02-26-2019, 04:11 PM | #1 |
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Several of us have been interested in this, so I thought I'd start a dedicated thread with what we're finding.
Printed specs for the 1st and 2nd row seat dimensions are virtually identical between the G05 X5 and the G07 X7. Specifically, the 2nd row legroom is 37.4 and 37.6 inches respectively, a difference of only 0.2 inches. That's nothing. [IMG]https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/at...8;d=1539778327[/IMG] However, as first reported by Influence here: https://g07.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1585984 it seems that the X7 2nd row can actually slide BACK from that stated 37.6 inches of legroom as well, at the sacrifice of room in the X7 third row. Influence has tested this with the bench seat, and I have tested this with captain's chairs, both with the 3rd row down, and 3rd row up. Why is this important? Well for folks taller than average (average USA male is 5'10"), if there's someone tall in the front seat, the G05 2nd row seat is rather tight. This pic comes from my writeup on the G05 X5 here: https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh....php?t=1544186 [IMG]http://i365.photobucket.com/albums/o...psf5i7uchi.jpg[/IMG] As you can see from the picture, I'm a big guy, and 6'3". My family is also tall, including growing teen kids. When I'm in the driver's seat, I need them to have good 2nd row leg room. For this picture, I put the X5 driver's seat in a reasonable driving position for me as a driver. Not optimal though--if I were driving, my legs would not be fully comfortably stretched out, but still reasonable and I could drive. Even still, as you can see in the pic, when I got into the X5 2nd row, I still had to straddle the back of the front seat with my knees, jammed up against the seat. The front seat, though, is not even all the way back. Now, compare that with this picture in an X7 rear seat. Same guy. This time, the X7 front seat is all the way back, so legroom should be even worse. But with the X7 second row seat slid all the way back, there's several extra inches of legroom, which make all the difference. Now, my knees don't even touch the front seat, much less have to straddle it to fit. [img]https://i365.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0kyjygxn.jpg[/img] For taller folks, the G05 X5 second row is ok for a 25 minute ride to church or the grocery store. But not a family road trip. I could see the X7 being nice and comfortable for a taller family long road trip. Granted, moving the 2nd row seats all the way back would be at the expense of 3rd row X7 seating. But since the 3rd row is really for smaller people anyway, and in my case we wouldn't even need the 3rd row at all, this 2nd row capability does make all the difference. For me, this is huge, and very good news. May be the deciding factor, for me to purchase an X7. For what it's worth, my full writeup of initial X7 impressions is here: https://g07.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=24438360 Last edited by Wild Blue; 02-26-2019 at 05:04 PM.. |
02-26-2019, 06:54 PM | #2 |
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man can't thank you guys enough for these write ups. that is great news you two are reporting.
so with front seats all the way back, there's 39.8" up there. with the second row all the way back, the second row has something north of the stated 37.6". would you say that's roughly 41" or so? and if so that leaves roughly 30" in the third row? bmw could reduce confusion by quoting everything with all rows back, which is how it's always been done by all. 39.8, 41, 30, for example. anyhow, obviously great news for those that want this to be a 2+2 or 2+3 at all times Last edited by ppagiga; 02-26-2019 at 07:31 PM.. |
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02-27-2019, 04:38 PM | #3 |
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ppagiga I think your guess for full 2nd row X7 legroom might be about right. I'm going to guess maybe 40-41" in the 2nd row, 2ith both the 1st and 2nd row in the full back positions.
Don't know what exactly that would leave in the 3rd row, but yes, much less. But we don't really need to cater to the 3rd row as much, do we? |
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03-05-2019, 04:05 AM | #5 |
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This is a very nice video, very good info presented on many aspects of the X7. About 3:00 in, cutie shows a side-by-side comparison of trunk space, between a model with captain's chairs, and one with 2nd row bench. Then later on, (about 14:00 and on) she shows the difference in buttons and operation of 2nd row seat between captain's chairs and bench model. Similar, but slightly different. Interesting. Twice in the video, she says when a person gets in the 3rd row, and 2nd row seats return to seating position, they "stop before hitting the person's knees". I'm curious about this. I also didn't know, with the cold weather package, 3rd row seat is heated too? Cool. |
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03-05-2019, 04:43 AM | #6 | |
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Blue thanks for posting. Very informative. Do you know if Captain's have the ability to do what the bench does at the 14:30 marker of your video? The seat moves forward, then tilts up, all without the seat back folding forward at all. This would be critical functionality in captain chair equipped car with a bunch of car seats in it. The guys in this video seem to pull it off but not sure how. Check out the 5:40 marker. Also, i revisited the original press release from October. IN it, bmw says the second row slides back and forth 5.7". That's more than i realized. Figured it was 4-ish |
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03-05-2019, 05:48 AM | #7 |
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Actually sat in the X7 last Saturday. I was concerned about 2nd row legroom being the same as the X5–NOT the case. I am 6’5” and with the driver’s seat set for my height I had about 3-4 inches of legroom in the 2nd row behind that seat. Plenty of room.
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03-05-2019, 07:15 AM | #8 | |
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Wow! She knows her stuff. I'm usually frustrated that I know more about these cars than the reps I buy them from, but I'm impressed. She knows more about these cars than some sales reps who've been selling bmws since before she was born. wild blue - I don't know about the 3rd row heat, but that would be nice. @16:05 was that a fruit loop in the seat? How did my kids get there? |
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03-06-2019, 09:23 AM | #9 | |
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I think I'm gonna go watch that cutie pie video again because... well... just because |
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12-10-2019, 04:35 PM | #10 |
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'Scuse me while I totally necro this thread (which, in fairness, is still interesting and of value to potential X7 buyers).
I had decided on the exact build I wanted, save for one remaining question: bench seat or captain's chairs in the second row? In favor of the bench is the fact that it folds flat and results in more cargo space when it's needed. The captain's chairs, however, are potentially more comfortable and definitely look cooler. But, for me at least, it was still a wash. SO... today, when I had my (disappointing) trip to a local dealer to inquire about placing an order, I brought a measuring tape and set out to determine if there was more second row legroom with the captain's chairs or with the bench. My hypothesis was that the captain's chairs would perhaps move back farther than the bench, thus allowing more legroom. If that proved correct, then I would forego the additional cargo capabilities and go with the captain's chairs, because after three years with a 540i and it's tiny-ass backseat, I wanted something roomy for the second row. (I couldn't care less about the third row, btw... it'll probably never see the light of day anyway.) To my surprise, there was more legroom in the second row with the bench seat than with the captain's chairs. Methodology: I had two X7s side-by-side, one configured with captain's chairs, the other with the bench. On both vehicles the driver's seat back was positioned fully upright and then the seat moved to its rearmost position. The second row (for both the bench and the captain's chair) was then moved to its rearmost position. Then I measured the distance from the center of the front edge of the bench seat and from the same spot on the captain's chair to the back of the driver's seat (basically, the location of the arrow on the image below). I also measured the overall depth of the seating surfaces (from front to back) to make sure they were basically the same, which they were. Result: In those positions, the distance was 10" for the bench seat and just under 7" for the captain's chair. In fairness, the driver's seat would never be driven from that position, but I needed a control to make a valid comparison. The bench seat does seem to afford about 3" of additional legroom over the captain's chairs... though I hasten to point out that, when the driver's seat is in a reasonable position (even for me at 6'2"), there was PLENTY of legroom for me in the second row in either the bench OR the captain's chairs. If the results had gone the way I'd expected, I would have used that as a justification for picking the captain's chairs at the expense of the potential extra cargo space. In light of this, though, I guess I'll go with the boring— erm, I mean, practical choice instead. Last edited by DenverMisanthrope; 12-11-2019 at 08:33 AM.. |
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12-10-2019, 08:21 PM | #11 | |
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12-11-2019, 12:41 AM | #12 | |
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12-11-2019, 03:49 AM | #13 |
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Our X7 has the bench but I also looked closely at the captains seats in a 2020 X7M 50i about three weeks ago and there's noticeably more leg room with the bench when the front seats are all the way back and the bench/captains seats are all the way back. I didn't have a tape measure but it was clear to see. As for comfort, the captains seats are more plush and look very nice but the bench seats are just fine and in the end felt more comfortable due to expansive leg room. I would opt for the bench seats again after trying both but I still get why some may prefer the captains seats.
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12-11-2019, 07:43 AM | #14 |
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Cool that you did this quantitative comparison, thanks!
Like you, I have no need for the 3rd row. I'll be getting the Captain's chairs, still, for what feels like a more luxurious 2nd row seating. But I get why people choose the bench. Still hoping BMW creates a luxury 2nd row package, more like the 7er sedan. |
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12-11-2019, 08:12 AM | #16 |
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That's an interesting comparison, thanks for doing it. I am surprised by the results. I am still planning to go with the captain chairs as I think our third row seats will see a lot of use and I think it's less claustrophobic in the third row seats when there is an opening between the second row seats. I also think the space between the second row seats will be large enough for my 5-year old son to get through which would eliminate the need to move them every time to get in and out of the third row. They do look more comfortable as well.
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12-11-2019, 08:54 AM | #17 | |
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12-11-2019, 10:40 AM | #18 |
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Yep, I measured what I referred to as the "depth" of the seating surface — from the front edge of the seats to the where the back meets the seat — but they were effectively the same (I saw about 1/4" difference, though I can't remember which was which).
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12-11-2019, 01:09 PM | #19 |
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We went Captain's without question for the following reasons:
1. More comfortable for our older kids (college age) when they are home and traveling with us in the 2nd Row, usually long distances. They like their space. 2. More comfortable for the grandparents (high 70's) when they travel with us, the adjustability of the 2nd Row seats can't be overlooked- fore, aft, backrest, dual-armrests, they are far more comfortable for elders than the bench. 3. Corrects a claustrophobia problem for our younger kids (grade school age) in the 3rd Row as the visibility to the windshield through passthru gap between the 2nd Row seats reduces motion sickness and disorientation. The X7 bench seat is tall and hard to see over for younger kids and we've cleaned up a ton of upset stomach residue from our X5 for the same reason over the years. 4. Allows our 7 year old to squeeze between the two 2nd Row chairs to get to his spot in the 3rd Row without having to wait 75 seconds (I've timed it) for the seat motors to do their thing. 5. Eliminates the "it's your turn to sit in the middle!" arguments that our kids constantly put us through. Since the 3rd Row is just as comfortable as the 2nd Row and has its own USB port, my daughter doesn't fight at all, is happy to just climb back there. No middle seat, no middle seat bickering. So....no claustrophobia, no vomit, no 'middle seat' fights, comfortable elders, it's all good with Captain's Chairs. |
12-11-2019, 02:01 PM | #20 |
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Toddwalton, you hit all the key points for me. Thanks!
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