‘Tacky And Outdated’: People Are Divided Over How The All-Electric BMW i7 Looks
The all-electric flagship might arrive on our shores early next year
The wraps are off the next-generation BMW 7 Series flagship, and it is already making the headlines. But not for the right reasons. The BMW all-electric i7 features an all-new front grille, and it doesn’t seem to have found a lot of fans on the internet. We’ll get to that in a bit. Let’s talk about the car first.
The Bavarian carmaker has packed the BMW i7 with a host of creature comforts like a massive roof-mounted 8K 31.3-inch display with premium audio, a touchscreen control on the door armrest and a panoramic sky lounge.
Powering the flagship sedan is a 101.7kWh battery pack, which offers a WLTP-tested range of 590-625km on a single charge. This is impressive considering that the BMW i7’s twin motors put out 544hp, helping it sprint from 0-100kph in 4.7 seconds. Top speed is at 239kph.
The BMW i7 will be offered in a single i7 xDrive60 variant for now. However, come 2023 and we might get a more powerful i7 M70 xDrive variant making more than 600hp and 1000Nm of torque.
Along with the i7, the Bavarian company also unveiled the ICE variant of the 7 Series. It’ll be offered with two different engine options. A 3.0-litre turbocharged, inline-six engine with a 48V mild-hybrid assist (375hp/519.2Nm) and a 4.4-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 engine with the same mild-hybrid setup (536hp/749.7Nm). Both are mated to an 8-speed automatic gearbox.
Speaking of which, BMW also confirmed that the recently unveiled 7 series will be discontinued in the future, and will be replaced by the all-electric i7 as its sedan flagship.
Now, to address the elephant in the room, the new large front grille hasn’t exactly garnered a positive response from the automobile enthusiast community, with many sharing their feelings on Twitter. Here are some of our favourite reactions:
BMW’s 2023 i7 details:
— Jennifer Franco (@jenzfc) April 20, 2022
-starts at $120,295.
-536 horsepower
-range 300 miles
-101.7-kWh battery pack
-195-kilowatt onboard charger
-optional Executive Lounge package
All good numbers, sick interior, but BMW can't have the front figured out, this thing is ugly. Disapointing. pic.twitter.com/aL2Csfl4kb
The 2023 BMW i7 reveals its very polarizing front fascia prior to its unveiling on April 20. From what we can see, the sedan will feature divorced lighting elements, a larger front grille, as well as a more streamlined bumper design. #BMW #i7 pic.twitter.com/Lokh6bZFsB
— Cole Marzen (@cole_marzen) April 16, 2022
The Germans have lost their damn minds with these EV designs. This bmw i7 is Jeep Cherokee in the front Kia Cadenza in the back https://t.co/YGp2LQ09yR
— Matt (@CarZaddy) April 20, 2022
Someone needs to tell the BMW designers the front grille looks outdated. Not sure why they want their luxury EV to have this old-school monstrosity https://t.co/X1N27yJfHH
— Saurabh Datar (@ssdatar) April 20, 2022
The “ultimate driving machine” got rid of the gear shifter! And words can’t express the disappointment as far as the front of the X7 and i7 go…
— Navdeep Boparai (@bopanav) April 20, 2022
"extroverted design," says AutoBlog
— Elephants, Maybe (@Maybe_elephants) April 20, 2022
>slim top lights (optionally available with Swarovski crystals inset)
>The grille surround also lights up
"Extroverted" is a strange way to spell "tacky," guys. https://t.co/l5nYAI2RBG