By Peter Perrotta
In his American classic breakthrough novel “On The Road”, Jack Kerouac begins chapter four with: “The greatest ride in my life was about to come up, a truck with a flatboard at the back…”.
Kerouac was hitchhiking across the country. His adventures are descriptively chronicled in the book.
While I don’t pretend to be Kerouac in this space each week. I took the column name from Kerouac’s roadmap for his novel. He details his journey, ride by ride, much like I detail my weekly journeys.
When it comes to trucks – or large sized SUV’s – there aren’t too many that ride as nimbly and easily as cars. The two that come to my mind as the best examples of SUV’s that actually drive like a car are the Porsche Cayenne and the BMW X7.
For this week’s journey I drove a 2019 BMW X7 xDrive40i. It doesn’t take long behind the wheel of this large-sized luxury SUV before you realize why BMW badges itself as the maker of “the ultimate driving machine”.
While the X7 is certainly large and very luxury filled inside, it still grips the road, handles and accelerates much like a car, despite its size. It’s an amazing feat accomplished by this German auto maker.
I can name a long list of perfectly capable and driveable large SUV’s on the market to compare it to. However, most, if not all, of them share one common characteristic: the driver feels their bigness when commandeering them down the road.
You can’t drive a large sized SUV like you are driving a typical car. The center of gravity for these beasts is much higher, thus making the driver constantly aware of their rollover potential.
Moreover, a lot of the typical SUV’s on the market, drive like big, bulky machines incapable of maneuvering in and out of difficult traffic situations.
Put, quite simply, one gets none of that with the BMW X7, or , for that matter, any of the SUV’s in the BMW lineup.
What makes this feat even more remarkable is that the 2019 BMW X7 xDrive 40i is the the first ever vehicle in this class that BMW ever produced. This year was the launch year for this remarkable piece of machinery and I am predicted great things for this large SUV.
The base price for the xDrive 40i is $73,900. However, my tester came loaded with options, and tipped the scales, price wise, at a hefty $100,395.
The added options on my tester, included: Premium package ($3,000); driver’s assistance pro package ($1,700); off road package ($1,650); luxury seating package ($1,600); cold weather package ($1,200) and park assist for $700.
Other extreme luxury options on this tester, included: a $3,400 Bowers and Wilkins sound system and $2,200 for a dual screen rear seat entertainment package.
While the average consumer can price out their X7 at a much lower price than the tester, I must say that the Bowers and Wilkins sound system in this tester was simply amazing. If you are any kind of audiophile – like I am – this sound system makes the music come alive.
The standard engine on this X7 is the 3.0 liter, twin power turbo, in-line 6-cylinder engine.
This engine boasts the free-revving ability inherent in all inline six-cylinder engines from BMW, plus a wonderfully eager response. The 3.0-liter engine employs a single twin-scroll turbocharger and direct injection technology whose maximum pressure of 5,076 psi ensures the fuel is delivered in extremely precise doses.
The straight-six generates its maximum output of 335 hp between 5,500 and 6,500 rpm, while the peak torque 330 lb-ft is available from 1,500 – 5,200 rpm. The new BMW X7 xDrive40i accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in 5.8 seconds.
When it launched it this year, BMW also offered the X7 in an XDrive50i model, featuring an 8 cylinder engine.
The eight-cylinder engine in the BMW X7 xDrive50i serves up more power delivery and a signature V8 soundtrack.
The two turbochargers’ positioning in the “V” between the banks of cylinders is just one of the standout features of the 4.4-liter unit.
Newly designed heat plates ensure very effective thermal shielding for the crankcase and cylinder head. A new ignition system allows the engine to be restarted even more smoothly and swiftly when the Auto Start Stop function is activated.
The new engine’s peak torque of 479 lb-ft is available over a broad rev range from 1,500 to 4,750 rpm, while its maximum output of 456 hp is on tap between 5,250 and 6,000 rpm. This formidable pulling power is available early and doesn’t let up, resulting in a 0 to 60 mph time of 5.2 seconds.
The xDrive40i version I tested, gets an EPA fuel economy rating of 22 miles per gallon in city driving, 25 mpg on the highway for an average of 22 mpg. This isn’t too shabby for a vehicle of this size. The folks at BMW estimate that you will burn about 4.5 gallons of gas per 100 miles.
The annual fuel cost estimate for this vehicle is about $2,050.
There are no government crash test ratings yet provided for this vehicle.
The warranty BMW provides for their vehicles is also one of the best in the business.
The standard bumper-to-bumper warranty is 4 years, 50,000 miles, whichever comes first.
However, unlike other manufacturers, BMW adds a 12-year, unlimited mileage rust protection warranty; four years, unlimited mileage roadside assistance coverage; and, the BMW ultimate care maintenance program, whereby, all routine maintenance is covered for the first three years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first on scheduled maintenance.
Under this remarkable program, BMW boasts that the consumer will spend zero dollars for engine oil services, cabin mircrofilters, vehicle checks, air filters, spark plugs or brake fluid for the first three years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first.
Overall, if the average consumer, with more than average financial wherewithal, is looking to purchase an SUV in this category, one would have to seriously consider putting this X7 on your short list.
Peter Perrotta’s On The Road column will appear weekly. Comments and questions are welcomed. To contact him email: [email protected].