SMC Asia Car Distributors Corp., the official distributor of BMW in the Philippines, officially launches the facelifted BMW 7 Series flagship luxury sedan. First unveiled in January 2019, the facelifted 2021 BMW 7 Series is the pinnacle of luxury for the Bavarian brand. The facelift brings with it increased luxury along with a bolder look.
There are two variants on offer, the standard-wheelbase 730i Pure Excellence and the long-wheelbase 745Le Pure Excellence. This also marks the return of the standard wheelbase version of the 7 Series, which has been absent for a very long time now in our market.
730i Pure Excellence
745Le Pure Excellence
From the outside, BMW is proud to highlight that the new grille of the 7 Series is 40% bigger than its predecessor’s. The large kidney grilles are surrounded by a single-piece chrome trim as well as a 50 mm taller front end for a bolder look. It’s flanked by a pair of slim headlights, which utilize adaptive LEDs as standard on all variants. At the side, the lower chrome garnish that runs throughout the car’s side profile now has a vertical design at the front, which also happen to be the side vents. The base 730i rides on 18-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels while the top trim 745Le rides on bigger 19-inch two-tone twin-spoke alloy wheels. Lastly, the rear LED taillights have been redesigned to feature red and black surfaces. A first design trait for a BMW is an LED strip that runs across the width of the 7 Series.
730i Pure Excellence
745Le Pure Excellence
Being the flagship model of the BMW line-up, the 7 Series’ interior is bathed in leather, wood, and aluminum surfaces. With the standard-wheelbase 730i, BMW is primarily targeting self-driven executives with this variant. As such, most interior amenities are focused on the front occupants. The 730i gets four-zone climate control, LED ambient lighting, electric sunblinds, Dakota leather interior, electronically-adjustable front and rear seats, a Harman Kardon surround sound system. BMW’s iDrive 7 with its 10.25-inch screen works in conjunction with the 12.3-inch Live Cockpit fully-digital instrument cluster. Apple CarPlay is standard, along with BMW’s intelligent personal assistant, which can be summoned by saying “Hey BMW.”
On the other hand, the top trim 745Le is mainly focused on chauffeur-driven individuals. This is evident with the sheer amount of features available for the rear seat passengers. This includes twin 10-inch rear-seat displays, which can be controlled by a detachable tablet mounted at the center armrest. Front occupants aren’t shortchanged on luxury features either, since all seats have active seat ventilation as well as a massage function. Lastly, the 745Le is upholstered in quilted Nappa Leather as well as fine gray wood interior trim.
Another benefit of the BMW 745Le is the addition of advanced driver-assist systems (ADAS), which include automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane keeping assist, blind spot warning, and rear cross traffic alert. Meanwhile, all variants feature BMW’s automated Parking Assistant feature, which works on both parallel and perpendicular parking, along with a back-up camera and all around parking sensors. A 360-degree camera system with various external views is unique to the 745Le.
Under the hood of the base 730i is a 2.0-liter inline-4 turbocharged gasoline engine that produces 265 hp and 400 Nm of torque. On the other hand, the 745Le, as denoted by the “e,” utilizes a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain. This makes it the first plug-in hybrid BMW and the first plug-in hybrid full-size luxury sedan in the Philippine market.
The 745Le PHEV utilizes a 3.0-liter inline-6 turbocharged gasoline engine paired with an electric motor. Total system output is at 394 hp and 600 Nm of torque, letting this large sedan sprint from zero to 100 kph in just 5.1 seconds. Because this is a PHEV, it has a decent pure electric range of 55 kilometers when the battery is fully charged. A ZF 8-speed automatic is the only transmission choice.
The 2021 BMW 7 Series is now on sale in the Philippines. What we’re surprised is the pricing of the entry-level 730i. Costing P5,990,000, the 730i is the most accessible full-size luxury sedan on sale in the Philippines. Meanwhile, the 745Le with all its bells and whistles has a price tag of P9,590,000. As with every BMW, the new 7 Series comes with a 5-year or 200,000-kilometer manufacturer’s warranty, setting a new standard in the premium automotive segment in the Philippines. Buyers can also opt for the BMW Service Inclusive (BSI). Through this program, BSI’s one-time payment lowers the cost of maintenance of your BMW versus when paying every time it needs to be serviced.
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