BMW 7 Series Receives a Refresh but Didn’t Get the Neue Klasse Memo

The BMW 7 Series and i7 have received a heavy refresh, but the styling hasn’t been fully aligned to the Neue Klasse design language.
However, BMW claims this 7th generation 7 series, including the i7, has received the most extensive update ever as it aligns its technology to the Neue Klasse vision.

Range and Charging

The i7 now features BMW’s Gen6 cylindrical cells that help it achieve a decent – but not groundbreaking – 452 miles of range on the WLTP test cycle in the entry level i7 50 xDrive.
Charging tops out at 250 kW adding 146 miles of range in just 10 minutes, but are these specs enough to keep customers happy?
It highlights the i7 as not being fully ‘Neue Klassed’ as it seamingly sits on 400v architecture, whereas other Neue Klasse BMW’s - such as the brilliant new i3 and iX3 - have the full 800v treatment for half the money. It highlights inconsistencies in BMW’s language towards a refresh vs an all-new vehicle.
Even Mercedes has moved its EQS onto 800v architecture in its heavy refresh.

AC charging maxes out at 22 kW which is perfect for three phase supplies allowing for home charging in a third of the time.

Powertrains

All can be forgiven when considering the impressive wafting capabilities of the i7 with the 50 xDrive receiving 455 hp and 660 Nm of torque. That’s fast enough to sprint this luxury land barge to 60 mph from a standstill in 5.5 seconds.
Move up to the i7 60 xDrive and things get a little more urgent with the same sprint taking just 4.8 seconds thanks to 544 hp and 745 Nm of torque.
For those in need of the most urgent version, the i7 M70 xDrive has a huge 680 hp and a planet moving 1,015 Nm of torque. Under full acceleration back seat passengers might find their broadsheet newspaper wrapped around their face as the M70 hits 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds.

And it’s the all-electric versions that offer the most power, torque and refined driving experience as the two remaining versions are both plug-in hybrids. However, they are no slouches with a 4.8 second and 4.2 second 0-60 mph sprint from the 750e xDrive and M760e xDrive respectively. The former has 489 hp and 700 Nm of torque, whilst the latter has 612 hp and 800 Nm of torque.

Both the plug-in hybrid versions offer 50 miles of all-electric range, too.

Exterior

When attention is turned to styling, BMW has retained the enormous double grille look with squinty lights whilst taking on a few Neue Klasse cues as it works within the restrictions presented from the pre-Neue Klasse body shape.

BMW has Instead chosen to optimise the existing design whilst trying to blur the boundaries of what constitutes Neue Klasse and what doesn’t.
Personally, I’m not a fan of large grilles, however, some find the design exudes power and presence, but I see it more as monolithic bordering on brutalism in its design language at the front. It pleases some, for sure.

The rear looks tidier, more tightly designed with some near-80’s Japanese car looks with lights that stretch almost the entire width of the body, broken only to highlight the BMW badge that sits atop the small gap.
Where the front draws attention to vertical lines, the rear draws the eye to more pleasing horizontal lines. It’s different and breaks with BMW tradition with the small flick-up on the outer edges of the rear lights removed in favour of a band. Some may say BMW loses its individuality at the back, but I rather like the refreshing new look, which works particularly well with the two-tone paint seen in the pictures.

And the two-tone paint – which BMW says takes 75 hours to finish - also forms a choice of 130 paint colours and 500 combinations, which is an extraordinary amount of choice providing near unique finishes for those looking for true personalisation.

Interior

Inside sees a full Neue Klasse redesign of the dashboard that looks very familiar to the new iX3 and new i3, but with the addition of a rhomboid - and un-central - passenger screen. It reminds front seat passengers that they’re in second class as the screen is considerably smaller than the central touchscreen, and a fraction of the size of the screen in the rear. More on that later.
When not in use, the passenger-side screen blends into the background to become less obvious.

The now-familiar 4-spoke steering wheel returns in the new 7 series, although customers can choose from 5 different steering wheels.

Other Neue Klasse features include the new Panoramic Vision information ribbon that sits between the dashboard and windscreen but runs the full width of the car. It also replaces the traditional driver’s display dashboard with helpful widgets that can be moved across into view via the latest iDrive system.
Our very own Jim Starling found this a particularly useful feature when he reviewed the BMW iX3.

BMW says “The instrument panel and centre console come as standard with Fineline Lime open-pored matt fine-wood trim”, but I’m going to add ‘splinter proof’ so customers can stroke the nice wood free of risk.
Optional finishes range from Mirror Oak Fine Wood, a grey metallic high gloss, an Ash wood option and Alcantara.

For those more inclined to sit comfortably in the back of the car, BMW has fitted a 31.3-inch theatre touchscreen with 8K resolution paired with a Bowers & Wilkins Diamond surround sound system with 35 speakers and 1,965 watts (optional). Customers can also utilise the integrated camera for high-definition video conferencing.
Additionally, the large screen has an HDMI port if customers wish to use it as a monitor when tethered to their laptop.

Theatre Touchscreen

And when the Theatre screen is in use, the sun blinds close, the multi-adjustable interior ambient lighting dims and rear passengers can adjust the screen position via a BMW touch command panel in the rear door.

For maximum comfort customers can also opt for the optional Executive Lounge with an integrated leg rest behind the front-passenger seat, plus an optional quilted, heated armrest with an induction charging smartphone tray. The seat can be reclined by up to 43 degrees.

There’s an optional panoramic glass roof that BMW has inserted 40 LED lights throwing shapes across the interior. I’m unsure what the purpose of this is intended to be, but Mercedes are also doing similar things with their panoramic roof as reported in the GT 4-Door.

Optional LED Lit Panoramic Roof

Comfort

The optional Executive Lounge for the rear compartment brings outstanding levels of comfort with an integrated leg rest behind the front-passenger seat (probably best to remove those brogues so not to scuff the light interior), plus an optional quilted, heated armrest with a glass insert and an Alcantara-trimmed smartphone tray with inductive charging.

Optional Executive Lounge

The 7 series uses Amazon’s Alexa + voice assistant that has some in-car integration, and with over 60 apps to choose from passengers can be entertained with music, videos, gaming, news, and travel, plus more.

Needless to say, BMW has put a lot of effort and technology into its heavily refreshed 7 series, and the ride has also received an enhancement thanks to adaptive two-axle air suspension with automatic self-levelling and electronically controlled dampers, keeping those reclined rear passengers in the upmost comfort.

Is it enough to sway customers from the Mercedes S-Class and EQS upgrades? Possibly not as Mercedes-Benz took their electric platform to a whole new 800v level whilst also offering uncompromising comfort and refinement. This is a wee bit of a miss for the i7, but not necessarily for the plug-in hybrid.

BMW says the “three all-electric models launch first in September 2026, with two plug-in hybrid derivatives to follow before year-end”.

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About the Author

Graeme Cobb is a lifelong car enthusiast with a passion for writing about cars, EVs, industry updates and more.

You can find Graeme on 𝕏 at @graeme_cobb or YouTube @REV-EV.