Our team has been driving and testing vehicles since a while. They have been driving almost all possible sort of cars, but what was driving them crazy was an un-filled experience of stretching the levels of luxuries in a car. So, on a very right time to let us fulfil our needs and greeds, came the new and upgraded 7 series in town with a few cosmetic touch ups, but filled with luxury and class whipping features.
So we were too excited and hence we decided to let loose of ourselves on testing the diesel variant, the 730Ld, which will be assembled at BMW’s Chennai plant. Let’s check out what we felt about this…
PROS-
As soon as we got the keys, we were all tuned to expect a lot as we were off the mark with one of the most luxurious and saucy cars in the market, the 7 series. And what we expected was totally rebound, the car not only feels rich, it actually spills out those essences of class with new, upgraded and high-profile design cues, with a lot of chrome and fine-lines all around the car and an overall stretched-to-perfection kinda personality. We loved this car in the glimpse of an eye and trust us, this car is huge, but the mass only adds to its beauty, and space ofcourse!
Enter the car, and it was the very first time for our driver to literally get confused if he should spin the wheels of this car or should he be a happy passenger and take the ever comfortable backbench of this home theatre.
He says,” anybody can go nail-grinding with the confusion of either to drive it or just relax in this super saloon, as this car is a best malt of high-performance with huge mass, and its totally dipped in class as well”
This car is full of features for your safety, altitude, esteem, ease and entertainment, all at the same time. And apart from being too huge, this car just left us transfixed with the power it pulls and the way it controls itself, really!
The 3.0 litre engine is just unbeatable and thank god we didn’t drive that top if the line 6.0 litre petrol burner, else we wouldn’t have been in a condition of letting you know about our views. You can understand the feel!
The replacement of 6-speeder auto transmission by the 8-speed dual-clutch ‘box was a totally healthy decision and it felt throughout the car was being driven by us.
All points raised, this car is still efficient and can make you pose an eco-friendly rich bastard at times as well, true fact!
Finally, this is totally a car to drive and to be driven in as well. With features list going strong and near Audilicious or benzing, expect a tough punch to the other German duos, sheer!
CONS-
Aaah well! This section exists too. Really, after driving such unmatched vehicles, we just don’t feel like criticizing them. But still, we have to and this car will be more than happy to know we actually pointed our flaws in it.
To begin with, we know this car drives on 5 different driving modes- the Eco Pro, Comfort, Comfort +, Sport, Sport +. But the distribution of power and efficiency in all of them felt a bit up to the mark and the car feels alive only in the sport or the sport + modes. But then, you will be shredding the rear tyres like anything and the car will start gulping like a monster which should have been taken care of. Otherwise the car feels like a glider in Comfort and Comfort + modes, but the steering feels way too lighter and the throttle response isn’t too sharp as in the other modes. Whereas the EcoPro is a sedate mode on which the car’s computer ensures the car burns each drop of diesel in efficiency.
And another sad part is the car being assembled in India lacks certain features like ventilated seats, night vision camera and other options available on CBU petrol variants. Hence, the low costing will be there, but the class remains uncompensated! Our head says “Cutting long story short, this car can still be the class surmounted, if its cunning performance is blended with the gadgetry of a Merc and Audi put together.” Tough demands but still, why not?
END VERDICT-
The 730Ld will be the preference for the buyers looking for an all around budget flagship from BMW. The car pleases well with its driving dynamics and efficiency but misses out on a range of options that its rivals have on offer.
