Part 1: Which Luxury BMW do you choose? BMW 750Li vs 760Li

BMW 750Li Vs BMW 760Li: Part One

As much as I’m a Sci-fi fan, I’m scared as to what the future hold for us. I mean really, cars that drive themselves – something straight out of iRobot the movie. See, I’m one person that REALLY enjoys driving. To the shops, down to Cape Town, driving for me offers a great deal, one that cannot be replaced by a mere machine. Enter the most recent of BMWSA’s test cars to grace TheMotorist’s driveway – the BMW 750Li .

From the onset, this car makes no apologies for what it is. It’s a car that you are meant to be driven in, not a car that you drive yourself. From its extra length, growing from 5 098 mm to 5 238 mm, that’s like a rugby field when it comes to vehicle dimensions. What it means in real life is that you have more room for everything, it’s like being in your lounger, at home! Head, shoulders knees and toes to little foot stools, the Germans from Bavaria have thought of everything in this car. What I did enjoy, which fortunately isn’t unique to the Li version, is the rear active bench, with the massage function. Hmm, this robotic future suddenly doesn’t seem bad at all…

To do a real-life test, Francisco and myself decided to flip for it and as usual, the clan of the firstborns won and I had a chauffeur for the day. We started from my home, where the left rear seat was going to be my home for the day. I immediately set the front passenger’s seat forward, turned the massage function to full body as you can have various massage options and “Jeeves” headed towards Sandton Traffic. The test vehicle we had was adorned with the optional M Sport exhaust and that unmistakable V8 hum made for a decent sound track in the ” I can sip MOËT champagne from here drive like a gentlemen” rear seat. Power is from the familiar 4,4-litre V8, with the twin turbos shoehorned in the V8 to form that hot V. Numbers seem to be from a modern sports car at 330 kW and 600 N.m which means that 0 – 100 km/h is dispatched with in 4.7 seconds but to be honest, that doesn’t really mean much from the rear. Speaking about the rear…

From the spoilt brat chair, BMW designed the car to be as the front, so you are not limited in terms of functions that you have at the rear. What takes your breath away is the small tablet with the optional professional rear entertainment. From here, you can adjust the seats, temperature, set navigation bearings, preset the vehicles air conditioning and even choose which lighting profile you’d like, all from OUTSIDE the vehicle as this is mobile. To put this to the test, “Jeeves” and I stopped at the main shopping center and went about our business. 15 minutes before returning to the vehicle, we had all variables set and upon arriving at the vehicle, that was parked in the sun mind you, the BMW 750Li was as pleasant as an international airport lounge. The one bug bear that I can think of is that the rear screens are not touch sensitive as intuitively, you end up touching the screen thinking it will react like the one that in the next postal code, in front. I’m sure this will be sorted out when it comes to the facelift in a couple of years’ time. 

In terms of specification level, BMW made sure that we had a hard time giving this car back, as with all the spec, never mind price, you end up wanting to pull another OR Tambo heist so that you don’t have to give the vehicle back. Amongst the other items, the Bang and Olufsen sound system would be an item not to forget in this car as from classical to trap music from Atlanta USA, the sound came out as crisp or as bass-y as you wanted. I decided to sample what the car would be like to drive from the front having driven the swb vehicle before – it didn’t feel that much different. Driving the car does make you take on a different personality though as you go from Champagne sipper to Race car driver as that aforementioned V8 arrogantly looks at you and says,” are you going to let that small rental take that gap?” The technology does help park the extra-long 7er from its 360 cameras to letting the car do 90% of the work, the car could be and everyday car, should you have R2,4 million burning around that investment account.

So, what is the verdict, would I relinquish the honour of driving this beast every day and leave my life in someone else’s hands? The answer is no. I’m too young and selfish for that. If you are 55 and head a corporation then yes, get a “Jeeves” and the BMW 750Li but if this is what the future has in store and with a robot driving me, then we are in for a treat! For now, give me a normal wheelbase BMW 750i and DO NOT forget that sound system!