Test drive BMW 7 E65 E66 2001 - 2005 sedan

Seven went to mind

The choice of cars in the representative class is small, but it is difficult to surprise in it with something new. However, you can. This proved the new BMW 745i again.
It was worth stopping the car on one of the crowded Roman streets, the Italian man ran up to him: is this the same thing that was shown on TV? -- Yes. -I have an old Em-fifth. Here, in Italy, they do not understand anything in BMW! And a second later, seeing the nameplate at the stern: seven hundred forty -five! Bella Madonna!
The man was unfair to compatriots. The first test drive of the new seven concern BMW spent in the vicinity of Rome, and this is characteristic. The Italian public did not immediately guess the fact that this new model, which was disassembled in cars. This means that the designers managed to preserve the BMW style, and those who claimed that the car glorified in the last brush and Tomorrow Never dies lost their face lost their face. When the Italians saw that the car was really new, there was no limit to admiration. So we also suggest that we all talk about an unsuccessful design. Moreover, the essence of the new Bavarian flagship is not so much in form as in the content.
 
 
Following the instructions. As if in confirmation that the car was really revolutionary, BMW specialists conducted a detailed briefing in front of the test drive, and also handed each touching booklet with schemes, which buttons should be pressed, a rare case.
So, open the door and sit down. Two observations: the floor is located slightly higher than in the previous seven, plus the legs is quite spacious, there is no familiar to other BMW sensations that you stick the lower limbs into the pipe or, if anyone likes it more, in the cockpit of the racing car.
The electronic key does not have the usual metal sting, and therefore the penetration of the receiving nest occurs somehow sluggishly. The instructor shows that it is necessary to send the key with a light press of the finger and in no case do not try to turn it clockwise - apparently, there were such precedents before us.
 
Squeeze the brake, without which touling the Start/Stop button is useless. When the engine starts, the steering column smoothly drops, offering the driver to independently engage in its further adjustment. The latter is beyond praise, as well as ?? - There is no such amount of seat adjustments in any other car. Put the selector on the steering column towards Drive. The selector does not sink, and only along the sunbathing circuit D on the dashboard can you guess that what is needed has turned on. By the way, a selector of turning on the indicators of turns is arranged in a similar way - no clicks and fixations. Unusual, you have to get used to it. But managing the IDRive controller turned out to be surprisingly simple. Separate words of gratitude deserves a display, which is now located not on the central console, but in a tide on a dashboard, at the same level with the instrument panel. Now monitor what is happening on it, you can practically not take your eyes off the road.
Having turned off the parking brake - its button is located next to the head light switch - cling to the gas.
Achieved by exercise. The speed set in the cabin is almost imperceptible. Suspiciously quiet inside, the arrow of the tachometer slightly fluctuates around 2500 rpm. - No wonder the engine is aggregated from the world's first serial automatic transmission about six steps. Only by the speedometer we notice that after ten seconds of the trip, the speed has long been exceeded a hundred. We press the S/M button on the steering wheel, and the contact with the machine becomes closer - with a sports mode, the speed range on each transmission is significantly larger, you can hear how the untwisted engine is buzzing.
Click the S/M button again and go into manual mode. This is the only way to appreciate the system of complete adjustment of the valve mechanism Valvetronic. If, when driving on the machine, any sharp pressing on the accelerator means a kik-down with a noticeable pause of the transition to a reduced gear, then the acceleration after pressing the pedal should be almost instantly-Valvetronic smoothly adapts the length of the inlet path to engine speeds. In conventional engines, the pause is due to filling the intake system between the throttle damper and the combustion chamber.
But the transfers buttons on the steering wheel were somewhat puzzled. If with those on the front side it is quite easy to cope - they are noticeable and lie down under the thumbs - then those that serve to increase the transmission and are located on the wrong side of the steering wheel, it is not easy to feel. They were made almost flush with the surface of the steering wheel, and when rebuilt in a tight stream or movement along the mountain road abundant by turns, you have to not hold the steering wheel tenaciously, but fumble with your fingers, as when playing button accordion. Although most likely this is achieved by exercise. The transmission procedure when moving in manual mode is displayed on the dashboard - M1, M2, etc.
Dose yourself. The rapid movement along the mountain serpentine is not always pleasant, especially for passengers. In the new seven comfort and safety are two completely new active suspension systems installed as options. Dynamic Drive reduces the cranes of the body on corners, and EDC-K carries out smooth constant adjustment of the shock absorbers in accordance with the condition of the roadway and the dynamics of traffic. Even very steep turns of our 745i passed without noticeable rolls at a speed close to 100 km/h. Only once, when a colleague significantly exceeded the speed, reasonable for passing a close to 90 degrees, the side roll did not just make itself felt - the stern of the car was demolished a meter one and a half. This trick was able to appreciate the passengers of the oncoming minibus who looked into the face of death, and we realized that electronics are electronically, and still we had to have our heads on our shoulders.
Unlike the previous model, where the shock absorbers had three degrees of stiffness, now the driver himself can configure the EDC-K system. By the way, on the same serpentine, the most tough option plus the Dynamic Drive system turned out more comfortable - the road and engine capabilities were better felt, and the inside of the passengers repeated the body rolls, and did not rush through the body as subject to transverse accelerations to which the car itself did not respond.
 
We tried braking with a handbrake. The button can not only fix the car on the parking lot or in front of the traffic light, but also can stop the car if the driver cannot or does not want to press the brake pedal - the DSC hydraulics immediately begins to slow down the car, and ABS will make this braking safe. Another miracle from BMW is active cruise control. The radar sees objects that are in front of the movement at a distance of up to 150 meters, including cars moving in the neighboring lanes. To maintain a safe distance, the car slips a car or dumps gas ahead of the car. If this car sharply slows down or someone suddenly jumps into your row, the system does not hit the brakes, but invites you to intervene, giving light and sound signals.
The joy of knowledge. Not noticed today: BMW is smarter than most drivers, this car must be studied, it is necessary to get used to it. It is in this mutual communication that is probably that the pleasure of the wheel is born.
To the new seven, this postulate is applied as never before. Take the same IDRive concept that allows you to control the settings of the secondary functions of the car using a controller. The number of settings reaches seven hundred positions. Even if you are not going to send SMS messages to BMW service centers and recognize the weather in Belgium, to understand how all this works is a very interesting pastime.
   
A similar joy should be delivered to the future owner and the selection of options, the number of which seems endless. DVD chamber built next to the glove box. Additional display and controller for rear passengers. For them, the second telephone tube. In addition to the cooled box between the front seats - a refrigerator built into the back of the rear sofa. Sunlight sensor for automatic air conditioning or soft door closer. You just need to trust the thought that the car can do a lot better than you and not rush. For example, trunk. He himself will swing smoothly if you press the button on its lid or on the remote control. It closes exactly the same smoothly and also after pressing the button. You catch yourself thinking that you want to help him close as soon as possible-how many pushes the CD-ROM discode in the system unit, instead of clicking on the button and patiently wait.
If desired, you can even order a fabric upholstery of the cabin, although Russian consumers will most likely prefer the skin. In the same way as most of the machines ordered from us will surely be black, while on a test drive in Italy, cars of exclusively silver, burgundy and classic dark blue for BMW were presented. The car will not decorate the car and the popular glass tinting we have. By the way, translucent curtains with servo drives can be installed on the new seven, which will close not only the rear window, but also the glass of the rear doors.
Enlightenment Spirit. We will not dwell in detail on what new BMW is invented to ensure passive safety of the car, we will not come to them, thank God, and it hardly makes sense to theoretize. Moreover, numerous polls indicate that belts, pillows and active headrests are interested in domestic BMW buyers no more than, say, the correspondence of the exhaust toxicity by the EU4 standards or such an important indicator for Europeans as fuel consumption. By the way, in 745i, according to the manufacturer, it is in a mixed cycle of 10.8 liters per hundred, which is 13 percent less than that of the predecessor with an engine of the same volume. After two hours of driving along the highway and the same amount of time spent in Roman traffic jams, we got about 12 liters. At the same time, the on-board computer at the start signaling that the 88-liter car tuning tanker is almost empty. Do not pay attention, ”a man from BMW reassured us. - Fuel to the eyeballs. It’s just that all cars from the first part of the released batch have a software error that we will eliminate in the near future.
There is no doubt that the error will be eliminated. The question is different: is there too many software? After all, even the most perfect office computers freeze. And in Russia, all this electronics will shake on disgusting roads, sprinkle with dust in the summer and salt in the winter ... However, they have provided a lot on BMW. For example, the radar lens hidden behind the front bumper, sending signals to the active cruise control system, is heated depending on the temperature of the surrounding air so that the ice does not intend to it. But can everything be foreseen?
On the other hand, the vulnerability of crystal is not a reason not to drink wine from it. And the imperfection of our world should in no way slow down technological progress. And in this matter, someone should be the first. BMW, by the way, is not used to. In 1977, the first electronic speedometer appeared on the seven. In 1980 - an on -board computer. In 1987 - ASC. Six years ago - a navigation system. Now - a whole car of the XXI century.
  
Text Dmitry Gronsky, photo of the author and BMW AG

Model/Modification BMW 745i
Manufacturer BMW AG/Germany
BODY
Type sedan
Number of doors/places 4/5
ENGINE
Type gasoline, multi -point injection
Front location, longitudinally
Working volume (cubic cub) 4398
Number/location of cylinders 8/V-shaped
Power, kW (L.S.) at about./Min. 245 (333) at 6100
Moment (nm at about./Min.) 450 at 3600
TRANSMISSION
The rear drive
Gearbox automatic, 6-speed
SUSPENSION
Front spring, depreciation racks on double aluminum levers with traction stretch marks, reptile stabilizer
The rear aluminum, multi -link, integral IV generation, with pneumatic adjustment of the road clearance
STEERING
Type rheal steering with an amplifier operating depending on the revolutions with the Servotronic function
Min. The diameter of the turn (m) 12.1
Brakes
Front/rear disk, ventilated
Complex systems of dynamic stabilization DSC (VKL. ABS, CBC, DBC, ASC), Dynamic Drive, EDC-K
Dimensions/volumes/weight
Length/width/height (mm) 5029/1902/1492
Wheel base (mm) 2990
Mass weight (kg) 1945
Tires 245/55 R17
Dynamic characteristics
Maximum speed (km/h) 250
Acceleration to 100 km/h (sec.) 6.3
Economy
Fuel consumption (l/100 km, city/highway) 15.5/8.3
The price in Moscow from $ 115 thousand.
 

Source: "Autopilot"