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Best Sedans BMW 760Li
It's not often that I find myself walking around a car wanting just to touch it. Indeed, to engage it with all senses.
But those are the kinds of feelings the BMW 760Li inspires. It's based on the 745. But the high rear-end that has given the 745 mixed reviews doesn't seem as intrusive on the lines of the 760, perhaps because of its bigger wheels.
The trunk closes at the touch of a button, and the side doors open and close with just the right sound.
Inside, the electronics on display when you sit in the driver's seat are wondrous. The ignition key is just a semiconductor chip really; you start the car by pushing a button. The parking brake, likewise, is controlled by a simple button. The gears shift in a way that's reminiscent of a spaceship. It's perhaps the most technologically sophisticated vehicle that is commercially available.
This is a big car, weighing nearly 4,900 pounds and stretching out for nearly 17 feet. Yet, with 12 cylinders and 438 horsepower at 6,000 rpm, BMW has managed to maintain a sense of performance at all speeds. You won't hear the growl of an M3, but you'll know you're in a BMW. It has rear-wheel drive and goes for about $118,000, depending on what bells and "whistles you add.
My only criticism concerns the iDrive system. The intention was good: to compress all the technology that's available into a set of controls that is elegant and highly functional. The problems are in the execution.
The iDrive consists of a dial, mounted between the two front seats. There are three different motions you have to master, much like learning how to use a computer mouse. You go one direction for navigation, another for climate controls, and so on. You can tell where you are in the system by looking at a display screen on the dashboard, just to the right of the driver's immediate cockpit area.
The problems are two-fold. Unless you're a gadget junkie, the system is just too complex. I spent two weeks in iDrive-equipped BMWs and was able to establish only minimal functionality. The system made me feel...