A little while back, we had the opportunity to drive the brand new BMW 740e xDrive iPerformance, the largest and most expensive BMW plug-in hybrid to not wear a proper “i” badge. Our Jatoba Brown tester was very impressive and showed us that blending luxury and hybrid technology can be a success for buyers in this segment.
Now, I’m not your typical 7 Series buyer. I’m more of a small sports car guy, as I tend to want to act like an idiot as opposed to sitting quietly and luxuriously. So we thought it would be interesting to see if the 740e could charm such a moron as myself. In this video, we go over some of the back seat luxury tech, some of the interior cabin tech (such as Gesture Control) and its performance.
The BMW 740e xDrive iPerformance is a car that seamlessly blends its abilities into one impressively cohesive package. While it doesn’t have the most impressive powertrain on paper, it sure is fast for such a bit car, doing 0-60 mph faster than a VW GTI and BMW 330i. It’s also incredibly smooth and comfortable, feeling rock solid, even at triple-digit speed.
But what’s most impressive about the BMW 740e is its ability to switch between gas and electric with nary a stutter. It’s so smooth and seamless that, without looking at the gauge cluster, you’d never be able to tell when it made the switch. And that’s important, because the whole point of the 740e is to introduce luxury car buyers to electric mobility. With around 19 miles of pure electric range and the ability to switch over to gasoline power without even a murmur, the BMW 740e will likely turn a lot of premium buyers into fans of electric technology for the future.
