A brief review -
The X7 40i M Sport is my first SUV, though my fourth BMW. We have a Porshe Macan and an '18 X3 int the household as well.
For a few reasons (lost 78 pounds was a main one) when my prior '16 750 was up, I tried the '19 e450 to see if I could fit/like/enjoy a sportier/smaller sedan
But it was uncomfortable, rode poorly, and the Command system is a dismaying, garish and adorned like a Snapchat animal overlay. I took the e450. After taking a bath, that's gone and I'm back in BMW. As Chef said in Apocalypse Now, "never get out of the boat man!!" That will likely my last MB (though Audi's still interest me)
As other has posted, the X7 is sort of like the SUV version of a 7 series, and I find it sufficiently well appointed to maintain that opinion after after an incredibly long one week of drivin
Exterior
I don't put a lot of thought into the exterior looks of the car in terms of buying decision to be frank, but I do find the front and rear views, especially with the M Sport, aggressively appealing. The side view is nice as well, but it's a tad more generic from that angle and, well, no hiding that it's a big slab of Fred Flintstone beef... And I concur that the shadow line option should extend to the grill and hatch lid details, and exhaust tips from the factory. As it stands, I replaced the grill with one from IND, and my detail shop will likely remove the tips and hatch lid trim and have them powder coated gloss black (or is it very dark grey someone tell me!)
Interior
Beautiful and functional in almost everyday. Seats are comfortable (though 10% stiffer than I personally might want), the control console with the glass controls (they really fell like acrylic to me though) is impeccable, and and the leg room and adjustability of the cockpit are ample. A minus for a lack of a second drop down visor which many cars offer, and my visor, when swung out to the left, droops like a senior's testicles.
I appreciate that BMW maintains a physical iDrive controller, as touch is a dumb idea in a car.
And I think the extended leather should be standard.
Ride Quality:
Very nice, though I would prefer non-run flats. It can get bouncy with a certain repetitive cadence on the road surface (think undulations on a parking deck, where, at times, the resonance builds to the point I think I'm on that Tacoma Narros bridge that did the watusi a few decades ago.
And I really think BMW stole $3000+ from me, because I cannot really sense the benefit if the Dynamic Handling Package (nor do you have any idea when/how/if its active, or if then even installed) It really rides no different than the three X7's I test drove, none of which had the option.
Cornering is not unlike Paul Blart Mall Cop on a Segway, but that should be expected on a barge. Perhaps some active roll stabilization would be nice. But overall handling and acceleration are very impressive, partly because you don't
expect the car to do what it does.
Displays:
The infotainment and drive display quality are top notch, and I personally find the latest iDrive system reasonably well laid out, certainly miles better than the Command system. One area they could improve is make the most common sub-settings of a section available in the Option button. Right now, its just for display Help (which you can't use if moving) or turning off the Display (as far as I can tell). Sound settings should be in the Option menu when in an audio screen for example, "Cancel" or "Go Home" in the Nav Option pop-up screen etc. And perhaps even a customizable set of frequent settings can be saved by the user (a bit easier and safer than programming and reaching for physcial the buttons at 80 miles per hour)
The drive display is a bit underutilized and not very customizable. The new Audi system is much further along in this regard. And I find at times I'd like it a little brighter during the day, but the controller dial doesn't do anything during the day (I presume it's generally at maximum brightness, via an ambient sensor, when sunny). The additinoal brightness would help when you're wearing sunglasses I feel. Besides the new Audi and the Mercedes systems can get brighter from my experience (a friend just picked up an Audi A8 and I've test driven the A8 and Q8 multiple times as well, so played quite a bit with the systems of those cars)
A full map view
should be a given... I mean, half the screen is for RPM's... which is looked at by who in this car?
Seats:
As noted, the overall seat comfort and adjustability are nice. And the massage and cooling feature are a definite improvement over my 2016 750 (who's seat calling was not unlike a waif situated 11 miles away breathing over a small ice cube in an effort to cool me). But the Macan and the e450 have better cooling.
From a massage perspective, the Audi is the best that's I've tested - many more discrete bubble points, and distinct spread of motion (one of the modes starts in the center of your back and spreads outward mimicking (albeit crudely) a therapists outward thumb motions. The x7 massage is less obvious, and feels a bit more like The Blob escaped from the Steve McQueen film and is rummaging around your ass and lumbar regions with no particular direction in mind...
Air Conditioning:
More than ample for me, as I'm the only passenger 95% of the time. Sometimes the response to temperature change is sluggish, other times excessive, but this is rare. I am getting a vague musty smell at times. so will see if that clears or I need to take to the dealer...
IR Rejection:
Standard glass is not unlike being under a french fry warmer, so I had Xpel Ceramic tinting installed. They claim 98% heat rejection, but its probably more like 70-75% - still a huge benefit to add that (front windshield and front doors)
Cooled Cup Holders:
A joyous idea and highly effective if cooling the bottom 2 millimeters of your beverage after two hours of continuous use is your idea of quenching refreshment! Kind of useless. Haven't tested the heated option, as it seems the cooling option keeps the liquid sufficient warm...
Wireless CarPlay:
Working quite well for me - had one glitch where I had to re-pair, though the car was at my detailer for two days when that happened. A few audio dropouts, but I am running iOS 13 Developer Beta, so couldn't tell your the source of that. iOS 13 i widescreen does look
great on the infotainment screen.
Harman Kardon Audio:
While certainly the Bowers system would be better, the HK system is more than sufficient, with surprising low end and headroom - it can play loud without distorting. But between road noise (what little little there is, but for high end audio there is
a lot), and the greater than 50% talk radio I listen to, I opted not to get the Bowers this time (I had it on my 750). LF performance is actually better in the X7 with HK than the 750 I had with Bowers
While it may seem I picked on a lot of things, the overall experience has been excellent with the car, and I would recommend to anyone either looking for a luxury SUV or a wasteful personal vehicle who needs a very comfortable ride.
I know this was kind of a random review, so if you have any specific questions let me know...