2026 BMW 7 Series

The 2026 7 Series is BMW's flagship sedan. It's available with multiple engines, beginning with a wholly capable turbocharged six-cylinder. There's also a turbocharged V8 and a plug-in hybrid powertrain built around the six-cylinder. And that doesn't count the fully electric i7 sedan, which we review separately. Awash in tech and convenience features, even the base 7 Series, the 740i, offers heated front and rear seats, four-zone climate control, and a height-adjustable air suspension with adaptive dampers. All-new in 2023, the latest 7 Series is mostly unchanged for 2026. The only noteworthy changes are a fully digital key function — it allows you to use your smartphone as the vehicle's key — and the discontinuation of BMW's hands-free gesture control system, which let you control certain features by waving your hands in the air.

If you're taking a test drive of a 7 Series, check out the car's panoramic Sky Lounge LED roof. It's a massive glass panel that can be covered from below and is surrounded by color-changing LED lights. Like many luxury features, it's purely gratuitous. But it's these unnecessary yet stunning flourishes that make big luxury sedans what they are, caricatures of themselves in many ways. Other fantastic luxuries offered on the 7 Series include BMW Individual, a personalized paint color program that allows buyers to customize their 7 Series from a nearly limitless palette. There's an available 31-inch 8K screen for rear passengers that offers built-in Amazon Fire TV and 5G connectivity and glass controls for the infotainment control knob, shift selector and stop-start button. It's these details that help create the 7's identity, separating it from other BMWs and its competition.

The gas-powered Mercedes S-Class is the most iconic and well-established 7 Series rival. Like the 7 Series, it's available with a variety of engines and comes packed with the latest luxury and technology features. These are our favorite large luxury sedans, but if for some reason they don't work for you, you could also consider the Audi A8, the Genesis G90 or Lexus LS.