The big Beemer is something of an unusual car. The fact that the Mercedes S-Class dominates this segment shows that buyers really want comfort rather than the sharp driving dynamics which have always been the 7’s stock-in-trade.
The current 7 is a fearsomely high-tech car though, even deploying the clever carbon-fibre construction of the i3 and i8 in order to keep its weight under control, so BMW decided that electronics and air suspension could ride to the 7's rescue. In default mode, the 7 is relatively soft and wafty. Dial it in to Comfort and it is more so yet, but the real brilliance is in Comfort Plus, at which point it rides with the soft springiness of a mid-seventies Citroen. Switch everything over to Sport and the 7 Series returns, with hefty steering and pin-sharp handling. It's quite the chameleon.
Standard single-turbo 730d has all the performance you could reasonably need. Twin-turbo 740d is just delicious though, but business users will likely go for the tax-efficient 740e plugin hybrid.
Price range: €89,960 to €137,230
CO2 emissions: 49 to 189g/km
Which one? 740d long wheelbase
PCP from €POA