The 7's styling has not pleased everyone, however. The overall design, and particularly the rear half, have generated controversy among design critics and automotive media. BMW claims its buyers love it. With time in the car and detailed explanations from BMW as to why it looks like it does, we can tell you that the 7 Series styling is based on rational objectives.
Underneath the styling are a number of hard parameters: This 7 Series is substantially taller than its predecessor (by 2.2 inches), giving its occupants more head room, 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 also slightly longer (1.8 inches) and wider (1.6 inches), and its wheelbase is significantly longer (2.3 inches) than before. It's a much bigger car than before. With these dimensional changes, BMW had to re-work the proportions and redesign the surface details. In other words, the styling had to be changed.
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). Bigger wheels were fitted on all models. The rear-wheel-drive BMW 7 Series uses a long hood and a swept rear glass, intended to create a sporty, coupe look.
The rear end has been 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, which is crucial in reducing wind noise, improving fuel efficiency and increasing stability at high speed. Because the tail needed to be raised so high, a sculptured appearance was used to maintain the lines of the car.
The back end does not look like previous BMWs, and that's a big reason people have been talking about it. The L-shaped taillights extending across the trunk lid are a departure: They're intended to draw the eye across the back, making the car look wider. The lights themselves are a technological marvel, employing a feature BMW calls adaptive brake lighting. 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. The distinction is designed to signal following drivers that you are stopping very quickly. A monitoring system indicates when a bulb is burned out. And while waiting for you to have it replaced, the system will commandeer other bulbs in the taillamps to use as brake lights.
Up front, the outer edges of the 7 Series headlamp clusters sweep up, instead of down as they've traditionally done on BMWs. (All of the latest BMWs have adapted this styling cue.) Set relatively low, the headlamps are trimmed by turn signals above them, looking like the eyebrows of a hawk. High-intensity discharge headlamps are used for both low and high beams on the outboard lamps; the inboard lamps are conventional halogen high beams. The Adaptive Headlight option allows the outboard lights to turn with the car, focusing their beams into a curve, rather than off the edge of the road.
The exterior mirrors can be retracted inward with the touch of a button, reducing the parking width more than a foot. It's a great convenience for drivers with narrow garage entrances or when parking in a crowded city garage.
The hood and front fenders are made of aluminum, allowing a near perfect 50/50 weight distribution over the front and rear wheels, and contributing to the outstanding handling.
