To understand the styling, it is important to keep in mind that this is a radically taller car than before (2.2 inches taller), giving its occupants more head room, more comfort, more rear-seat roominess, and a larger trunk. The greatest increase in height is along the outer edges of the roof, increasing head room and improving safety for occupants. The 7 Series is slightly longer (1.8 inches) and wider (1.6 inches), but the wheelbase is significantly longer (2.3 inches) than before. With these dimensional changes, BMW had to re-work the proportions and redesign the surface details. To maintain good proportions, the 7 Series was given a fast greenhouse with a very fast C-pillar. (All of the roof pillars are much thicker for enhanced safety in the event of a rollover.) Big wheels were used. While front-wheel-drive Chryslers use a cab-forward design, the rear-wheel-drive BMW 7 Series uses a long hood and a swept back, giving it a sporty, coupe look.

The rear end is the focus of the controversy. Much of its design can be traced back to an attempt to handle the substantially raised rear deck height. Because the roof was raised dramatically, the rear deck needed to be raised to help the 7 Series achieve its excellent aerodynamics. Aerodynamic efficiency is crucial in reducing wind noise, improving fuel efficiency, and increasing the top speed, and the 7 Series is highly successful in all three of these areas. The traditional design did not work because the tail needed to be raised so high, so a sculptured appearance was used to maintain the lines of the car. A by-product was a much larger trunk. At 18 cubic feet, the 7 Series trunk is significantly larger than the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (15.4 cubic feet). It's dramatically larger than the trunk on the previous 7 Series and nearly as large as the humongous trunk on the Lexus LS430. The 7 Series trunk is oriented to carry four golf bags transversely or five standard pieces of luggage. A single-link tubular hinge eliminates intrusion into the trunk space, yet it springs open when the remote is activated. A power trunk lid is also available.

The back end does not look like a BMW. Thin secondary brake lights are a radical extension of the L-shaped taillamps BMW has used previously, most notably on the current 3 Series. Extending across the trunk lid, they are designed to draw the eye across the back, making the car look wider. The taillights are a technological marvel themselves, employing a new feature BMW calls adaptive brake lighting that is designed to signal the intensity of the driver's braking to other drivers. Under normal braking, the outboard and third brake lights illuminate as usual. Under hard braking or when ABS is activated, the taillights join the brake lights for a significant increase in visibility of the brake lights. If that isn't impressive enough for you, a monitoring system will signal you when a bulb burns out. And while you're waiting for an opportunity to get to a dealership to replace it, the system will commandeer other bulbs in the taillamps to use as brake lights. That's but one of many examples of the amazing attention to detail on this car.

In front, the outer edges of the four round headlamps sweep up, instead of down like they do on other BMWs. Set relatively low, the headlamps are set off by turn signals above them, looking like the eyebrows of a hawk. (This is a departure from other BMWs, which set the turn signals to the outsides of the headlamps.) High-intensity discharge headlamps are used for both low and high beams on the outboard lamps; the inboard lamps are conventional halogen high beams. All four beams are outlined by light rings that function as parking lights. The grille and upper front fascia are designed to look up, as compared with other BMWs, which have looked down. However, the lower intake works with the bumper to give it that shark-like overbite so feared by other drivers in the left lane.

High quality materials and elegant design make the 7 Series cabin a pleasant place. Beautiful, buttery leather trim is used throughout and a variety of fine materials makes the interior interesting without looking busy. Beautiful wood trim is tastefully used on the dash, center console and elsewhere. The wood comes in two matte finishes and two glossy finishes, light and dark shades of each. I loved the light-colored Black Cherry finished in a dull matte for its timeless elegance. I did not care for the optional strip of wood on the back dash. Two front cup holders are handsome, high-tech, and practical. The sun visors do not appear to live up to the quality of the rest of the interior, though. The standard roof liner in the 745i reminds us of fine suit material, something you might encounter on a woman's business jacket, and BMW says many of the interior materials were inspired by the fashion industry. (Suede-like alcantara roof liners will be available on the 760Li.)
The seats are supportive and comfortable, and swathed in beautiful leather. They adjust every which way (14 ways standard, 20 ways optional) and in some ways automatically: the headrests, for example, change height automatically according to the position of the seat. To adjust the seats, press one of the metaphoric buttons on the side of the center console telling the system what you want to adjust, then move a separate knob to adjust it. Optional Active Seat Ventilation cools the seats in the summer by blowing air through micro-perforations; leather trim in other areas of the car is perforated to complement this option. The rear seats of the 745i are comfortable and roomy. Waterfall LED atmosphere lighting inside the C-pillars adds to the elegance of the rear seats. Rear Comfort Seats are available for the 745Li that offer 14-way power adjustments; the front passenger's seat can be adjusted from the right rear seat's power controls. Power rear and side sunshades are available. An rear-seat iDrive system controller will be available in later models.

When underway, the cabin is whisper quiet. The only sound we could hear while driving the 745i over San Antonio's busy freeways was the tires whacking over expansion joints or humming across grooved concrete. Sound is wonderfully deadened inside, making conversation easy and pleasant. The quiet cabin provides a perfect environment for a superb stereo that delivers crisp highs, sharp bass, and clear mid-range tones. BMW's optional Logic 7 Premium Sound Package ($1800), developed by Harman Kardon's Lexicon, is truly sensational. Unless you have a state-of-the-art stereo at home, you'll hear things in your favorite songs you've barely noticed before, crisp snare drum beats, sparkling vocals. An in-dash CD player and a multi-disc CD changer are provided. It offers seven channels of sound with a multitude of speakers including a pair of subwoofers BMW ingeniously integrated into the chassis itself.

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The 7 Series provides multiple compartments for storing things. The center console is split down the middle to create a pair of leather access lids. Ours was filled with CD storage, a cellular telephone and the owner's manual, and we couldn't help thinking it would be preferable to eliminate the CD storage and put the owner's manual someplace else. Likewise, much of the space in the elegantly designed glove box was taken up with the CD changer. I'd almost prefer putting the CD changer in the trunk or eliminating it altogether in favor of more storage. The single in-dash CD player doesn't add much to the otherwise beautiful 7 Series interior and the volume knob is on the small side, but it works well and sounds great.
Cellular telephones, an important part of our daily lives nowadays, are brilliantly integrated into the 7 Series. Simply pull your cellphone out of your jacket pocket or purse, plug it into the pre-wired coiled phone cord in the center console and the 7 Series will re-charge its battery. But here's where it gets better: press a small panel on the dash just to the right of the steering wheel and out pops a keypad that's easy to punch with your right hand; this keypad operates your phone. The 7 Series maintains a database of important numbers that are displayed on the dash. If you'd rather use voice commands, press a button and tell the 7 Series to phone home, or check your voicemail, or call the office.

BMW's voice-activated system works reasonably well for people willing to take the time to learn how to use it and program it. Our take on it is that we'd likely use it for a few key features, like calling home, checking voice mail, switching among two or three favorite radio stations. It'll do much more for those willing to invest some time in it, however. To use it, press the SVS button and give it a command. A key command to remember is "Options" because that will cause the system to call out a list of recognized commands you can use: "Radio on." The radio turns on. "106.7." It switches to FM 106.7. You can also tell it to play CD track number five. You can really impress someone with it even if you only set it up to do a few key functions.

What really separates the 7 Series from other cars is its embrace of technology. We thought the Mercedes-Benz S-Class was loaded with technology, but this new BMW takes it to new levels. It approaches the operation of a computer closer than any other major production car we've seen. It takes a little familiarization to know how to start a BMW 7 Series sedan, release the parking brake, back out of the driveway, and take off. To start the car, insert the key, which isn't a traditional key, and press the start button next to the key slot. Press another button to release the electronically controlled parking brake. To shift into reverse, pull the small lever toward you, then snick it down into drive. The shifter works more like a switch or an electronic stalk than a mechanical shifter because it is, indeed, an electronic controller. You control the transmission electronically, "by wire," as there is no direct mechanical connection between the transmission selector stalk and the transmission. To shift into drive, stop, pull the little lever toward you and switch it down. It takes quite a bit of practice to do this as quickly as a traditional shifter as I found out while trying to make a quick Y-turn on a street in downtown San Antonio. But once mastered, it may end up being quicker and less troublesome than a traditional mechanical shifter, which often requires that the driver look down when shifting among reverse, neutral, and drive to ensure the proper gear is selected. To return to park, simply press a button on the end of the stalk and it shifts into park no matter what gear you were in before. Shut the engine off by pressing the start/stop button. Adjusting to this takes a little while, maybe a day, maybe longer. But we think the biggest hassle will be when the car is loaned to someone else. It's possible some owners will grow tired of explaining how to operate it to valets, parking lot attendants and car wash jockeys, not to mention spouses and anyone the car is loaned to. Teenagers and 20-somethings, on the other hand, will likely quickly figure it out as they adapt to technology much more quickly than those of us in our 40s and 50s.