The 7-series has been BMW's top car for a while. For 2009, the creme de la creme is the 750Li, a long wheelbase car featuring a twin-turbocharged V-8 and a load of technology.
Wayne Cunningham
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
BMW's flagship sedan is the 750Li. Its long wheelbase makes it appropriate as a chauffeur-driven car. The 2009 model is a serious update, with an all new engine and cabin tech.
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BMW has had consistent styling over the last 10 years, and the new 7-series doesn't depart from it, featuring the classic kidney grille and smoothed sheet metal.
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The 750Li is powered by a 4.4-liter V-8 with forced air from two small turbochargers nestled in the V of the engine. This power plant makes 407 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque.
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Although 5 inches longer than the 750i, the 750Li doesn't look that big.
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The suspension for the 750Li is adjustable, with settings ranging from Comfort to Sport Plus. It tightens quite a bit in Sport, but never becomes quite soft enough in Comfort mode.
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The tail lights on the 750Li use a unique tubular design, just visible through the lens.
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As its most luxurious car, BMW lines the cabin in leather and wood trim. Switchgear is made from a ceramic material that feels better than plastic.
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The steering wheel has buttons for the adaptive cruise control on the left spoke and audio buttons on the right.
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BMW fits an instant fuel economy gauge on the lower rim of the speedometer and a range gauge on the lower rim of the tachometer.
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The console holds BMW's odd-shaped shifter, new iDrive controller, and the performance adjuster.
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With route guidance on, the head-up display gives detailed directions.
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Buttons on the lower left of the dashboard turn on a variety of driver aid devices.
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The 750Li is fitted with a night vision system that also features pedestrian detection.
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Cameras in front of the car give a split-screen view to either side, useful when nosing out of a parking garage or other blind area.
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The rearview camera has a huge amount of detail, with trajectory lines showing which way the car will go.
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When you change the car's performance setting, this diagram shows up on the LCD, showing what's being adjusted on the car.
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The new main menu for iDrive is lot easier to use than the older quadrant menu.
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With an 80gigabyte hard drive, the navigation system has room for these nicely detailed topographic maps.
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Traffic reporting is integrated into the navigation system, and will find detours around bad traffic jams.
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Destination entry isn't much improved, as you still have to select individual letters with this dial. However, voice command works much better.
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Satellite radio is one of the audio sources in the 750Li. It also has an iPod connection and internally stored music.
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The phone system works very well, ingesting a phone's contact list so you can call people by name.
