Unwrapping our latest test car, the 2020 BMW 740i xDrive. West Coast Editor James Riswick gives you a tour of its exterior, interior and the options of this particular car. Price tag: $102,895.
TranscriptJAMES RISWICK: All right, it's car swap day. Let's see what they've brought me. It's the BMW 740i xDrive, complete with enlarged kidney grills for 2020. It has a three-liter turbo-charged inline six-- good for 335 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque. XDrive does indicate that it has the optional all-wheel drive system.
Now this paint color you're looking at here is Arctic Gray Metallic. That is a standard paint color. You don't have to pay extra for it. But there are some options here on the exterior of the 7 Series. Now there are adaptive LED headlights, standard. But this one has the optional BMW laser headlights. That's $1,000 option. You can see the blue elements there give it away. There's also a little warning here not to look into the headlights because they're laser lights, as if looking into headlights is ever a good idea.
Now this comes standard with 19-inch wheels. However, these are one of the several wheel options. These are the $2,600 BMW Individual V Spoke wheels. I think they're quite snazzy, actually. They don't look too big. They're appropriate for the car. Now that is the revised hockey stick-like element on the side of the new-- or revised-- 7 Series.
[HIGH-PITCHED BEEPING]
And it does like to beep at you. This does lock and unlock as you approach the car with the key in your pocket. So that might happen a few times. Now around the back, there's some-- [BEEP] just like that. Around the back, there is revised tail lights. I think they look pretty sharp. And again, you get the xDrive logo and 740i. Let's move inside.
Now this 7 Series is actually pretty lightly optioned. The standard base price is $89,450, plus the $995 destination charge. This one costs $102,895. And there's actually, again, not that many interior options on it. But you do get a cold weather package with remote ignition start, front and rear heated seats, and then heated front seat armrests. So those are heated. It's kind of-- if you're not expecting it, it's a nice surprise. It's also a heated steering wheel up there. This also has rear sun shades as part of a premium package, along with a head-up display right up there.
Now these are the standard 20-way comfort seats. You can see that it's double articulated here. It'll go that way, while this part of the seat can go forward or back separately. That is a power thigh support. And again, these are the standard seats, apart from the upgrade Napa leather that you get when you get that premium package.
You can see the ambient light there poking through with blue. It's pretty snazzy in here at night. Also in the back seat, these panels here are great big light panels. And they have that kind of swoosh, the hockey stick-like effect that is mirrored on the exterior of the car. At night, it creates a light carpet. Other features back here-- oh. Hello.
Now that screen up there, that is BMW's latest and greatest. That is a touch screen. It's 10.25 inches. There's BMW's new standard 12-inch, fully digital instrument cluster. Although it's fully digital, there's not really different designs. I think it's a missed opportunity there for BMW. Also for the fact that it doesn't look anything like past BMW gauges. They could look like absolutely anything. And because I've said BMW, this does have--
CAR: Hello.
JAMES RISWICK: Yep, if you say "BMW," it'll think it wants you to do something for it. I don't. Cancel. Hopefully that works. But there is the iDrive controller right there.
CAR: Please try again using different words. Here are some sample commands that I understand.
JAMES RISWICK: Cancel.
CAR: Cancel.
JAMES RISWICK: There you go. There's the wireless charging pad right there with a USB-A port and two cup holders. There is a USB-C port right in here. It's interesting that they're in different places.
Now unlike past 7 Series, there's no regular long wheelbase models. Nope, this is just a great big one-- tons of backseat leg room, as you can see here. But this is not the optional luxury rear seating package. That would give you adjustable seats, and they would massage you, and they would be ventilated. Nope, these are just the standard ones. Here's the center console. No fancy controls or anything. Just a bin. And cup holders.
But you do have your own climate controls down there, and you do have optional sun shades. And there's another sunshade down there. And there's a standard panoramic sunroof in the 7 Series. And thank goodness, there's an ashtray. You don't see that very often. So this is your tour of the BMW 740i xDrive.
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