The idea here is that those not yet ready to go full EV should still have the chance to buy a flagship BMW that will waft around on electrons most of the time and cost very little to tax. I thought its all-electric brother the i7 was the best large EV I’ve driven, better by a distance than its Mercedes EQS rival, but, as a plug in, I think Benz’s rival S 580 e poses a far tougher challenge.
For a start the Merc really will do almost 70 miles before the petrol motor fires up – in the BMW that figure is nearer 45 miles; also BMW seems to have firmed up the M760e, perhaps to justify that M badge, degrading the i7’s superlative ride just a touch. If it’s any better to handle in the corners I neither noticed nor particularly cared: whatever the badge says, it’s just not that kind of car.
None of which is to dismiss it. Behind those dreadful looks still lies far and away the most convincing generation of 7 Series BMW since the very first, which was still around when I got into this game in the late 1980s. You can spend hours – literally – configuring the interior to your smallest requirements, but when stripped back to what actually matters, it reveals itself to be an eerily quiet, spacious, well-appointed and still fabulously comfortable car. The interaction between its electric and petrol motors is superb too. But if forced to make a decision, I’d still have an i7. AF
In this spot last month I reviewed the new electric Peugeot 3008 and now, hot on its heels, comes its deadliest rival, domestic or otherwise. As regulars will be aware,…
If you look at the Land Rover LRX concept from 2008 and this Range Rover Evoque, you’ll be left in no doubt what a debt the latter owes the former.…
Back in 2011 Rolls-Royce announced that it had made an electric car. Just one, mind, to canvass the views of current and prospective customers and those of a small number…
I’m always quite nervous when it comes writing about industry stories, largely because I think they are of far greater interest to nosey hacks like me who know some of…
Five years ago, missing the Geneva Motor Show was virtually unthinkable for any major car manufacturer. This year’s list of exhibitors is embarrassingly full of largely unknown brands. Andrew Frankel looks behind the staggering demise
Searching for the pinnacle of motor car production, Andrew Frankel winds the clock back 14 years to ‘peak car’. We just didn’t know this was as good as it was ever going to get
The electric revolution is set to continue in 2024, with a new MG roadster, Porsche’s battery-powered Macan, and Renault’s fun-focused 5. But the combustion engine will continue roaring too, says Andrew Frankel, thanks to supercar makers and a rare BMW M5 Touring
It was a year dominated by new electric car launches — too many of which were lacklustre. But among the cars that over-promised and underdelivered, Andrew Frankel found some gems — both battery- and petrol-powered
This is the most important new Volvo in years. Decades possibly. At least to Volvo. The EX30 is Volvo’s first crack at the compact crossover EV market, a sector that…
The car industry is ploughing billions of pounds into electric cars but sales declined among private buyers in September. Andrew Frankel puts his finger on the problem
Remember Jaguar? Time was when it was the pride of the nation, and even in more recent times it’s made some fine cars among a few frankly undeniable clunkers. When…
I try hard, as hard as I can, not to pre-judge cars. Let them stand or fall on their own merits rather than your preconceptions of how they’re likely to…