[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.

[ChrisM4]

Nice review but need pics

We love out X7 40i as well. It’s a ‘22 with 47K km on it now. It also has been flawless (knock on wood) and we’ve towed a 6,500pd trailer about 10K km total with it.

[Tr4ckD4ys]

[DSTJ99]

We have 44k miles on our 2020 and feel the same. It’s been ultra reliable and the interior is wearing exceptionally well. I expect we’ll have it for another 2-3 years. Just oil changes, brakes and tires so far. We went M Sport TBii blue w/ coffee merino and it’s timeless. Lot of complements.

[keg97]

Great review- thanks!

I agree 10000% with your comments on the 2nd/3rd row buttons and how slooow they are. THAT's the improvement area.

I will say this too- I'm not a fan of the 21s but understand why people get them. Having said that, your blacked out wheels look fantastic. It's a very different look but works to me. Nice!

[omnid00d]

Thank you for this. I'm new to the X7 and to the BMW brand and I was really fearful of the overall reliability of the X7 and the N63 V8TT. I've only had it 2 months and put about 2k miles on it so not long but it's been pretty solid thru-out tho some slight creaking here and there when going over speed bumps diagonally.

I didn't realize how much of a difference a quiet cabin makes and how much of a quality of life improvement it makes. I even had to adjust how loud I talk when I take a phone call because I felt like I was screaming as I'm used to talking in noisy cabins. My wife sits in the back with our toddler and likes how we can have a quiet conversation in the car.

I have an hour commute to work and DPP + B/W + quiet cabin really makes the X7 a nice place to be in. Being in the Bay Area, I do get the occasional ribbing from the EV crowd but I can't get over the pros that the X7 delivers!

[Judge Smails]

Great post, and perfectly timed for me as I’m just starting my search for a ‘24 X7 for our new boat & snowmobile hauler and winter beater here in the Northern Chicago Suburbs.

Everyone seems really happy with the 40i but I can’t help but be drawn to the 60i with that sweet V8 ….. I’m just starting my search so this review gives me peace of mind on the reliability question. The last BMW I had was a 2004 645Ci Convertible so I look forward to getting to know the latest BMW platform.

[ChrisM4]

I notice we all have the same wheels. Since we’re posting pictures…

[Archie007]

Great write up.

I screenshoted that and sent to my wife. Just picked up our first bimmer this weekend (2020 m50i) and I was deep down to rabbit hole for the past 4 months and am still shocked at how great it is.

We have tanzenite blue as well but the 22 758s and I've been really debating whether or not to get them caramic coated black but wasn't sure how it would look against that blue.

Any regrets? Any way you could share some more pictures? Welcome any advice or thoughts on how the 758s would look in black.

[Sensibletom]

Thank you for the informative write-up. I agree on a lot of the things you wrote hereand I too have had quite an enjoyable and trouble-free ownership of the car thus far. I also have a M50i but a 2021 for about 14 months now. I truly enjoy my car, I wish I could drive it more. I do have some gripes and they are regarding some of the options and the back seats.

1. I completely agree with you on the electronic second and third row function. I would rather it be manual like my Palisade. It is so slow that it is embarrassing as my passenger is standing there waiting for it. And half the time, I don’t remember which control it is. They need to make that faster, much faster.

2. Ventilated seats - they are lame. Not sure why a company like BMW can’t get this right but Hyundai can. They should just get rid of it, it’s embarrassing.

3. Automatic parking - it’s too slow. It takes forever and half the time a car starts coming toward me and I take over and park it myself. I haven’t used the function since the early days of trying it out.

4. Massage chairs - I did read some people like it and I didn’t expect it to be a real strong massage but I definitely feel like they could have done better. I rarely use it, most of the time I forget I have it.

5. Wireless charger - I never use it and BMW could do better than that. It is slow as molasses and my phone gets real hot.

SOME THINGS I’VE CHANGED MY MIND ON.

I originally was not a big fan of the automatic back lift gate kick thing but I have become a fan of it after using it many times now while having groceries or a box in both hands.

Same with the gesture controls, I thought it was gimmicky but I find myself using it all the time to change the volume or go to the next song.

I didn’t know what to expect from the Automatic drive but I actually love it, I use it all the time on the highway and I can’t wait to try the new version because I hear it’s much better and it goes up to 85mph.

Overall, I love this car as well. It is the most enjoyment I’ve had in a car since my 20s (I’m in my 50s now).

[GL]

The N63 has a dipstick, at least my ‘22 does.

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Originally Posted by GL

The N63 has a dipstick, at least my ‘22 does.

Do you have an M-version N63B44TU3? Or which N63 vehicle are we talking? Either way, can you point me to where the engine oil dip stick is in this one?

[GL]

2022 M50i with the N63TU3. I just snapped these.

[Tr4ckD4ys]

Originally Posted by GL

2022 M50i with the N63TU3. I just snapped these.

Amazing, thank you so much! You know I couldn't locate it/see it because, frankly, it doesn't look like a dip stick with that weird round plastic top!

[GL]

Originally Posted by Tr4ckD4ys

Amazing, thank you so much! You know I couldn't locate it/see it because, frankly, it doesn't look like a dip stick with that weird round plastic top!

You would have thought they could have used yellow or orange plastic like every other manufacturer!