Arrives in April with All-New Plug-in Hybrid Drivetrain and a Really Big Grill
BMW continues its move forward to electrify its line-up with the official launch of the 2020 7-Series premium sedan that includes an all-new plug-in hybrid (PHEV) drivetrain. Three different versions of the plug-in hybrid will be offered worldwide, including the 745e, the 745Le and the all-wheel drive 745e xDrive, the latter being the only variant planned for the U.S. market.
More Power, Longer Electric Driving Range
The new 2020 model marks the second-generation 7-Series plug-in, but gets a complete makeover under the hood. It abandons the previous model’s 2.0-liter inline-four gas engine in favor of a 3.0-liter inline-six. The new six-cylinder gasoline engine produces 282 horsepower (hp) and 332 pounds-feet (lbs.-ft.) of torque, up 28 horses and 37 pounds-feet from the old four-cylinder model. The engine is paired to a single electric motor mounted inside the sedan’s eight-speed automatic transmission. The motor itself makes 111 hp and 195 lbs-ft.
Like other PHEV powertrains, the motor and gas engine reach their individual peaks at different times, giving the BMW 745e xDrive an officially rated combined 389 hp and a peak of 442 lbs-ft of torque in Launch Control mode. That’s enough to provide a 0-60 mph time of 4.9 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 155 in combination with performance tires, according to BMW.
Along with the swap in combustion engines, the 2020 BMW745e xDrive also receives a larger lithium-ion battery, which is now stored under the rear seats, freeing up more cargo space in the trunk. It boasts an energy density of 12.0 kilowatt-hour (kWh) instead of the 9.2 kWh of the 740e. As such, the electric range increases 6\six miles to a claimed maximum of 34 miles on the European test cycle, numbers typically higher than EPA estimates. Top speed in pure-electric mode is 87 mph.
Can’t Miss That Enormous Grill
The new plug-in hybrid joins the broader BMW 7-Series line-up getting an exterior mid-cycle refresh for the 2020 model-year. The most notable change is BMW’s signature twin kidney grill, which dates back to the 1933 model 303.
The grill has grown in size over the years, but the 2020 7-Series grew by 40 percent in surface area over the previous model. The larger grill is offset by new, slender LED headlamps, bold character lines in the hood and bigger lower intakes. The rear of the vehicle gets tweaks, too. The LED taillights are slimmer than those of the current generation and are connected by a narrow light strip extending the width of the vehicle.
Inside, the 2020 BMW 7 Series features all-digital instrumentation and BMW’s latest generation of iDrive that has intelligent voice recognition and hand gesture features for various controls. The configurable screens include the ability to inset the navigation map in the main cluster display; there are up to 10 pages of custom screen displays.
Among the standard features on the all-new 2020 BMW 7 Series are dynamic damper control, air suspension, soft-close doors, panoramic sunroof, Harman-Kardon premium sound system, wireless device charging, Wi-Fi hotspot and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility.
The 2020 BMW 745e xDrive arrives at U.S. dealer showrooms in April accompanied by its gasoline counterparts. Pricing will be revealed at a later date.
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