shifts. And the last thing that I'll point out before we go ahead and conclude here is that this is, of course, the M60i, so it has all of the suspension stuff from that. So it's a really great handler. You'll notice just even all these braces in the engine. Your normal SUV doesn't have stuff like that. This thing handles surprisingly well. It's a lot of fun to drive. And that was a 2023 BMW X7 M60i. Make sure to like, share, and subscribe and tune in next week.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
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