babypuppi: [5] 2012 Bmw 750 At This Year Gossip

MARC URBANOKERIAN

At 2:17 a.m. on June 6, 2010, an 800-yard-wide tornado packing winds of up to 135 mph ripped through the tiny hamlet of Dundee, Michigan. In its wake were damaged homes, uprooted trees, and utility poles scattered about like toothpicks. Amid all the windblown rubble surrounding the Dundee home of our copy chief, Cora Weber, sat our long-term BMW 750Li, amazingly unscathed and undisturbed. Fortune had finally smiled on the $119,080 luxury sedan. Previous spins of Fortuna’s wheel hadn’t gone as well for this particular car. After all, it should have landed in the hands of a caring, wealthy owner instead of the greasy, disease-ridden mitts of your humble C/D staff.

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Like a big shiny Christmas present, BMW delivered our long-wheelbase 750Li xDrive in late December 2009 for a 40,000-mile evaluation. Our love of huge back seats and mobile status symbols notwithstanding, we requested a 7-series for a higher purpose: to see if the new car was indeed a return to form after the notoriously troublesome, overly complicated, over-the-top, overwrought, fourth-generation 7-series. Is that chapter of 7-series history over?

Styling-wise, simplicity appears to be back at BMW. But it’s only skin-deep. Greater-than-ever complexity and luxury lurk beneath the fifth-generation 7er, especially when equipped like our long-termer.

Bursting at the door skins with $29,600 of technology, safety, appearance, and luxury options, our 750Li was the magazine’s most-expensive long-term car ever. BMW sent us every available package: M Sport with 20-inch wheels ($7800), Luxury Seating and Cold Weather ($2800), Luxury Rear Seating ($3700), Rear Entertainment ($2200), Premium Sound ($2000), Convenience ($1700), Driver Assistance ($1350), and Camera ($750). BMW didn’t stop there, adding radar-based cruise control ($2400), night vision with pedestrian detection ($2600), a head-up display ($1300), satellite radio ($350), and “ceramic controls” ($650), an appearance option that trims the iDrive, volume, and ventilation controls in a black finish. This level of decadence usually ends in someone losing their head, figuratively or literally.

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It didn’t take long to realize that we didn’t like or want most of the extras. For the majority of the test, the blind-spot-detection and lane-departure-warning systems that come as part of the Driver Assistance package remained off so as to silence their pestering beeps. For the same reason, we typically turned off the collision warning that comes bundled with the radar-based cruise control. A few drivers switched off the head-up display after realizing that it disappeared behind polarized sunglasses. Night vision, here an infrared camera that looks in front of the car for pedestrians or animals, allowed us to see in the dark, but it required the driver to monitor the screen at the center of the dashboard instead of the road. Deputy editor Daniel Pund called it “spectacularly distracting.” Another editor asked, “With xenon headlights this good, who needs infrared?”

Escaping the overly protective auspices of the active cruise control proved impossible. “Can we please have a button to shut off the radar portion of the cruise control?” asked senior editor Tony Swan. “Even in its most-aggressive setting, it holds the car a long way back from the car ahead. Maintaining a constant speed is nearly impossible.”

MARC URBANO

We would have been content to eat our 7-series cake without all of the frosting. What we really liked about the 750Li is all there at the $89,480 base price. Every 750Li comes with a 400-hp, 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8. It pulled our 4980-pound limo from 0 to 60 in 5.1 seconds when new (5.3 seconds after 40,000 miles). Smooth and willing to rev, this turbocharged engine has turbo-less immediacy. Though it might be smaller than the previous 7-series’ naturally aspirated 4.8-liter, the downsizing hasn’t improved fuel economy. City mileage dropped from 15 mpg to 14, and the highway number went from 23 to 21 and down to 20 with xDrive all-wheel drive. Over the course of 40,000 miles, our 750Li xDrive burned premium at a rate of 18 miles per gallon.

An appetite for fuel didn’t stop the 7-series from becoming the office’s road-trip vehicle of choice. “Provided you have the time, a 750Li is a tempting alternative to flying,” commented former technical director Dave VanderWerp. First-class accommodations, from the spacious interior to the standard front seats that bend to your will, helped make short work of 1000-mile trips to New York and Virginia. Traveling by 7-series may take longer than flying, but that’s more of a speed-limit problem. At 70 mph, our 750Li is only 65 decibels away from complete silence, and it doesn’t get much louder from 70 mph to 100. “Cruising at 85 mph is too easy, and if there weren’t a head-up display, I’d be going 100 mph. Right car, wrong country,” wrote technical editor K.C. Colwell.

During the six months of the year when Michigan resembles Antarctica, we appreciated the heated steering wheel and seats, and especially the xDrive. A weak and dribbling windshield-washer spray, possibly in need of Flomax, proved to be the only part that wasn’t winter-ready. New to the 7-series, BMW’s xDrive all-wheel-drive system allocates nearly all of the engine’s power to the rear wheels under most conditions to maintain rear-wheel-drive handling characteristics. Should the rear tires slip, an electronically controlled clutch pack sends power to the front wheels. The main benefit is extra traction under acceleration.

Stopping and cornering in the slippery stuff was another matter, so we replaced the 20-inch Goodyears with a set of Pirelli -Winter 270 Sottozero Serie II run-flat tires on 19-inch wheels (19-inch winter tires are more readily available). The Pirellis introduced an annoying vibration at highway speeds. Three attempts to balance the tires didn’t fix the problem, which pointed to an issue with the Sottozeros themselves. We returned the defective tires, and Pirelli sent us a second set, which cured the shakes. On the Pirelli rubber, the 7-series’ traction and secure handling on snow and ice led associate online editor David Gluckman to quip, “This car could probably groom Colorado ski runs.”

Unfortunately, our tire problems weren’t limited to wintertime. Riding on 20-inch wheels, the Goodyear run-flats have little in the way of sidewalls. A 4980-pound curb weight, sidewalls that are more membrane than scarp, and scabby pavement resulted in three irreparably damaged front tires. Each replacement cost $389.

Near the end of our test (31,500 miles), we swapped out both rear Goodyears when a misaligned suspension chewed the inside of both tires’ treads to their cords. Since our local dealer didn’t have an alignment rack suitable for this car, it took a few weeks to get the 750Li repaired, at a cost of $302. The replacement rear tires were a not-insubstantial $429 each.

We also shelled out $2529 for a new aluminum hood after large irreparable dents mysteriously appeared at about 10,000 miles. A leading theory involves actress Tawny Kitaen writhing provocatively on the hood to Whitesnake’s magnum opus, “Here I Go Again.”

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Regular maintenance for the 7-series costs nothing, at least for the length of the four-year or 50,000-mile warranty. The onboard computer calculates the service intervals and called us in for the first oil change at 16,100 miles. The car requested a second oil change, adding a few more inspections than the first, at 34,691 miles. During that second service, we complained that the transmission had shown a tendency to slam into first gear while the car was coasting to a stop. The problem was intermittent and could not be re-created by our dealer’s technicians.

In addition to those visits, we had three unscheduled service stops that were covered under warranty. The key-fob battery died unusually early at 1330 miles. At 5502 miles, the dealer diagnosed and extinguished a check-engine light caused by an elevated amount of alcohol in the fuel. And when the driver’s-seat controls stopped responding at 7623 miles, the car went back to the shop for a “seat calibration.”

A $119,080 BMW limousine is more car than many of us can afford or use. The 7-series seems to be okay with that. Improvements in design keep the staggering level of technology from overwhelming or annoying the driver. If you’re still not happy, there’s almost always an off switch.

With this 7-series, you can dial in as little or as much technology as you desire, and the car complies. After indulging us for 13 months, our 750Li xDrive should have enough good karma in reserve to survive another tornado.

Date: December 2010
Months in Fleet: 12 months
Current Mileage: 35,655 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 18 mpg
Average Range: 391 miles
Service: $0
Normal Wear: $0
Repair: $0
Damage and Destruction: $3940

Can a car be too luxurious? We’re asking ourselves that question as the 750Li nears the end of its 40,000-mile test. We’re still smitten with the way the big BMW gulps miles, but the logbook has begun to fill with entries concerning different ways of making our 750Li better. Most of the time we wish our $120,675 7-series hadn’t arrived so lavishly equipped. One driver wrote, “Even the most basic 7-series has enough luxury to satisfy any Louis XIV wannabes. I don’t need the $6500 M Sport package, I’d pay $2400 to get rid of the $2400 active cruise control, and since I always have the driver nannies shut off, I could live without the $1350 Driver Assistance package.” Another oft-criticized option is the $3700 Luxury Rear Seating package, which reduces the seat count of this giant car from five to four. Whether a family wants to take the big BMW on a road trip or five of us are running out to lunch, the 750Li never seems to have enough seats.

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Wearing Thin

Tire issues continue to plague the 750Li. As we mentioned in the last update, careless drivers and road construction were likely factors in the demise of two front Goodyear Excellence run-flats, which cost $692 to replace. And last year, our Pirelli winter tires caused some headaches when they introduced a mysterious vibration above 50 mph. Rebalancing them twice didn’t solve the problem, and we eventually convinced Pirelli that the $1366 set of Winter 240 Sottozero Serie II run-flats was defective. The company sent new rubber that didn’t vibrate, and we were back on the road.

The only tires we hadn’t touched were the rear summers, but in October we replaced one for $417. Unfortunately, when we took off the summer tires for the winter rubber a few weeks later, we discovered that the rear tires had worn unevenly and prematurely. Wear down to the cords on the inside edges pointed to an alignment issue, which was confirmed by our BMW dealer’s alignment rack. The wear surprised us because the 7-series didn’t exhibit any odd pulling or handling quirks. The only symptom of misalignment was the irregular tire wear. We’ve yet to purchase new tires, as the 7-series is currently on its winter rubber. After spending $302 to have the suspension aligned, we’re not looking forward to shelling out $834 for tires

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Body Slam

One problem we’ve been unable to fix thus far is the six-speed automatic’s tendency to slam into first gear when the car is gently braking to a stop. Online forums are filled with current- and previous-generation 7-series owners with the same complaint, but there’s no clear solution. One of our more dramatic staffers likens the feeling to being rear-ended by a Geo Metro. We complained about the disconcerting downshift when we dropped off the 750Li for its second service, at 34,692 miles, but the problem is intermittent, and the dealer technicians were unable to reproduce it. So, for the time being, it looks like we’re stuck with occasionally being rear-ended by a Geo Metro.

Body Slam, Part Two

Dents on the hood of the 7-series may have been caused by a Geo Metro falling from space, but more likely a vandal decided that walking on the hood of our 7-series would be a smashing idea. It turns out it was a smashing idea, as it caused two small dents just behind the roundel and a larger depression in front of the windshield. Our body shop painted and installed a new aluminum hood for $2529. We’ve heard that parts costs for the Palace of Versailles are similarly painful—and exorbitant repair costs are one aspect of the 7-series’ price that isn’t optional.

Date: August 2010
Months in Fleet: 8 months
Current Mileage: 25,387 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 18 mpg
Range: 391 miles
Service: $0
Normal Wear: $0
Repair: $692

With its massive back seat and quiet highway demeanor, our long-term BMW 7-series continues to be the vehicle of choice for road trips, which explains its quick progress toward 40,000 miles. About the only time the 750Li xDrive has been stationary was a quick stop at the dealership for its first service at 17,186 miles. Covered by BMW’s free maintenance, which lasts as long as the four-year/50,000-mile warranty, the first service consists of an oil and filter change and several system checks. But the 7-series is surprisingly demure when it comes to asking for service. One staffer noted, “Most cars keep pestering you with service reminders. The 750Li just tells you once at startup and never bothers you again.”

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When the big sedan returned to the road, technical director Dave VanderWerp grabbed the keys for a 2000-mile road trip to the Carolinas. Without a spare in the trunk (the 7-series comes with run-flat tires), the detail-oriented VanderWerp found it annoying that, even at $120,000, the 7-series doesn’t give exact tire pressures in the trip computer. “It just shows four tires glowing green when the pressure is correct,” he noted. “The threshold for these things is often 4 to 5 psi, so a bit more precision would be welcome.”

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As the mileage has climbed, a few interior rattles have started calling attention to themselves over scarred roads. (Unfortunately, Michigan is known for two things: great lakes and bad roads.) The culprits are the rear sunshades, those in the doors and the huge panel that covers the rear window. Up to this point, the noise hasn’t been bothersome enough to require a return to the dealer, but if it worsens, we’ll be dealer-bound.

Construction season (to fix the aforementioned roads) is suspected in the recent damage of two of the 7’s front 245/35-20 Goodyear Excellence run-flats, and we had to replace both at $346 per. Although the 750Li doesn’t have the rubber-band-like sidewalls of some supercars, the combination of a 4980-pound curb weight and construction-zone craters puts a lot of stress on the sidewalls; we had a similar problem with our long-term Audi S8’s tires. Let’s hope the 7-series never deals with troubles on the scale experienced by that car, though.

Date: March 2010
Months in Fleet: 3 months
Current Mileage: 6046 miles
Average Fuel Economy: 16 mpg
Range: 347 miles
Service: $0
Normal Wear: $0
Repair: $0

As soon as the redesigned 7-series hit the ground as a 2009 model, we knew we wanted to subject one to a 40,000-mile long-term test. But we decided to wait for BMW to introduce its xDrive all-wheel-drive system on the big sedan before starting our affair, which allowed us to take delivery of our long-term 2010 BMW 750Li xDrive right in the middle of a cold and snowy Michigan winter.

Holy Options, Klaus!

Although the 750Li with xDrive starts at $91,075, including an $875 destination charge and $1300 gas-guzzler tax, BMW went a bit nuts and sent us a nearly loaded example with $29,600 worth of luxury, performance, and technology options. The rundown: M Sport package with 20-inch wheels ($7800); Luxury Rear Seating package with massaging, cooling, and adjusting rear seats ($3700); Luxury Seating package, including heated rear seats, a ski bag, a heated steering wheel, active and ventilated front seats, and power rear and rear side window sunshades ($2800); Rear Entertainment package ($2200); Premium Sound package ($2000); Convenience package with an automatic opening and closing trunk, soft-close doors, and keyless ignition and locking ($1700); Driver Assistance package, including blind-spot detection, lane-departure warning, and automatic high-beams ($1350); and Camera package with rear- and side-view cameras ($750). Whew!

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The result of this option opulence is a breathtaking 7-series and the most expensive long-term vehicle we’ve ever had. Although some of the options have generated a few complaints, most of the extra gear only enhances the fabulousness of the already luxurious 7-series.

In addition to the 400-hp twin-turbocharged V-8 of our 750Li, BMW offers a 535-hp twin-turbo V-12 in the 760Li and a 320-hp twin-turbo inline-six in the new-for-2011 740i/Li. With our 750Li managing a 0-to-60-mph time of 5.1 seconds, we wonder why anyone would need the more powerful 760.

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Closing Time

So far, a few logbook gripes have concentrated on the odd placement of the interior door pulls. Located just below the door glass, the pulls hide behind some wood trim and, as a result, finding them to close the doors isn’t immediately apparent. It’s an annoyance that fades as one spends more time with the car, but was anything really wrong with a traditional handle?

Problem Solved, Problem Created

Given a marked lack of winter traction with the stock rubber, we quickly swapped out the Bimmer’s 20-inch wheels and performance tires (part of the M Sport package) for snow-friendly Pirelli Winter 270 Sottozero Serie II run-flat tires on 19-inch BMW wheels.

We noticed that the new Pirelli winter tires introduced a minor but annoying vibration at highway speeds. A second and third balancing didn’t change the problem; the vibration persisted. Wheels and tires were checked, and checked again, but there is no obvious reason why the tires continued to vibrate. The folks at Pirelli were as mystified as we were and are sending a new set. As soon as we receive the new tires, we’ll be sending the old ones back to Pirelli for testing.

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The Nannies

As you’d expect, our loaded-to-the-gills 750Li has every electronic-nanny technology available. Lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring, collision warning, and radar-based cruise control that can slow the car down to a complete stop are all present on our tester. All the systems can be shut off, with the exception of the radar cruise control. Like all radar-cruise systems, the radar detects objects and cars in front and adjusts speed accordingly. The option costs $2400, and the radar portion of the cruise control cannot be switched off. Set the cruise, come up on a car going about 5 mph slower than the 7-series, and the big BMW starts slowing down to the speed of the car in front way early, about 10 car lengths behind. The solution is to intervene by keeping the speed steady with the throttle, but what’s the point of cruise control if we’re using the pedals?

Fortunately, our test is just beginning, and we have more than 30,000 miles to acclimate to the big 7’s quirks and strengths.

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 4-door sedan

PRICE AS TESTED $120,675 (base price: $91,075)

ENGINE TYPE: twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 32-valve V-8, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 268 cu in, 4395 cc
Power: 400 bhp @ 5500 rpm
Torque: 450 lb-ft @ 1800 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic with manumatic shifting

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 126.4 in
Length: 205.3 in
Width: 74.9 in Height: 58.3 in
Curb weight: 4980 lb

PERFORMANCE: NEW
Zero to 60 mph: 5.1 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 12.3 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 21.5 sec
Street start, 5-60 mph: 5.7 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.6 sec @ 105 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 147 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 162 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.88 g

PERFORMANCE: 40,000 MILES
Zero to 60 mph: 5.3 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 13.0 sec
Street start, 5-60 mph: 6.0 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.7 sec @ 103 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 147 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 165 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.88 g

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 14/20 mpg
C/D observed: 18 mpg
Unscheduled oil additions: 1 qt

WARRANTY:
4 years/50,000 miles bumper to bumper;
4 years/50,000 miles powertrain;
12 years/unlimited miles corrosion protection;
4 years/unlimited miles roadside assistance;
4 years/50,000 miles free routine maintenance

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