BMW just gave us a tease of the upcoming X7 SUV, which will be BMW’s flagship SUV once it makes its debut. The X7 will slot above the X5 and X6, competing with the Mercedes-Benz GLS Class and Range Rover. It’s a wise decision for BMW to get into that segment and it’s actually a surprise that it took this long.
The full-sized luxury SUV segment simply dominates the luxury market, at least in America. Range Rovers, big Benzes and Cadillac Escalades are some of the most popular luxury vehicles in America, so it only makes sense that BMW would want in on some of the action. It was only a matter of time and we’re wondering what took BMW so long.
But with a new X7 coming to BMW’s lineup, being that it’s an entirely new model in a segment that BMW has yet to compete in, what do you want to see from the BMW X7?
It’s likely that the BMW X7 has the Range Rover squarely in its sights, so look for extreme levels of luxury, equivalent to the BMW 7 Series. The X7 could have all of the same luxury and technology as the 7 Series and maybe even more. The X7 has the opportunity to be even more luxurious, thanks to its added size and interior room. There’s even a possibility of an extra luxurious model, akin to the BMW M760Li V12 Excellence, to compete with the Range Rover Autobiography.
But hopefully, the BMW X7 won’t just be a bigger fancier BMW X5 and is something completely different, maybe even with some genuine off-road tech. One of the Range Rover’s biggest upsides is that it can off-road with some of the best SUVs in the world, despite being incredibly luxurious on the inside. So it’s a great blend of both worlds. It would be nice if BMW could give the X7 some better off-road capability, possibly a locking differential, so it can be that fantastic all-rounder. That’s doubtful, though.
In terms of powertrains, the 3.0 twin-turbo I6 from the 740i is likely to be the standard engine with the 4.4 liter twin-turbo V8 from the 750i being the top-end engine, much like the 7 Series. A plug-in hybrid variant is probable and maybe even a variant with the 6.6 liter twin-turbo V12 from the M760Li is possible. But don’t expect to see a 2.0 liter diesel in the X7, it’s going to marketed far too high for something like that.
We’re very excited to see what the BMW X7 will become and have very high expectations for it. The current crop of BMW SUVs are very impressive and we don’t expect anything different from the X7. Hopefully, it has some more off-road capability than the other SUVs its related to, so it can compete at least loosely with the Range Rover, and hopefully there are some big engine options, like the V12. We’d also like to see even higher levels of luxury than the 7 Series has, with some more impressive tech. Those are the things we’re looking for in the X7, what do you want to see from it?
