[Tr4ckD4ys]

Now that I got 30k miles on my X7 in 2.5 years, I thought I’d share my notes here.

TLDR: This is the best f@$&”/; family SUV that money can buy. Although - I have not driven a Cullinan yet - but that is about the only vehicle that I’d imagine to have a real chance at beating the X7.

My setup: 2022 BMW X7 M50i, 21” wheels, Tanzanite Blue II, Tartufo Full Merino

Reliability: Bulletproof. There is really nothing else I can say. I have had absolutely none of the following during my ownership.
- No rattles, squeaks or noises
- No alignment issues (never did one on the vehicle since delivery, it simply hasn’t been necessary)
- No poor interior fit & finish issues
- No electric or software related hiccups, not even once
- No mechanical issues
- I chose the 21” wheels intentionally to improve ride comfort over the 22” and 23” options and I do believe this to have been a wise choice considering road conditions in most parts of the US metropolitan areas.

The only work that got done during an oil change was addressing a brake booster related TSB where they replaced mine, and I found out by them telling me afterwards.

Interior & Driving: The BMW Merino leather is incredible in my view. I’ve got the Tartufo Full Merino interior and it held up really well. I also find this leather to be the most supple, soft and comfortable compared to the X7’s competitors. Everything is holding up well, easy to clean and fit & finish as mentioned are flawless. No software gremlins or oddities. I find the Harman Kardon sound to be “just enough”. It doesn’t blow it out of the water but I also never found myself needing more. I did have codemybimmer.ca add a bunch of the decoded European functionality back: Comfort Plus mode (super good!!), Adaptive- and anti-dazzle lights. I also find the light output of the BMW Laser Lights (which are no longer available for cost & design reasons) really great at night. Never have I felt like I could use more peripheral or far-ahead light at night. The anti-dazzle works great too, I don’t get flashed by others and the brights stay on the road enabling me to see everything. Driving-wise I think I can state the obvious - it’s a big fat SUV with lots of understeer but it sure as hell drives way better than the Range Rover and Mercedes competition. It almost feels “sporty” at times and definitely very planted in curves even when pushing it. Winter performance with proper Blizzak or Nokkian tires has also been incredible! Summing up the interior, I would say the single best aspect of the X7 overall is how sound-controlled it is. It is absolutely serene inside and I believe one auto magazine did the decibel test and confirmed that only the Rolls-Royce has a more silent cabin than the X7.

Utility & Space: I can’t comment much on how this thing is with kids, there is a very good recent thread on here that talks about this. However, I can confirm that because I have the fully fold-flat bench seat version of this vehicle, I have been able to drive to the furniture store, buy a “small” two-person sofa, and transport it inside of the cabin of the X7 with all seats folded flat and myself sitting “a little closer to the windshield”; Trunk doors closed and all. While I don’t advise this for long trips, it is absolutely crazy how much you can fit in this vehicle when using the “Max Luggage Button” in the trunk that folds everything down.

Engine: Problem-free. Pulls pretty darn hard. Sounds could be better. Don’t mind the mpg’s - but they wouldn’t be considered great for folks who care about mpg. I have lived in three large cities with the vehicle: Chicago, NYC and Boston. Over the 30k miles I believe it’s been about 35% city driving, 35% suburbia and 30% highway/interstate. My average mpg since factory is 15.6. I have got as good as 22.4mpg when road tripping and sticking strictly to the speed limit.

Towing & Towing Tech: I’ve towed a ~6800lbs trailer several times with the car and to use my father’s words “I can’t even tell I am pulling a trailer. It’s just so smooth.” The automatic air suspension with auto-leveling and load adjustment really makes this a complete bliss.
You do need a brake controller for trailers which is a bit annoying that it’s not integrated in the vehicle software and functions but that seems to be the norm in the US anyway. MPG when towing wasn’t terrible either, about 9.5-12.1 is what I usually get.

Gripes: given how amazing the vehicle is, I don’t really have any. But for the purpose of this post, I am calling out a few things that I’d love to see changes made to. Some of these have plagued me with all my BMWs for the last 30 years so I don’t have much hope and have accepted those as “the character of the Brand” by now.

- The lower seat cushion shapes are made for smaller and/or skinny people. As soon as you’re taller than 6” those pesky sidewalls will bite into your butt-cheeks on longer drives. Had this issue with every single BMW no matter the model or year, and confirmed some other owners have this too.
- BMW V8s make a whole lot of noises. While you can’t hear it when inside, once you roll the window down, you can hear those ultra high-pressure fuel injectors working hard. Every N63 I’ve ever driven (lots) makes those sounds though, so it’s definitely normal. It’s just an oddity. The new S68s make the same sounds too. I’d also love a manual oil dipstick. They removed those too.
- The electrically operated 2nd and 3rd row seats need to operate waaaay faster. This issue has unfortunately not been solved even with the LCI. Not once have I had people in the 3rd row and the operation of the seats just intuitively worked for them. Too many different buttons in too many places to do too much of the same thing doing it way too slow.
- I wish the head-up display’s height would be higher by default, in relation to the seating position. While you can adjust the height, again, if you’re taller than 6”, it’s hard to have it sit high enough in the windshield that your eyes don’t make a significant “look-down” move when looking at it. Even with the seat in the lowest height, I can’t get the head up display adjusted to sit higher in the windshield without it reaching its cut-off point in your field of vision.
- The touch-capacitative shift console buttons are odd. You just can’t ever seem to hit the “sweet spot”.
- The crystal controls are gimmicky, completely pointless and at worst capture light in a way that blinds you. I would find a Tartufo-wrapped leather shifter/console or an open-pore wood-grain shifter way more luxurious than this stuff.
- The vehicle should have come with the high-pile carpet floor mats in tartufo that the 7-series come with. Those are a real touch of luxury, but not advisable in winter.

My #1 favorite feature: The silent cabin - only beaten by the Rolls Royce Cullinan apparently.
My #1 gripe: I thought about this for a while, literally. Then, when I couldn’t come up with a real gripe, I went over to my wife and asked her what her gripe was. After she thought about it for 5 minutes she said: “None”. I agree.

I am so happy with the vehicle that I will be keeping it past my lease and buy it out. While I do enjoy upgrading every 2-3 years, this is the first time I have a negative amount of desire to switch into the LCI. One thing that I think went particularly well for me is getting the last year before LCI. I am planning to do the same for the next upgrade and get another X7 in 2026, a year before the new model. With most of my BMWs, this tactic has proven to avoid almost all early-LCI or early-MY issues.