Facelift – BMW 7 Series 740Li Pure Excellence (A)

But here, the 7 Series has gotten one, or Life Cycle Impulse as BMW calls it. The visual changes are significant enough that it looks like a whole new model, even if it’s still based on the

That said, it is a timely update for the 7 Series, because competitors like the

Question is: Will the 7 Series be good enough to hold its own against its established and newer competitors?

Big changes outside

The most visible differences are on the 7er’s sheet metal. Let’s start off with the grille. It is big – up to 40% larger and 50mm taller than the previous model.

Surprisingly, despite the size of the grille, the 7 Series as a whole looks much slimmer and athletic compared to before. Further accentuating this characteristic are the slimmer head and taillights, the latter being 35mm slimmer.

Small changes inside

Inside, those familiar with the 7 Series might find it looking pretty similar. It doesn’t sport the new gear selectors we’ve seen in the

Still, it is only till you meddle around a little more that you’ll notice the subtle changes.

The iDrive infotainment system is now running BMW’s latest Operating System 7.0, and it also sports a crisp 10.25-inch Live Cockpit digital display, instead of the semi-digital dials of before. Calling out “Hey BMW” will also bring out the car’s Personal Assistant, a feature that’s also found in the

Despite minimal changes, the 7 Series still offers a well-appointed interior befitting of its flagship sedan status. But you can’t help to feel that it does come across as a little dated when compared to the brand’s other flagship offerings like the X7 and the

More power is better

The next improvement happens under the hood. The 740Li gets a 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six that now pushes out about 14 more horses, totalling the power output to 355bhp and 450Nm of torque.

When it comes to facelifts, we seldom see cars that look vastly different from the ones that came before.But here, the 7 Series has gotten one, or Life Cycle Impulse as BMW calls it. The visual changes are significant enough that it looks like a whole new model, even if it’s still based on the previous 7 Series That said, it is a timely update for the 7 Series, because competitors like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the Audi A8L have either received facelifts or are completely new models.Question is: Will the 7 Series be good enough to hold its own against its established and newer competitors?The most visible differences are on the 7er’s sheet metal. Let’s start off with the grille. It is big – up to 40% larger and 50mm taller than the previous model.Surprisingly, despite the size of the grille, the 7 Series as a whole looks much slimmer and athletic compared to before. Further accentuating this characteristic are the slimmer head and taillights, the latter being 35mm slimmer.Inside, those familiar with the 7 Series might find it looking pretty similar. It doesn’t sport the new gear selectors we’ve seen in the X7 , or the neater centre console buttons, for example.Still, it is only till you meddle around a little more that you’ll notice the subtle changes.The iDrive infotainment system is now running BMW’s latest Operating System 7.0, and it also sports a crisp 10.25-inch Live Cockpit digital display, instead of the semi-digital dials of before. Calling out “Hey BMW” will also bring out the car’s Personal Assistant, a feature that’s also found in the 3 Series Despite minimal changes, the 7 Series still offers a well-appointed interior befitting of its flagship sedan status. But you can’t help to feel that it does come across as a little dated when compared to the brand’s other flagship offerings like the X7 and the 8 Series Coupe The next improvement happens under the hood. The 740Li gets a 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six that now pushes out about 14 more horses, totalling the power output to 355bhp and 450Nm of torque.