BMW has invested big on grilles. The acreage doesn’t show any sign of stopping and when they went with their largest SUV to be positioned as the flagship for that segment, you knew the grilles would come with their own postcodes. That’s the BMW X7 and now it’s available in locally-assembled form with a massive price drop.

The move to assemble what may be the largest grilles in the solar system locally has come with an attractive reduction with price but not in terms of kit count for the BMW X7 xDrive40i Pure Excellence; first introduced here in CBU form back in 2019.

For comparisons sake, the estimated price for the CKD version is in the RM708,000 ballpark. The previous CBU X7 came in at RM888,000. That’s a drop of RM180,000 or in average Joe terms, an entry-level Honda Accord or four Perodua Myvis.

Power comes from the familiar 3.0-litre straight-six with turbocharging and direct-injection delivering 340hp and 450Nm of torque. Between the engine and drive to four wheels (xDrvie) is the equally familiar ZF eight-speed automatic. The century sprint arrives in a brisk 6.1-seconds.

Although positioned as the SUV alternative to the 7-Series limousine, the X7 checks in a little shorter than its sedan counterpart; losing out by 87mm. It is however wider by 98mm and can fit seven adults by virtue of the third row.

Essentially a lifted-limo, the X7 gets air-suspension on both axles. The air suspension works with the stability control to monitor the load at each corner for optimised braking performance. Poundage is the X7’s arch-nemesis and every byte of data is utilised to ensure the driving performance expected of Munich’s finest is still on hand. There’s also what BMW calls Executive Drive Pro chassis control that’s really active anti-roll bars.

Exterior kit includes the BMW Laserlight headlights and 21-inch light-alloy wheels.

Inside is where all the party tricks are. Once the soft-closing doors seal themselves shut, the rear occupants can go crazy with the infotainment that has Apple CarPlay connectivity and gesture control. If you’d rather speak to the car, just say “Hey BMW.”

Audio soothes the occupants with a 16-speaker Harman Kardon Surround Sound system while visuals are via the dual touchscreens affixed behind the front seats for middle-row occupants. There’s five-zone climate-control (two zones in front, two in the middle and one for the third row). Lastly, you can just lay back and look out the Panorama Roof Sky Lounge with LED lighting.

As for the driver, you’ll find the handmade diamond-cut interior trim on the gear selector, volume control, Start/Stop button and iDrive Controller. Wood trim accentuates the interior and of course there’s a digital instrument cluster.

Driver assistance tech is as much necessary for something this huge as it is expected in the price range, especially when it comes to parking this all-wheel drive testament to compensating for personal deficiencies. Hence, there’s:
- Parking Assistant and Reversing Assistant
- 360-degree camera
- adaptive cruise control
- lane departure warning with steering assist
- front collision warning with brake intervention
- emergency stop assistant
- evasion aid
- crossroads warning with city braking

If you feel the 7-Series lacks presence on the roads; and we’re tempted to agree, then the X7 is just what the loan-officer at your bank ordered. Registrations of interest as well as bookings are open.

Included with every X7 will be a five-year unlimited warranty with free scheduled maintenance.