India-bound BMW X7 breaks cover

-    The all-new BMW X7 promises the luxury of the 7 Series with the off-road capability of the X5. 

-    Will go into production in March 2019. 

-   Gets BMW’s new design language, four engine options and a host of creature comforts. 

BMW has officially revealed the all-new X7 as their biggest and most luxurious offering. The three-row flagship comes with new design language, a host of luxury and off-road hardware along with two petrol and two diesel engine options. It will hit the streets in March next year alongside the new-gen 3 Series. 

The brawny looking X7 gets the new-design with massive Kidney grille up front flanked by sleek headlamps. The proportions are huge since the flagship SUV measures 5,151x2,000 x 1,805mm with a wheelbase of 3,105mm. The profile is boxy with massive window area, high ground clearance and a long roofline. The rear gets the 7 Series like taillights along with a split-tailgate. The X7 sits on 20-inch alloy wheels as standard which can be upgraded to 21- to 22-inch lightweight alloy wheels. 

The cabin is new and, in typical BMW fashion, functional too. The driver-focused dashboard has a meaty steering wheel, 12.3-inch floating infotainment screen and all-digital instrument cluster. The quality of materials seen all around the cabin is high. The middle row of the X7 can also be specified with two individual seats as an option too. The third row (first for a BMW) gets armrest, cupholders and USB ports. All seats are electrically adjustable and are wrapped with Vernasca leather as standard. The boot capacity can be expanded from 326litres to a maximum 2,120litres. The opulent feature list includes five-zone climate control, ambient lighting, three-section panoramic roof Sky Lounge with glass buttons, Bowers & Wilkins Diamond Surround Sound System, and rear-seat entertainment.

BMW is offering the new X7 with four engine options. The entry-level is the xDrive40i with 3.0-litre straight-six producing 335bhp/447Nm. The 50i guise has a 4.4-litre V8 from the 7 Series which puts out 456bhp and 649Nm. The two oil burners are – 30d with 260bhp 3.0-litre inline-six and powerful M50d with quad-turbo 3.0-litre turbodiesel producing 365bhp and 760Nm of torque. Transmission is an eight-speed automatic. There are a host of driver assists and off-road hardware as well along with BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant.

The all-new BMW X7 will hit the streets in March 2019 and will be produced at the carmaker’s Spartanburg facility in the USA. It will rival the likes of Mercedes-Benz GLS, Range Rover Sport, and Volvo XC90 apart from Cadillac Escalade, Lexus GX and Volkswagen Atlas. It will also definitely make its way to India but that will happen either towards the end of next year or in early 2020.