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Post by Martin on May 19, 2018 14:29:00 GMT
Picked it up first thing this morning. It's brilliant. Such a quiet and comfortable car when you want it to be (it really is voodoo suspension), with just a faint V8 burble in the background and instant, effortless performance when you ask for it it. It sounds suitably naughty with the exhaust valves open and some revs, Lindsay was following me earlier in the Boxster with the roof down and she could hear it over the wind/engine/exhaust noise as I accelerated up the dual carriageway and again when I exited a junction fairly sharply. The handover experience was pretty good, a 'BMW Genius' did it rather than the salesman, but he was clearly not that used to the 7 series....but he learnt quite a bit from me.... The car had been prepared, but not to my standard unfortunately, so I've done some work on the interior which now looks great plus the leather is protected. As for the exterior, I just sorted the exhaust outlet trims, the rest can wait as I'd rather do it when it's overcast as I'd like to add a layer of protection to the paintwork as well. I took some pictures when I got home, but before I sorted the interior, so will have to take more (don't worry, I won't post them all again!). I'll also learn to park it straight....the surround cameras will take a little getting used to. Diamond Tweeters, along with Kevlar mid range speakers, all are backlit at night to match your choice of interior lighting Nice to see it's not completely covered by plastic Laserlights. Really interested to try them out, might be staying off the beer tonight until after dark.
If it's silver, it's metal. Even the start/stop button is metal which feels nicer than the standard plastic one I'm used to
Display key. Bit of a gimmick I know, as is remote parking, but the huge bonus is you can stand behind the car and start it with the key for the full V8 effect! Got them to throw in the Nappa leather key case, as it's £60.
The reason why it's lighter than the 535d
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Post by Andy C on May 19, 2018 14:49:57 GMT
Looks stunning, although not a fan of the steering wheel . I’d be swapping it to the one on the pic if available. Sorry if you’ve mentioned it before but how do voodoo and laser lights differ? Is it much quicker than the 535d? I imagine lower down they’re not much different ?
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Post by Martin on May 19, 2018 15:03:46 GMT
That's the old wheel from the previous 5 and current 1/3/4 series. They changed the steering wheel on the 7 from March this year to the one in the new 5/6 GT, but with metal rather than black plastic buttons. I'm sure you could change them, but you'd need a new air bag as the boss is a different sizer and I prefer the old version anyway and like that it's different to the one in the other models. It feels very similar to the 535d at the bottom of the rev range as it starts to pick up, but the peak torque lasts for quite a bit longer in the 750i and then the extra power takes over. Laserlights are exactly like voodoo lights until the road is clear of other traffic and you're doing more than 35mph, then the laser generated main beam kicks in and the range is about double that of the voodoo lights (600m vs 300m)!
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Post by Boxer6 on May 19, 2018 18:01:19 GMT
Two new forum(ish) cars on the same day! That is a very nice looking car Martin, I hope it exceeds all your expectations.
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Post by LandieMark on May 19, 2018 18:04:42 GMT
Now that’s a lovely car. Can’t see you getting bored with that any time soon.
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Post by Alex on May 19, 2018 18:57:04 GMT
As much as I don’t really like silver cars even I must say that looks great. The colour suits it rather well. Those laser lights sound incredible - 600m! You’ll have to take it out on an unlit dual carriageway in the dead of night later to try them out properly.
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Post by Martin on May 20, 2018 8:02:18 GMT
I can confirm that the laserlights do,at least double the range and really do turn night into,day. The voodoo lights functionality is the same as the ones in the 535d in principle, but the way they work is a bit different. Think they have more LEDs and the beam patterns move more quickly. Another difference is you can clearly tell they used the Nav, as they start to turn into a corner just before you move the steering wheel. Took the opportunity to really rest the stereo while while going the long way round to dinner last night and I’ve never heard anything like it. Amazing clarity, solid bass and no matter how loud it is, there’s no distortion. Looks great inside at night as well! The welcome carpet
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Post by Martin on May 20, 2018 8:05:14 GMT
Now that’s a lovely car. Can’t see you getting bored with that any time soon. Thanks, can’t see it either!
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Post by Roadrunner on May 20, 2018 11:09:42 GMT
Outstanding. A good job you are not going to get bored with it since, with the bar having been set so high, it is difficult to know of much else even remotely 'normal' which could replace this.
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Post by ChrisM on May 20, 2018 12:20:05 GMT
I see the badges came off PDQ. Looks very good but not my sort of car
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Post by Alex on May 20, 2018 13:09:41 GMT
Outstanding. A good job you are not going to get bored with it since, with the bar having been set so high, it is difficult to know of much else even remotely 'normal' which could replace this. Well the next model up in the range is the Rolls Royce Ghost. It’ll be some good man maths if you can persuade yourself into one of those in a few years time.
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Post by Martin on May 20, 2018 15:39:12 GMT
Outstanding. A good job you are not going to get bored with it since, with the bar having been set so high, it is difficult to know of much else even remotely 'normal' which could replace this. Well the next model up in the range is the Rolls Royce Ghost. It’ll be some good man maths if you can persuade yourself into one of those in a few years time. I do like the Ghost.....! The next model up in the range is the M760Li. I would have been seriously tempted by one if I did less miles, but teens mpg and another £25k to buy was a step (or two) too far. Been off roading today....suspension goes up a reasonable amount.
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Post by Martin on May 20, 2018 15:40:06 GMT
Outstanding. A good job you are not going to get bored with it since, with the bar having been set so high, it is difficult to know of much else even remotely 'normal' which could replace this. Thanks James. True, but something to worry about in a couple of years time.
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Post by Andy C on May 20, 2018 15:56:47 GMT
Well the next model up in the range is the Rolls Royce Ghost. It’ll be some good man maths if you can persuade yourself into one of those in a few years time. I do like the Ghost.....! The next model up in the range is the M760Li. I would have been seriously tempted by one if I did less miles, but teens mpg and another £25k to buy was a step (or two) too far. Been off roading today....suspension goes up a reasonable amount. Yeah it’s the 760, which gets the same v12 as you get in the ghost. considering for the same price you would only get a 2010 ghost, the 760 is great value imo, just look at this www.cooperreadingbmw.co.uk/used-cars/?pageLocation=vehicle&vehicleId=201805176590540"eref=bf99c70b-5c88-4e18-9561-732d0c29e3a5
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Post by Sav on May 20, 2018 16:02:13 GMT
That really is stunning. I think the current 7 looks nicer than the current 5, particularly the tail lights. The current 5 is hardly small either, so going the whole hog with the 7 makes sense to me. It basically has the same performance as the current M550i, which is not available in the UK. You can go to Youtube to see how fast it is....
Imo, there is something appealing about a big barge with a big V8.
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Post by Martin on May 20, 2018 16:45:12 GMT
That really is stunning. I think the current 7 looks nicer than the current 5, particularly the tail lights. The current 5 is hardly small either, so going the whole hog with the 7 makes sense to me. It basically has the same performance as the current M550i, which is not available in the UK. You can go to Youtube to see how fast it is.... Imo, there is something appealing about a big barge with a big V8. It is bigger than the 5, but as you say, not rediculously so and the 750i is quite a bit lighter than the M550i (180kg). I think it looks a lot better too and the interior is a huge step up. Andy - that’s a bit pricy and ‘only’ has Nappa, Full Merino is standard. £80-85k is the right sort of money for a sub 10k miles / year old one. The standard spec is very good, it has pretty much everything mine has (just missing laserlights) plus Full Merino leather, Alcantara headlining and a panoramic sunroof. I did a bit of research and according to a UK owner, 26mpg is possible if you keep it to 70mph and use eco pro. Otherwise you’re looking at low/high teens depending on how much motorway usage you have. As I said, a step too far for me. It also has a fake engine noise generator, thankfully the only other 7 that has that is the (not for the UK) 750d.
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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2018 18:06:04 GMT
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Post by Martin on May 20, 2018 18:15:32 GMT
Not digging those lighty up speakers much. Can that be turned off? Seems a bit of a gimmick that'll only be used once or twice. You can turn them off or change the colour. I think they look great. Like the exterior colour, pictures don’t do them justice.
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Post by Andy C on May 20, 2018 19:19:26 GMT
I think the speakers look really cool
The ‘welcome carpet’ on the other hand ...
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Post by Martin on May 20, 2018 19:29:52 GMT
I think the speakers look really cool The ‘welcome carpet’ on the other hand ... Yes, that is a bit much....it can be turned off as well.
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Post by LandieMark on May 20, 2018 20:25:33 GMT
I think the speakers look really cool The ‘welcome carpet’ on the other hand ... Yes, that is a bit much....it can be turned off as well. I didn’t want to be the first to mention it but thank god for that! I like the speaker lights.
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Post by PG on May 21, 2018 6:57:17 GMT
Looks great. I'm sure you'll find that V8 feeling and noise makes every journey a joy. Never minding the added bonus of all that FG to keep you entertained. I think a Ghost would be a move down the scale of desirability.
On the topic of the delight or not of some of the secondary lighting - I'm a no vote for the speakers and the welcome lights. And personally I'd change the blue night time interior lights for red or some such. Blue always looks a bit 70's disco, whereas subtle red light makes me think of cool fighters and military night lighting. The Merc S class I had defaulted to blue interior lights - must be a German thing?
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Post by Martin on May 21, 2018 7:24:07 GMT
Options are white, bronze, orange, blue, green or Lilac and all can be had with the same colour top and bottom or white at the top. Going to try bronze next. Orange is the classic BMW colour, bronze looks similar but a bit more modern.
First world problems...
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Post by PetrolEd on May 21, 2018 9:05:31 GMT
Lilac, you know it makes sense
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on May 21, 2018 9:25:49 GMT
Lilac, you know it makes sense Another vote for lilac here. Fabulous looking car and great spec. Amazing how similar they are to the 3 series, inside and out, and I'm digging the quilted leather on the seats.
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Post by Roadsterstu on May 21, 2018 9:35:52 GMT
That looks fantastic, Martin! Some really nice details (with the exception of the "carpet"!) The colour looks very deep, even in the photos. And that key!
Enjoy enjoy enjoy!
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Post by johnc on May 21, 2018 10:28:02 GMT
Wonderful car there Martin filled with every option: very you.
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Post by Martin on May 21, 2018 10:38:14 GMT
Lilac, you know it makes sense Lindsay has chosen white/lilac for her profile!
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2018 14:35:12 GMT
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Post by Roadsterstu on May 21, 2018 15:16:33 GMT
I wondered that, too but perhaps that is intended only for those who don't drive themselves.
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