BMW's new 730d may not only mark a
defining line in the sand for the Bavarian maker, but also the future
of the diesel engine across all brands.
That a car weighing almost two tonnes
can return similar economy to a 1.8-litre Honda Civic Vti is a
significant breakthrough. That the 2009 BMW 180 kW oil-burner
has similar grunt to a lively V8 and emissions under 200 grams of CO2
per kilometre paints a rosy picture. The bad news is that the 7- Series is
BMW's luxury saloon car and entry to this club is strictly for the
rich and richer.
For the well-heeled it means they can
have their luxury without feeling guilty about consuming
service-station-like quantities of fuel and adding unnecessarily
to our pollution levels. On the performance front there is
little compromise: the 730d hits 100 km/h in just 7.2 seconds. Perhaps the more important performance
target is passing speeds and again the 730d does not want, as we
found in our road test. Luxury buyers require low-end torque, and the
730d delivers in truck loads. In 2005 the BMW 7-Series was king pin
of the luxury car segment only to be dethroned when rival
Mercedes-Benz unleashed it's new S-Class.
“S-Class is one of the conquest cars
BMW is chasing – S-Class has dominated the segment in recent
years,” said BMW PR, Toni Andreevski. Also in its sights are the hybrid cars
of Lexus: which is where the 730d comes in. It has fewer exhaust pipe emissions
than the Lexus LS600 hybrid. BMW is also hopeful of migrating BMW X5
owners – already accustomed to high-torque diesels – into the
first 7-Series diesel sold in Australia.
The miserly fuel consumption and low
emissions of the 730d will provide considerable food for thought from
not just buyers, but also Toyota, that produces hybrid
cars including Prius and the Lexus models. It is 30 per cent more fuel efficient
than hybrid competitors in the upper luxury segment. BMW introduced diesel-powered cars in
Australia less than a six years ago and, interestingly, is also
working on hybrid engines.
By 2009 more than a third of all BMW
sold here are diesel-powered, mainly the X5 and X3 SUVs. nThe Bavarian maker sold 2043 diesels
compared to 1611 and 1522 by luxury competitors Mercedes-Benz and Audi. It is now considering rolling out
diesel powered variants in other models and will start next month
when it releases a 330d using the same engine as the 730d.
The 730d comes hot on the heels of the
introduction of 7-Series petrol-powered models in May. 730d comes with identical
specifications to its petrol-siblings and is bristling with high-tech
bling that we have come to expect from BMW. At $198,000 the 730d is the cheapest
7-Series, $4200 under the 740i petrol powered car.
Our road test car at launch out of
Sydney was fitted with some of BMW's extensive options: side view
camera and lane departure warning. The side-view cameras are fitted
in the front wheel arches and allow the driver to see ahead, left
and right, when nosing out of laneways or into traffic from between
parked cars. The lane warning
system reads the white lines on the side/centre of the road and
causes a vibration in the steering wheel to alert the driver.
BMW used the launch to announce German
engineers will visit Australia in the next two months to carry out
local testing of the speed limit function. This display ensures
drivers always know what speed zone they are in when driving. It uses
a camera fitted near the interior rear view mirror that is designed
to rear the international speed signs and compares this to data in
the navigation system. It is already `live' in Germany with BMW now
conducting verifications in various world markets. BMW say this will assist drivers to
stay within speed limits and therefore
avoid fines.
INITIAL DRIVING IMPRESSIONS
BMW launched the 730d out of Sydney and
down the M5 to Bowral, Berry and back to the CBD, a distance of more
than 420 kilometres. It included some city driving, tollways,
freeways, winding country roads, and the steep descent and later
ascent of the Southern Highlands plateau.
At almost two tonne the 730d is a
significant amount of car to haul around and after slightly more than
100 ks down the M5 the car's instruments told us we were using 5.9
litres/100kms and that was mostly at the legal cruising speed of 110
km/h. After some spirited driving including hills, winding roads and
the descent to Berry, not far from Nowra, we recorded 6.0 litres/100
kms, although at times we were as `high' as 8.4 litres/100 kms. After
more than 400 kilometres we averaged 6.2 litres/100 kms, well below
the BMW quoted figure of 7.2 litres/100 kms. There's no doubt the
long, flat running on the M5 contributed greatly to this remarkable
economy.
The 730d gives nothing away in the
handling, braking and comfort levels. It is surprisingly nimble on
corners for such a large, heavy car and the straight-six diesel, with
540 Nm of torque, has performance levels in the same ball-park as a
normally aspirated V8. For spirited driving we used the six-speed's
automatic's `sport' mode which holds gears longer for the steep
descents and ascents and rapid passing.
BMW 7-Series Pricing*
730d 3.0 litre diesel
$198,800
740i 3.0 litre petrol
$203,000
740Li 3.0 litre petrol
$218,000
750i 4.4 litre V8
$274,200
750Li 4.4 litre V8
$291,200
*Manufacturers recommended pricing not
including government taxes or dealer charges.
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