The BMW X7 has been one of the most underrated Bimmers on sale since it was released and now that it’s been given an LCI facelift, it’s better than ever. With that LCI facelift came… well, a new face, new tech, and—if you get the all-new M60i variant—a new engine. However, the smaller, cheaper, faster, sharper, and more efficient BMW X5 is also excellent. So which one should you buy? In this new video from AutoTrader UK, Rory Reid and Alex Kersten give the BMW X7 M60i to see if bigger is always better.
Both Rory Reid and Alex Kersten have BMW X5s. Reid’s is the current G05-generation X5, while Kersten’s is the original E53 X5. However, they’re both fans of the X5’s size, space, and driving dynamics. So they might be a bit biased toward the X5, right? Well Reid actually seems to really like the new BMW X7. He likes its looks, likes its interior, and likes the way it drives. While Kersten absolutely hates it, on almost every level.
One of their issues with it isn’t actually an X7 issue, it’s a BMW one. The new iDrive 8 system is lovely, so long as you never have to operate the climate controls while you’re driving. Reid gives Kersten a test, to see if he can change the temperature on his side of the car and aim the air at his feet while driving. He veers off the track more than once while trying to do it, admittedly for the first time. Will customers get used to iDrive 8’s climate controls over time? Of course. Should it be as difficult as it is? Of course not. It’s an absolute nightmare to use while driving and BMW needs to reverse course on the touch-only climate controls.
However, the BMW X7 M60i does drive well and even impresses Kersten. The X7 is far more agile than it looks and is more fun to drive than any SUV of its size has the right to be. And because it also has a ton of space, it ends up being an excellent family car that’s also great to drive. It’s genuinely difficult to find a seven-seat SUV that drives as well as the X7 does. But it’s also very expensive, has painfully small trunk space with the third row in place, and is unnecessarily complicated. So is bigger always better or should you just get an X5 instead?
