Car UK May 2019

MAY 2019 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 53

Licensed to grille, king of the grille – we could

go on making poor jokes about the enormous

nostrils on Munich’s updated limo but let’s be

adult about this, because, believe it or not, that

front end is the result of feedback from actual

BMW 7-series customers.

BMW responded to the call for bolder styling

by enlarging the trademark kidney grille by 48

per cent – it’s so big it made the standard badge

look microscopic, and designers had to prise a

much larger BMW roundel off an X7 to redress

the balance.

The highest point of the nose is now 5cm

higher to make the front end look more upright,

plus there are thinner head- and tail lights, and

a light strip running full-width across the boot.

Both the long- and short-wheelbase cars have

grown 22 millimetres in length, while bigger

vents improve the aerodynamics around the

wheels.

Tall rear-seat passengers might find

themselves a little tight on headroom but are

easily distracted by a pair of 10-inch displays

and a Blu-ray player. As before, everything is

controlled by a seven-inch removable tablet

taking in seat adjustment, lighting and climate,

as well as infotainment and sat-nav.

Behind the huge honker you’ll find engines

ranging from an improved plug-in hybrid to a

V12 petrol, with a new V8 and different versions

of the best-selling six-cylinder turbodiesel

making up the bulk of the range.

We reckon the 745Le xDrive plug-in hybrid

is a real highlight – it’s now capable of up to

36 electric-only miles and features a more

powerful straight-six petrol engine. It’s

impressively wafty and serenely quiet-running

in EV mode, thanks to the thicker glass now

fitted all-round and more insulation in the

wheelarches and B-pillars.

But it’s the superb 4.4-litre V8 750i that’s

most rewarding when you up the pace, and the

stiff, Carbon Core’d chassis delivers thrills in

ways no massive limo should.

7, turned up to 11

BMW 7-SERIES

This glitzy 7-series facelift isn’t subtle, but there’s

substance behind the oversized kidney grille

First verdict

The 7-series remains the best driver’s car in a

market where most buyers prefer to be driven by

someone else.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

BMW designers

tried a 50% bigger

grille, but no, too

vulgar; 48% it is

JAGUAR XF SPORTBRAKE 300

No longer can you buy a Jaguar XF with a six-

cylinder petrol engine. The flagship unleaded

powerplant is now the four-cylinder Ingenium

turbo putting out 296bhp (or 300 metric

horsepower, hence the name), with all-wheel

drive as standard.

It sounds meatier than most fours, and goes

well too, pulling smoothly through its standard-

fit ZF auto ’box’s eight gears. The transmission’s

sweetly calibrated; recent Jaguars haven’t

always been great at picking the right gear for

the right moment but this latest tuning feels spot

on. Ditto ride quality; on 19-inch wheels (18s are

standard, 20s an option) the XF has the right

blend of loping ride and balanced handling that

befits a big Jag, helped by keenly responsive

steering. In R-Sport trim as tested (lower ride,

bigger splitter, chrome exhaust tips) it sits in the

mid-£40k bracket. Low-fi interior plastics aside,

it feels worthy of the price – to drive, at least.

BMW 8-SERIES CONVERTIBLE

More luxurious than a 911 Convertible, cheaper

than an Aston DB11 Volante, the BMW 8-series

Convertible is a hard car to pigeonhole.

Let’s focus on what we know – this is a

droptop luxo-lounge for four, with a petrol V8

or six-cylinder diesel, and handling that doesn’t

tally with a near two-tonne kerbweight.

In reality there isn’t room for four adults and,

while the diesel offers sufficient punch and low

running costs, the 4.4-litre soundtrack of the

M850i is just better.

Handles well, too. Suitably taut, with none of

the associated wobbliness from the lack of roof,

the 8-series turns in hard and manages mid-

corner lumps and bumps deftly. Thank standard

adaptive dampers and rear-wheel steering for

that, and xDrive all-wheel drive that means you

can get back on the power early, too.

All in all, perfectly placed between the 911 and

DB11, and with a refined character of its own.

First verdict

Fewer cylinders, still plenty of charisma. More

fun than a V90 or an E-Class.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

First verdict

Good refinement with a drive that makes you

forget this is a ‘softer’ convertible.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★