The days of shooting the front seat may soon be over thanks to BMW, which has taken rear-seat luxury to new levels in its £110,000 high-tech smart car.
MailOnline took a ride in the new all-electric BMW i7, which has 5G connectivity, interior ambient lighting and a super-wide “theater screen” at the rear. The 8K screen, measuring 32×9 inches, folds out from the sunroof at the touch of a button and streams videos from Netflix, YouTube and more.
BMW gave me a ride during my morning commute through west London, a welcome alternative to the narrow and stormy underground.
The BMW i7 is a new electric variant of the BMW 7 Series, which has been in production by the German automaker since 1977. According to the firm, the new car redefines luxury “with new levels of electrification, sustainability and digitalization.” “.
It says: “The new BMW 7 Series represents a significant advance over its renowned predecessor, with an innovative specification designed to deliver incredible driving pleasure, unsurpassed long-distance comfort and a cutting-edge digital experience.”
By far its proudest feature is the movie screen, which, at 32×9 inches, is really super-wide, almost in the shape of a wooden slat or surfboard. As I sat in the seat and watched it fold in front of me, it seemed too close to my face at first, about three feet away, but I quickly got used to it.
Fortunately, passengers can change the aspect ratio from full screen (32:9) to 21:9 or 16:9, closer to a conventional TV.
For safety reasons, the theater screen will not activate unless the Ƅlind covering the rear window is lowered. Quite rightly, BMW says that watching video through the window would be a dangerous distraction for the drivers in the car behind.
But this means the driver can’t see out of the rear, so their rear view mirror becomes useless when theater mode is activated and they have to rely solely on the two side mirrors. This made me wonder: is my trip less safe because I am watching movies?
I asked the driver about this and he told me that any new vehicle you have to drive takes a little time to adjust to. I guess truck drivers have the same problem. This is all legitimate, of course: UK law stipulates that all vehicles must have at least two mirrors giving a view of the rear of the vehicle.
The large ‘theater’ screen is touch-sensitive, but can also be controlled using a small smartphone-sized screen that’s built into the passenger door handle (there’s one on the other passenger side, too). From here, I can pull down the theater screen and select apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTuƄe, ITVX and more, just like a smart TV at home.
Although my ride was early in the day, I’m sure an evening ride when it’s dark outside would really make it more cinematic, especially with a bucket of popcorn, like a movie theater on wheels. I can only imagine driving down the highway with a bunch of fast food from a gas station while watching the latest Amazon movie Prie: Ƅliss.
When I’m done, the screen rotates 90 degrees and sits comfortably on the roof, which is made of glass, letting in much more natural light than a normal car.
The control screen on the passenger door also allows me to choose different configurations of elements, each with soft colored lights and soothing sounds. I notice a burst of noise every time my driver steps on the accelerator; again, something I imagine must get pretty annoying to him after a while, though he doesn’t seem to mind.
From the back seat I can change the radio station, pair my phone to make calls, and close the buttons without activating the theater screen. An arrest in the middle has a smartphone charging pad, so I can give my phone a power boost while watching a piece of YouTuƄe. My seat is soft and squishy and it gets hot underneath. I can also control the overall temperature with the ‘climate mode’.
The BMW i7 can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in 4.7 seconds thanks to two electric motors, one driving the front wheels and one driving the rear wheels. I haven’t seen an all-electric model, and the ride is incredibly quiet and smooth (perhaps too quiet for comfort, some might say).
Too soon I arrived at the MailOnline offices and had to leave the comfort of the back seat for the cold London street. I could definitely get used to going to work every morning. Unfortunately, at £110,000 the car is clearly designed for very wealthy people, so it’s a poor investment for me.
BMW is clearly pushing the boundaries of what a car does, and the i7 seems predominantly designed for passenger comfort, but does this come at the cost of driver comfort?
I hope not, because driver comfort is also part of passenger comfort. Otherwise, the next step for BMW is certainly full and complete table service and possibly a team of chefs in the foot, for fancy dining on the go.
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