2027 BMW 7 Series Hands-On: 'Refresh' Is Putting It Lightly

• What's new: The 7 Series is BMW's full-size luxury flagship, and it's getting a major update for 2027.
• Why it matters: The 7 Series debuts tech that you'll see trickle down to other BMWs.
• Edmunds says: BMW's new 7 Series will be priced just above $100K to start, and it'll be a worthy competitor for Mercedes' updated S-Class. 

The new 7 Series has gas, hybrid and fully electric options

All i7s get BMW's sixth-generation battery technology, which moves to cylindrical cells that are 20% more energy-dense than before and can charge faster. That means the i7's battery capacity goes from a maximum of 105.7 kWh to 112.5 kWh without increasing the physical size of the battery. Other changes, like a front electric motor that can disconnect at highway speeds and reduce parasitic losses, also boost efficiency.

BMW has ditched the i7's CCS combination charge port in favor of a Tesla-style NACS connector, making it easy to plug in and charge at Supercharger stations all over the country. The peak charge rate has been bumped from 195 kW to 250 kW, and BMW says the i7's battery can go from 10% to 80% in just 28 minutes in the right conditions. Plus, buyers can still manually precondition the battery to optimize charging. 

The i7 will come to the U.S. in two variants: the i7 50 xDrive and the i7 60 xDrive. (There's no word on the return of the i7 M70 just yet.) The i7 50 will make a total of 449 horsepower and 487 lb-ft of torque. The more powerful i7 60 makes 536 hp and 549 lb-ft of torque. Max range for the new i7 is a BMW-estimated 350 miles — a big jump from the pre-refresh car's 308-mile max, though we did see 320 miles on the Edmunds EV Range Test. 

The gas-powered 740 and 740 xDrive use the same 3.0-liter turbocharged straight-six as before, but with a new turbocharger (and other, smaller tweaks). Power rises to 394 hp in both models, while peak torque stays at 398 lb-ft. The 750e xDrive plug-in hybrid uses the same inline-six but adds a battery pack and electric motor. Combined, the system makes 483 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. There's no word on what this hybrid's EV-only range will be, but BMW has said we'll know more by the end of this year. 

Oh, and don't worry, BMW has said a V8 engine will come to the new 7 Series a little later on. 

A complete interior renovation

Inside, the 2027 7 Series is basically unrecognizable from the pre-refresh car. The interior is all-new and closely follows the template BMW set with the iX3 and i3, but with far more luxurious materials. The seats are wonderfully soft to sit in, and every inch of the interior is wrapped in leather, faux suede or carpet. There's no more iDrive controller in the center console, so every command now needs to be done via voice or through the central display.

BMW's Panoramic Vision display — which projects key information like speed, maps, fuel/charge level and more onto a thin black strip at the base of the dash — has been worked into the new 7 Series. Meanwhile, the dashboard itself is dominated by a slightly angled 17.9-inch central display. It handles the vast majority of the car's functions — everything from setting up the custom widgets that show up in the Panoramic Vision to the climate controls happens through this screen. It might look overwhelming at first, but it actually ends up being a nice balance between software and hardware. 

After I sunk myself into the driver's seat and started playing with the 7's new operating system, it didn't take long before I was able to whizz my way around. Even the climate controls, which I typically hate having to use a screen for, are more intuitive here than they are in other cars with similar implementations. The whole thing is crystal-clear, quick to respond and extremely customizable. Want a picture of your dog or family as your car's infotainment screen background? Just upload photos through the BMW app.

But wait, there are even more screens. There's a new 3D head-up display that displays a ton of information onto the windshield, and there is a standard passenger display for streaming YouTube, movies or checking the weather. I generally regard these as gimmicky, and it's a bummer the passenger screen cannot be optioned out of this car. But at least it's set back from the main screen, and when you're sitting in the driver's seat, it's relatively easy to ignore. 

On the whole, the new 7 strikes the right balance between a tech-laden modern car and a true luxury experience. Yes, you can now do Zoom calls from the 31-inch 8K display in the back seat and its built-in webcam, but you probably shouldn't. Instead, you should lie back in your fully reclining seat, get a massage, enjoy the mood lighting on the back of the front headrests, and take in your favorite songs from the 36-speaker and nearly 2,000-watt Bowers & Wilkins audio system (that now features Dolby Atmos). 

A car that doesn't fight you

BMW has also made refinements to tiny parts of the 7 Series. The optional automatic doors can now be operated from the key fob, and the sensors are better about detecting surrounding objects. Say, for example, you click the door handle to open the door automatically. The door will start to open but then wait for you to get out of the way, and then keep going. It's a tiny quality-of-life change, but it means the automatic doors actually operate the way you want them to and are no longer just a party trick. 

The new 7 can also park itself, has embedded exterior cameras that can capture key moments (like if you're in an accident or something hits the car while it's parked) and send them directly to your phone. Beyond that, its Level 2 driver assist system can handle things like lane changes on its own.  

If you're using adaptive cruise control and tap the brakes, the car no longer turns off the system altogether. Instead, it adjusts the ACC to the speed you've asked it to slow down to. Thanks to a mix of eye tracking and steering angle sensors, the car also knows when you want to change lanes, so the lane keeping assistance won't fight you if you want to merge without signaling first. The driver aids become less obtrusive and only intervene when necessary (if you drift out of your lane unintentionally, for example). 

How much will it cost?

The initial gas and electric 7 Series models go on sale in the middle of this year, with V8 and plug-in hybrid versions coming later. The rear-wheel-drive gas-powered 740 starts at $101,350, and the all-wheel-drive version is $3,000 more. The base i7 50 xDrive costs $107,750 and the punchier i7 60 xDrive model starts at $126,250. I look forward to seeing if they're just as lovely to drive as the current 7 Series.