BMW ActiveHybrid 7 L: Review

What’s the BMW ActiveHybrid 7 L doing in India? Sticking with our very culinary introduction, this car is the starter of a three course meal. The i8 is the main course and the i3 will be the dessert that follows. For BMW India, the most popular car in the 7 Series line-up is the 730Ld. Our love for inexpensive motoring goes right up the food chain so it’s no surprise that the diesel 7 sells the most of the lot. Then there are the V8 and the V12 petrol Sevens that do everything better than a six-cylinder engine can, except fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. So naturally since there is little demand for the petrols, the 740Li isn’t a car that would find any takers in India. That’s why it’s not on sale here. Instead, the same car with an electric motor bolted on joins the 7 Series portfolio. It’s aiming to tug at your nature loving heartstrings with it and make an impression, at least, of the greener side of BMW for the two ‘I’ cars that will follow. 

Coming to the ActiveHybrid 7 then, the big question is - does that pint sized battery on a luxury barge make you take that baby step towards a future where you see yourself driving more environment friendly cars? We will answer that and more as we tell you all about the car in the coming pages.

Exterior Styling

The 7 Series is seven years old now. There’s a new S-Class and a twinkly eyed A8 that are just too fresh for it and so a standard (if I can call it that) 7 Series looks its age. It’s still attractive though and has a design that ages well. The ActiveHybrid 7 is pretty much identical to any other 7 Series, the only difference being different alloy wheel designs and ActiveHybrid 7 badges all around from the rear to the sill plates to even on the C-pillar. It’s also the long wheelbase (3.2 metres between wheels) version like the other Sevens on sale in India with a 152mm ground clearance and that means tallish speed humps scrape the underbelly if you don’t ease them over gingerly. 

When it comes to building a full-sized luxury sedan, it’s the details that matter. The chrome lining inset in the fog lamps or the neatly integrated night vision camera between two slats of the large kidney grille or even the unmistakable trademark BMW horseshoe LED lights, all bring a smile to your face. Sadly there’s little wow factor besides these. Overall, the ActiveHybrid 7 doesn’t have a design that excites as much as it pleases.   

Rating: 3.5/5

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Interior and Space

The ActiveHybrid 7 has typically BMW family interiors and same as other 7 Series variants. The quality of materials and acres of leather used in the long cabin is top notch but they don’t feel special enough for a car costing north of Rs 1.5 crores. By special enough, of course I mean relatively to its competition. The seats are comfy all round and infinitely adjustable. Space is enough for four overgrown males to exist in complete harmony, this being the long wheelbase version. There is a fifth seat too with the rear central armrest folded but it’s an uncomfortable one with the large central hump in the floorboard that tunnels the driveshaft. Visibility out is quite good through the large windows and the small A-pillar doesn’t obstruct vision as well. The rearview mirrors though are quite small as is the view out from the high set rear windshield. The ActiveHybrid 7’s electric motor sits behind the rear seats and eats into the car’s bootspace. While the 7 Series can pack in 500 litres of luggage in it, the ActiveHybrid has just 360 litres boot capacity. 

Rating: 4.5/5

Features and Equipment

The ActiveHybrid 7 is not short of any kind of equipment – a 16 speaker Bang and Olufsen entertainment system, night vision camera, side cameras, rear camera, eight airbags, individual entertainment for rear passengers, individual climate control, massage seats, sunroof, satellite navigation fine-tuned to compliment the hybrid and the ever-so-convenient iDrive system that controls just about every function in the car. The ActiveHybrid 7 has plenty of cubby holes for most of your stuff but just two bottle holders for the front passengers that when in use obstruct access to the air-con controls. Besides this nitpicking, it’s hard to find anything amiss once inside.

Rating: 4.5/5

Ride and ease of driving

Self leveling air suspension makes the ActiveHybrid 7 ridiculously supple on slightly broken and gravel roads. It’s almost too tempting to go faster to feel a bit of the undulations filter into the cabin but they don’t. That said, you still drive the car on edge since its low ground clearance and long wheelbase have a tendency to scrape its underbelly over speed bumps as I had mentioned earlier in the story. The extra large Seven is nice on an open road when you find one in our urban jungles. The steering weighs up unnaturally as you change driving modes from EcoPro all the way up to Sport+ without actually sending much feedback. Gear shifts are smooth and seamless from the 8-speed auto ’box and the 7 doesn’t get paddle shifters, which is understandable as it’s a predominantly chauffer driven car. Light controls make for easy maneuverability but the size of the car means you need to be a little too cautious of the sneaky little commoners rolling around from every side. Parking the 7 is easy though with the help of the cameras and parking sensors.

Rating: 3.5/5

Engine and performance

Have you ever been in a position where you wanted to sneak out of the front porch without creating a sound? It’s pretty the most the ActiveHybrid 7 can do and a little bit more with that electric motor. The battery is a support system for the straight-six twin turbo 3.0-litre petrol engine. It has a range of 3-4km on a full charge and can go to a top speed of 60kmph in full-electric mode. There is no control on the petrol engine kicking in besides a hypersensitive accelerator. Anything slightly over a dab on it will arouse the rumbling petrol engine to life and then when you stomp on the gas, the engine charges the battery. The ActiveHybrid 7 also has regenerative braking so the battery is being charged most of the time. It kicks in more often when you drive in Eco Pro mode and stays engaged for longer too in this mode. Coming to the various driving modes the ActiveHybrid 7 offers, it starts with the very green Eco Pro mode where the battery is used the most. Then comes Comfort+ and Comfort, and as you plan for more enthusiastic driving, the Sport and Sport+ modes come in handy. 

The whole point of buying the ActiveHybrid 7 is driving in Eco Pro most of the time though. But it’s not half as fun. The entire effort goes into being slower than the traffic around you, just to keep that electric motor running and when you need that dash of power, the dimmed throttle responses make a mockery of the 350+ horses waiting to gallop. You can see the car improve its range almost instantaneously though with the battery in action and that’s when you will find it best to justify the price you will pay for this car.

Slot the car in Sport mode, drop a gear and hear that sweet sounding engine note every once in a while though as here’s where car is at its best. It’s not what the ActiveHybrid 7 stands for unfortunately, which is efficient motoring and low emissions, but it’s a smooth free revving engine nonetheless. Throttle responses are immediate in this mode and if you keep your right foot planted, you can sustain the acceleration till you run out of road, approach a slow moving car ahead or hit the limited top speed of 250kmph. 

Rating: 4/5

Handling and braking

The ActiveHybrid 7 runs on 19 inch wheels with Pirelli 245 section tyres up front and 275 sections at the rear that provide fantastic grip at high speeds. When you think the weight of the car is going to set you into an understeer through a long sweeping corner, the sticky rubber keeps them on track while keeping the ESP from kicking in. The steering doesn’t provide much feedback but weighs up well enough to be perfectly predictable as you go faster. Strong vented disc brakes provide good stopping power and the confidence to drive the 7 fast, all while it generates energy for the battery.

Rating: 4/5

Price and fuel efficiency

The ActiveHybrid 7 was launched at an ex-showroom Delhi price of Rs 1.35 crores. That’s without the optional extras our test car came with – the Bang and Olufsen speakers, head-up display, night vision camera and extra splashes of leather in the cabin. When it comes to efficiency, BMW states a combined EU cycle figure of 14.7kmpl. We got a figure in the range of 6-7kmpl, but we have to admit that most of it was when driven with a heavy foot. The ActiveHybrid 7 has a realistic range of 500-550km on a full tank of 91 octane petrol. Being a large petrol sedan though, these numbers don’t surprise us. Compared to the 740Li, BMW says that the ActiveHybrid 7 is 14 percent more efficient.  

Rating: 3/5

Verdict

There is a way to drive the ActiveHybrid 7 efficiently using its electric mode on a regular basis. It’s not that hard once you get a hang of the throttle responses. But let’s not kid ourselves, the Hybrid is more about the tag than the motor itself, a bit of an half bake. It’s a hard sell for BMW on the logic front, but as an introduction to the Bavarian carmaker’s green cred, it’s a fine start… more like an initiation into the hybrid world. It makes selling the i8 and i3 easier in the future and it gives the carmaker a larger portfolio of battery packs to boast about. 

Rating: 3.5/5