"All the tech in the 7 series will be a headache"

[Sublime00]

Interesting article, true for any car that's overly complicated, not just the 7.

All That Tech In The New BMW 7 Series Is Going To Be A Headache
I thought the new face was too much until I found that the rear doors had screens in them.
ByLawrence Hodge

The new 2023 BMW 7 Series has arrived, and aside from that polarizing front fascia, it's a very tech-laden executive car. When fully loaded, the 7 Series will have nearly 70 inches of screens inside. That's on top of all the other tech the car is going to come with. All of it could end up being a distracting problem for new owners, and an expensive headache down the line.

Gone are the days when the 7 Series was the driver's luxury car — when the e38 7 Series morphed into the Bangle-ized e65 7 Series. The e65 was a precursor to what we now know of the 7 Series. It was the most technologically advanced car BMW offered at the time.

It had everything from an electronically controlled steering column-mounted gear selector, to adaptive cruise control, it was even the first car in the world to have an electronic parking brake. It also introduced the world to i-Drive, which was like an automotive Skynet, a preview of tech things to come in cars.

Fast forward nearly 20 years and three generations later and the 7 Series is less of a car and more of a rolling tech showcase that BMW can use to go all out. It's ok if buyers have come to expect this kind of thing from BMW. It's most likely what many of them want. That doesn't mean that all of this stuff can't still be and become a problem.

Research has shown that in-car technology and big screens are distracting. The last few years have seen some kind of "Who can make the biggest dash screen" arms race between manufacturers. And with automakers burying the simplest controls in menus, older buyers (BMW 7 Series buyers tend to be older and wealthy because of course they are) may have some trouble.

Then there's the issue of system lag, something that happens in nearly every car that's screen heavy. As our boss Bob Sorokanich pointed out, having screens control everything is a hell of a gamble. For instance, Audi's digital cockpit I encountered in an RS5 Sportback last year was terribly laggy. In some instances, there were nearly two seconds between me pressing something on the screen and the system actually executing it.

There are also almost no physical buttons on the dash of the 7. In fact, upon closer inspection, there doesn't look to be any at all. Its most likely some kind of haptic controls for front and rear window foggers and fan speed control.

Night driving should be fun as well. The new 7 gets a 12.3-inch screen behind the wheel and then another 14.9-inch central screen. Where is Saab's night panel when you need it? Of course, all this may not be that much of a deal to people who can afford to buy a car like this new. They're most likely leasing it anyway and probably won't even use half of the available features. The real problems are going to come for second and third owners 5+ years down the line. Oh, the five-inch touch screen in the rear door went out? Gotta replace the whole door.

Also, good luck finding the LED light surround for the massive kidney grille. The 8k 31-inch flatscreen in the backseat isn't working? Gotta total out the whole car. These things are going to be massive hits to the pockets of the people that pick them up from buy here pay here dealers. I'm calling it now: Jalopnik should do a "Avoid used 2023 BMW 7 Series' Like The Plague" post in the 2030's.

Don't get me wrong. I love tech. In fact, I want to drive this thing so I can mess with all of its features. But there is such a thing as too much of a good thing, and this new 7 Series may have that tech in spades

https://jalopnik.com/all-that-tech-i...e-a-1848820335

[M8Bimmer]

ALL so true and I totally agree. TOO much tech in these cars. Fun while parked but death while travelling the highway at 70MPH.
Plus it's ugly as fuck !
I'm driving, I'm not at the movies. What is next a popcorn maker in the glove box?
How about some snow-cones in the center console. Or a pizza slice oven under the front seat. Candy floss in the trunk?

[mzwerner]

Originally Posted by M8Bimmer

ALL so true and I totally agree. TOO much tech in these cars. Fun while parked but death while travelling the highway at 70MPH.
Plus it's ugly as fuck !
I'm driving, I'm not at the movies. What is next a popcorn maker in the glove box?
How about some snow-cones in the center console. Or a pizza slice oven under the front seat. Candy floss in the trunk?

I couldn't disagree more. I love almost all the tech that my G82 offers. Minus gesture control.

Also a pizza oven in the trunk would be awesome 🍕.

[CJ421]

Tech-heavy cars from 10 years ago look woefully dated nowadays. I think 10 years from now we'll say the same about "high tech" cars made today, especially cars like this 7-series with so many screens ...

Charles

[MJBO]

Jalopnik used to be about the love of cars, these days it’s all about heaping shit on them. So sad.

I don’t love the look of the new 7, but do love the cool technologies going into cars like it. Loved my time with an iX recently, and BMW OS 8 is terrific.

Things that push the boundaries are almost always going to feel obsolete at some point, but it’s not a reason to stop the progress.

[Our03z4]

My Audi A8 is a 2016 but my God it's confusing as it is, can't imagine these newer models. I plan on getting a Rivian pickup and I'm worried how complicated it will be.

[wtwo3]

Cars like the 7 series and S class absolutely SHOULD push the boundaries with tech. At some point down the line once that tech has been proven reliable and useful, it trickles down to the rest of the lineup and we all benefit from it.

I hate the view that they shouldn't offer technologically advanced cars because they might break.

[xlover]

Not surprised this is the jalopnik point of view.

It's valid, but only for a very small (and shrinking) community of traditionalists.

The weak link in the article is it all hinges on "research has shown" with no other details or specifics on the research being referenced and of course no point by point analysis on how the ID8 UI stacks up against the research. That tells me the article is basically just another lazy knee jerk forum post.

Disclaimer: on first glance I am not sold on the reduced button ID8 UI, instinctually I would have preferred some hard climate and shortcuts persist. but I also haven't tried it out yet.

[Glen e]

This is been said for every new series of the seven for the last 15 years… Nothing new here… The seven is the technological platform for Bmw…

[stein_325i]

I don't think it will be so bad, if anything most people won't use half the features anyways. The only issues I have with iDrive 8.0 is the cluttered climate menu, and the lack of good looking gauges (somehow they still haven't addressed this!).

That being said, yesterday I checked out an iX and discovered that the iDrive controller doesn't actually move! It stays in place and when you push down or forward/to the sides it provides haptic feedback. The issue is, it wasn't very convincing as it hadn't registered many of my inputs and caused me to look away to make sure I was actually pressing it correctly. On top of that I couldn't find any settings to adjust it. That is my only concern with the new tech honestly.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by Glen e

This is been said for every new series of the seven for the last 15 years… Nothing new here… The seven is the technological platform for Bmw…

This ^^^^

It's a bit of a lazy evergreen article. Now with over-sized grill!

[Chihuahua]

Originally Posted by MJBO

Jalopnik used to be about the love of cars, these days it’s all about heaping shit on them. So sad.

This. Jalopnik used to be run by enthusiasts, but the woke mob took over and ruined a good thing.

[mzwerner]

Originally Posted by CJ421

Tech-heavy cars from 10 years ago look woefully dated nowadays. I think 10 years from now we'll say the same about "high tech" cars made today, especially cars like this 7-series with so many screens ...

Charles

I don't know. I'd say that cars in general from ten years ago look dated today…

I love the new tech.

[BeEmVe]

The bad news - they plunked down rather integrated the screen into front dash. So it is fugly.

The good news - when, not if the screen need to be replaced the dash will not need to be ripped apart.

The real problem with a lot of the tech is that in five years it is out of date. Navigation systems are a great example as well as 3G. None of this crap can be updated. So it becomes worthless. So it is not really a feature.

[mzwerner]

Originally Posted by BeEmVe

The bad news - they plunked down rather integrated the screen into front dash. So it is fugly.

The good news - when, not if the screen need to be replaced the dash will not need to be ripped apart.

The real problem with a lot of the tech is that in five years it is out of date. Navigation systems are a great example as well as 3G. None of this crap can be updated. So it becomes worthless. So it is not really a feature.

Not necessarily car makers can update vie software aka Tesla. Granted there's only so much that can be updated before you need better hardware, but that's at the least five years as you've noted.

The other option is to use your phone as a hardware augment via apple CarPlay/google. I haven't touched the bmw interface for music, nav or calls in my last two cars (F90 and G82). I much prefer apple CarPlay/waze interface. As long as the works you're good

[BeEmVe]

Originally Posted by mzwerner

Not necessarily car makers can update vie software aka Tesla. Granted there's only so much that can be updated before you need better hardware, but that's at the least five years as you've noted.

The other option is to use your phone as a hardware augment via apple CarPlay/google. I haven't touched the bmw interface for music, nav or calls in my last two cars (F90 and G82). I much prefer apple CarPlay/waze interface. As long as the works you're good

Even software updates are an issue. Navigation is good example, big ole PITA and one typically needs to purchase it. Reminds me of back when one installed their own stereo cause what came from the mfg was crap.

[KevinC]

I get a migraine just looking at that thing.

[mzwerner]

Originally Posted by BeEmVe

Even software updates are an issue. Navigation is good example, big ole PITA and one typically needs to purchase it. Reminds me of back when one installed their own stereo cause what came from the mfg was crap.

CarPlay + waze is excellent. Besides gesture control I love the tech on my G82

[Germanauto]

I mean the author made some true points, however they are totally irrelevant. These large executive sedans are often leased by people with enough disposable income to not care about when X Y or Z feature breaks, because by the time that happens they will have already traded in the car years ago. These sedans have always, throughout history, been about pushing the boundaries of luxury and technology. This example is no different.

Unlike Lexus, the Germans don't engineer their cars for longevity or what tech/features will still be relevant or functional in 5 years. It's all about here and now.

I personally find the new 7er's interior to be highly impressive. It blows the new S-class, Lucid, etc. out of the water and it's not even close. The exterior design sucks, but clearly BMW's questionable stying decisions haven't hurt sales.

[JasonDot]

Did the blogger write 7+ paragraphs on a car he/she hasn't driven or touched?

[Sublime00]

Originally Posted by JasonDot

Did the blogger write 7+ paragraphs on a car he/she hasn't driven or touched?

Yeah, just like every other blogger / journalist offering their opinion on this or any newly released car.

[BzsBimmer]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

I mean the author made some true points, however they are totally irrelevant. These large executive sedans are often leased by people with enough disposable income to not care about when X Y or Z feature breaks, because by the time that happens they will have already traded in the car years ago. These sedans have always, throughout history, been about pushing the boundaries of luxury and technology. This example is no different.

Unlike Lexus, the Germans don't engineer their cars for longevity or what tech/features will still be relevant or functional in 5 years. It's all about here and now.

I personally find the new 7er's interior to be highly impressive. It blows the new S-class, Lucid, etc. out of the water and it's not even close. The exterior design sucks, but clearly BMW's questionable stying decisions haven't hurt sales.

Was going to state very similar viewpoint. My other add would be in contrast to this as the demographic of the 7 may not use all the tech or be comfortable with it, however, as I type this I’m thinking that the generation who might now have this disposable income and has matured, probably grew up using tech so won’t be too foreign of concepts.