BMW 730Ld 2019 UK first drive

The entry-point of the revised, restyled 7 Series, and BMW’s renewed effort to make its executive flagship deliver on a luxury brief in ways the outgoing car couldn’t quite achieve.

The 730Ld slots in beneath the six-cylinder 740i and the V8-powered 750Li we recently sampled on the continent, with a 3.0-litre diesel powerplant sitting behind that enlarged, unmissable kidney grille.

BMW’s new-found styling boldness has certainly divided opinion here in the West - but keeps China, which accounts for more than 40% of global 7 Series sales, happy. And seeing how every other manufacturer also wants to keep China happy, they’ll eventually follow suit. At which point the 7 Series fits right in, and we all stop complaining.

Driven here in long-wheelbase form, which BMW expects to make up to 40% of UK sales, the 730d is rear-driven and rides on standard-fit adaptive air suspension, but eschews the optional Integral Active Steering and active anti-roll bars found in the Executive Drive Pro pack that had such an impact on driving dynamics during our initial encounter back in April.

It’s the presence of the rear seat comfort pack on the options list that indicates where BMW has made the greatest improvements, with a much-improved interior that can now genuinely claim to be among the class best.

An opulent, leather-clad business class lounge on four wheels, with impressions largely dictated by which set of doors you choose to enter by.

Drivers will feel at home with the more luxurious take on the familiar BMW dashboard, which has the same slick all-digital instrument cluster as the new 3 Series, BMW X5 and range-topping 8 Series. It isn’t quite as easily customisable as Audi’s MMI, and the angular dials take some getting used to, but the excellent iDrive controller is still a welcome alternative to a touchscreen. Less welcome is BMW’s subscription model to access Apple CarPlay, which is only free for the first year of ownership.

Both standard and long-wheelbase models are 23mm longer than the outgoing cars, with our test car providing an expansive amount of rear space. Passengers are enveloped by reclining heated seats that offer up a spa day’s worth of massage options, while being flanked by individual infotainment screens that give complete control over navigation and music.

The use of ambient lighting is more subtle here than the nightclub-esque vibe found in an Mercedes-Benz S-Class, and, until a microphone can measure exact decibels, it can only be said that BMW appears to have sufficiently caught up with Mercedes in terms of cabin noise isolation.