BMW X7 Review (2018-present)
BMW X7 cars for sale
4.0
Expert review
Pros
Luxurious and spacious cabin
Rapid performance, whichever engine you choose
Optional captain's chairs are wonderfully comfortable
Cons
Cumbersome size is a burden on narrow country roads
Very expensive to run
The Audi Q7 and BMW X5 are better value, and roomy enough for most needs
The CarGurus verdict
There are plenty of seven-seat SUVs, but very few are as big as the BMW X7. Effectively, it's in a class of two with the Mercedes GLS. Like the big Merc, the X7 is almost too big for UK roads. For most owners, especially those who will only use the third row occasionally, the smaller X5 is a better choice, and the Audi Q7. better one still. These cars are spacious enough for most needs, more affordable to buy and run, and less daunting to drive.
But if you want go-anywhere ability, room for seven adults and limo-like luxury, the X7 delivers. The cabin is beautifully made and exceptionally spacious. Running costs are sky-high, but the X7 has the performance to justify them. Even the least powerful diesels are very quick. The 'M' cars may be addictively fast, but they're hard to make a sensible case for. The xDrive 40d would be our pick of the range. It's fast enough and goes considerably further on a tankful than the 'M' cars. You get all of the X7's strengths, while minimising its weaknesses.
What is the BMW X7?
The X7 is BMW’s largest and most luxurious SUV, revealed in 2018, with UK sales starting in April 2019. There's no denying the car has presence, although the styling does look a bit awkward from some angles. The enormous kidney grilles at the front certainly attract attention, although you wouldn't call them handsome.
The X7 was given an extensive facelift for the 2023 model year - in fact, when unveiling the car BMW boasted it was the biggest midlife update it had ever executed. The revised car is posh enough to be a viable rival for the new Range Rover.
How practical is it?
Inside the X7's cabin, there are three rows of seats with space for seven. The smaller BMW X5 can also be specified with seven seats, but BMW has used the X7's extra length to provide more room in the second and third rows. Usually the back seats are cramped, even in a large SUV. But in the super-sized X7, there's room for adults in the back. There's even more room than you'd find in a Land Rover Discovery, and a lot more than an Audi Q7 offers.
If you don't need a seven-seater, the middle row of three seats can be replaced by a pair of captain's chairs - with their own adjustment and built-in armrests - for even more comfort. Either way boot space is acceptable with all the seats upright, and absolutely huge with the third row folded away.
What's it like to drive?
From launch, the new BMW X7 luxury SUV was available with two six-cylinder diesels and a six-cylinder petrol. Diesel buyers could choose between the 265hp xDrive30d and the 400hp xDriveM50d. For a car weighing more than 2.5 tonnes, the latter X7 is staggeringly quick, with a 0-62mph time of 5.4 seconds. The 30d will be quick enough for most tastes, with a 0-62mph time of seven seconds.
The petrol option is the xDrive40i with 340hp and a 0-62mph time of 6.1 seconds. It's serene and quiet while cruising, but with a pleasing snarl when you put your foot down. The downside is a prodigious thirst for unleaded.
The most OTT version of this OTT car arrived a few months after launch. The M50i makes even the M50d look tame, with 530hp and a 0-62mph time of 4.7 seconds. The 4.4-litre twin-turbo petrol V8 is a phenomenal engine, but running costs will be just as ludicrous the performance.
The XDrive 40d is a more sensible addition to the original engine line-up. This diesel packs a 340hp punch and can reach 62mph in 6.1 seconds. If you are looking for a brand new X7, this is now the most affordable version of the X7, as the 30d is no longer on sale. With the addition of mild-hybrid technology to improve mpg figures and reduce emissions, the 40d should have slightly lower running costs than the 30d.
Air suspension is standard, and for the most part delivers an extremely comfortable ride, despite the car's huge alloy wheels. A really sharp bump in the road can send a shudder through the cabin, but otherwise the X7 copes well with poor road surfaces.
Head off down a country lane, and there's no escaping the X7's oil-tanker dimensions. It's an intimidating thing to steer if the road is narrow. Even on roads wide enough to accommodate the big BMW's sheer bulk, it feels heavy on its feet compared with the smaller X5. In fairness, though, it's a sight sharper on a B-road than the Mercedes GLS with which it competes. A-roads and motorways are the X7's natural habitat, and it's happy to cover long distances at speed and in comfort.
Technology and equipment
Buyers have a choice of the standard car or M Sport specification, plus the 'M' cars. The basic entry-level spec includes four-zone climate control, leather upholstery, a panoramic sunroof, front and rear parking sensors, run-flat tyres, 21-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, an eight-speed automatic transmission, cruise control, soft-close doors all-wheel drive, and more. You also get a twin-screen digital cockpit and infotainment system, complete with touchscreen functionality, BMW's excellent iDrive controller and audio controls on the steering wheel. The system supports DAB radio, Bluetooth, Apple CarPlay and satnav.
As you would expect from a BMW at this price point, the X7 is luxurious as well as roomy, with a superb finish and lashings of leather everywhere you look.
BMW X7 running costs
If you are even slightly concerned about running costs, the BMW X7 probably isn't for you. Even the least expensive and powerful versions need deep pockets to buy and run, especially as there's no plug-in hybrid version of the X7. If you want a BMW SUV that can travel on electrical power alone, you'll need to look at the smaller X5 45e.
Of the current model range, the xDrive 40d is the most sensible buy. It achieves 34.9-36.2mpg on the combined cycle. That figure is achieved under WLTP testing, which is a lot more realistic than the old NEDC tests. So you should be able to get close to those figures in everyday driving, although fuel mpg figures will take a turn for the worse if you use all of the 40d's considerable performance.
The earlier xDrive 30d returns 32.8-33.6mpg, so it's only a little way short of the newer mild-hybrid model's fuel efficiency.
To put those numbers in context, the Mercedes GLS 400d returns 30.1-30.7mpg, so the BMW is slightly more economical than its closest rival.
Go for the more powerful M50d, and fuel economy drops to 31-31.4mpg. That may be thirsty, but it's not ridiculous for a 2.5-tonne car with 394bhp.
Choose the M50i for even greater power and performance, and you'll pay the price at the pumps. With an official combined figure of 21.7-22.1mpg, the M50i will drain its fuel tank every 365 miles or so. Give in to temptation and make full use of all that performance, and you'll be stopping even more often.
The xDrive 40i is more sensible, and still a very quick car in its own right. Expect 24.8-25.7mpg according to official figures.
Whichever model you choose, insurance premiums will be high. Every X7 is in group 50 of 50, the highest there is.
Replacement tyres will be pricey, especially if you need new boots for one of the 'M' cars. Change all four corners and you could be looking at a bill of around £1200.
Annual car tax costs will also be high, as every X7 attracts the £325 per year surcharge for cars that cost over £40,000 wen new, for the five years after the first year on the road.
BMW X7 reliability
As a rule, BMW performs respectably in reliability and owner satisfaction surveys, with some solid performances and some not-so-solid ones. It typically trails Lexus, so a Lexus RX L may be a better choice if you want a trouble-free seven-seat SUV. However, given that the X7 is so new it's difficult to make a firm judgement as to how well BMW's largest SUV will perform after several years on the road. However, it's likely to be a more reliable choice than a Land Rover Discovery or Range Rover.
If problems do occur, they should be covered by BMW's three-year/unlimited mileage warranty. That's the same length of cover that Land Rover offers to Discovery buyers, and Mercedes provides with every GLS.
Although quite a new car, there have been a handful of recalls to be aware of. The high-pressure fuel pump can become detached, leading to engine failure and an increased risk of fire. This applies to cars made between 18 July 2018 and 24 June 2019.
Another recall concerns incorrectly installed head airbags, which may not deploy properly in an accident, increasing the risk of injury. Affected cars were built between November 2018 and April 2019.
If you are shopping for a used BMW X7, a BMW dealer should be able to confirm if the necessary recall work has been carried out. Otherwise you can enter the registration number into the recall checker on the gov.uk website.
- BMW introduced 48-volt mild-hybrid technology to the X7 in the summer of 2020. A starter-generator recovers energy under braking, which is then stored in a small battery. The battery can then power on-board electrical systems, reducing the strain on the engine. Or it can support the engine with a small boost of electrical power while accelerating. The starter-generator can deliver up to 11bhp, although the system doesn't allow the X7 to run on electric power alone. As well as a small performance improvement, the mild-hybrid powertrain lowers emissions and fuel consumption.
- The X7's second row of seats slide back and forth through a range of 14.5mm. So if there are kids in the third row, the adults in the middle can max out their legroom. Or if there are adults in the back, those in the middle can move their seats forward to give the rear-seat passengers more space. The seats also recline, or fold away. All these adjustments are made electrically at the push of a button. The third row seats also fold electrically; there's no yanking on levers or pushing and shoving required.
- Every X7 has air suspension. As well as providing a comfortable ride, the system includes automatic self-levelling to keep the car on an even keel, even with a heavy load in the back. To make loading and unloading easier, there's a button in the luggage compartment that lowers the rear ride height by 40mm. If more ground clearance is need for serious off-road excursions, the driver can raise the ride height in two stages. With the highest setting selected, the car sits 40mm further above the ground.
- If you are looking for a used BMW X7: choose the xDrive 30d. It may be the slowest model in the range, but that's only because the other X7s are crazy-quick. We can't see too many owners being frustrated by a 0-62mph time of seven seconds. Running costs are much more sensible if you resist the temptation to buy one of the quicker models.
- If you want the best all-round buy: pick the xDrive 40d. The replacement for the 30d is more powerful, but thanks to mild-hybrid technology it's also more fuel efficient. With a 0-62mph time of 6.1 seconds, there really are no rational reasons to look beyond the 40d.
- If you want supercar performance: go for the BMW X7 M50i. With its 523bhp TwinPower Turbo V8 petrol engine, the M50i has to be one of the quickest seven-seat cars on sale. An M Sport differential can send up to 100% of the engine's power to the rear wheels if required. The diesel M50d is very nearly as quick, and a little more sensible.
- If you want a petrol with reasonable running costs: choose the xDrive 40i. It's easy to forget about this engine when the smart money buys a diesel and the M-badged models grab the headlines. But the 40i is more than fast enough for most tastes, and it doesn't have the M50i's ruinous thirst for fuel.
