DRIVING
36 July/August 2019 _ PopularMechanics.comTOYOTA 4RUNNER TRD PRO
The back window rolls down!↓ ROAD TESTED
/BY EZRA DYER/FORD TRANSIT CONNECT
A wee van for florists.NISSAN MAXIMA SR
Near-luxury: Think sportier Avalon.The BMW X7 Is
the New Champ of
Three-Row SUVs
Base price: $74,895
xDrive 50 i V-8 Zero-to-60:
5.2 seconds
Base six-cylinder: Only 0.6
seconds slower
Voice command prompt:
“Hey, BMW.” So, avoid verbally
noting cool BMW adventure
bikes in the next lane, or car
carriers on their way from the
Spartanburg plant.THERE ARE NOT many cars in which I could set off on a 600-
mile drive with three kids in the back and emerge on the other
side with my sanity intact. The new BMW X7 is one of those cars.
Yes, after 10 hours behind the wheel I felt like my gray matter had
been replaced by leftover huevos rancheros, but my state of mind
would’ve been worse in just about anything else. ¶It took BMW 20
years to make the leap from midsize X5 to gigantic X7 (cargo space
is nearly the same as a Chevy Tahoe), but the designers made good
use of the extra study time. This thing represents near-minivan prac-
ticality crossbred with BMW fun. A short list of cosseting items:
heated and cooled cup holders, massaging seats, lane keeping and
adaptive cruise control, and the best rear-seat entertainmentsystem I’ve yet seen. Big screens. Easy to use. Actual headphone jacks
so you don’t have to worry about headphone batteries. The interior is
beautiful—I don’t need a crystal shifter, but it sure looks purdy. And
I don’t need gesture-based controls, but when you’re on hour seven
of your drive, it’s fun to turn up the stereo by twirling your finger in
the air. And beneath the soft gauze of luxury, the X7 has BMW
ref lexes. Apex an on-ramp and you
might have to hit the brakes to merge
back onto the highway. The X7 is big
and fast and luxurious, and BMW
probably wishes it’d been building it
for 15 years.