7-Series update 2012
The 7-Series has received a mid-life update. Up front, the bumper has been restyled, accompanied with a revised kidney grille which has fewer vertical elements. However, these subtle changes are nowhere comparable to those made to the mechanical side. 5 out of 7 existing engines have been reworked to boost power and fuel efficiency simultaneously while one more powerful diesel engine joins the range. Moreover, all cars finally adopt ZF 8-speed automatic instead of the old 6-speeder. In addition to the now-default Eco Pro fuel-saving mode, the BMW flagship limousine is far greener than ever. Below is the summary of all revised engines:
730d: the 3-liter turbo diesel straight-six has its output increased from 245 hp / 398 lbft to 258 hp / 413 lbft. It returns a class-leading 50.4 mpg and 148 grams of CO2 per kilometer, down 17 percent from the old car;
740d: improved from 306 hp / 443 lbft to 313 hp / 465 lbft. Emission is reduced by 17 percent as well;
750d xDrive: this is a new addition to the range. It shares the same tri-turbo diesel straight-six with M550d xDrive. 381 horsepower and a spectacular 546 lbft of torque plus a compulsory 4WD system guarantees 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds only.
740i: it actually suffers from a slight drop of power, from 326 hp to 320 hp, thanks to switching from the twin-turbo N54 to single-turbo N55 3.0 straight-six turbo. However, 332 lbft of peak torque is unchanged, and it is available slightly earlier at 1300 rpm. Valvetronic helps registering 21 percent of improvement in emission.
750i: as in 6-Series, the new version of 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 is now equipped with Valvetronic and its output is pumped up from 408 hp / 442 lbft to 450 hp / 479 lbft. 0-60 mph now takes only 4.6 seconds, while carbon-dioxide emission is reduced by a remarkable 25 percent to 199 g/km.
ActiveHybrid 7: the performance-oriented V8 hybrid powertrain has been substituted with economy-oriented straight-six hybrid, i.e. practically the same unit powering the smaller ActiveHybrid 5. The N55 engine produces 320 hp, while an electric motor generates another 55 hp and 155 lbft to make a system output of 354 hp and 369 lbft. CO2 emission is dramatically lowered from 219 g/km to 158 g/km as a result, accompanied with a combined consumption of 41.5 mpg. Performance suffers a little though.
In the chassis, the most important revision is to improve its notorious ride quality by fitting air suspension at the rear axle as standard, and by revising rear dampers, bushings, bearings and ball joints. On the road, the updated car does ride a little smoother on rough surfaces, but still it can't match a good old Mercedes S-class for ride comfort. Neither can it match a Jaguar XJ for agility and driver engagement. This mean the big BMW still fails to leapfrog them in AutoZine Rating, even though it has the best powertrain lineup in the class.
http://www.autozine.org/Archive/BMW/new ... .html#2012
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