BMW 730d Buyer's guide review

Founded in 1916, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) has evolved into a symbol of automotive excellence, particularly in the luxury and performance sectors. Originating from Germany, this iconic brand has not only established a strong presence in Europe but has also garnered global recognition for its innovative engineering, elegant design, and commitment to quality.

Talking about the 7-series vehicles, they are very familiar in Sri Lanka. When the generation of the 7 series was first imported, the tax was very high for the 3-liter engines, compared to the 2-liter engine models. So, people were not interested in importing the 730d variant. Those who did only imported the 2-liter diesel and petrol variants. That makes the 730d a rare car to find. BMW 7-series is one of the leading vehicles in the full-size luxury sedan category. Coming to the diesel variants, the first diesel engine of the 7-series was released in 1995. So, none of the vehicles before that haven't had any diesel engines. Due to the economy of the car, diesel variants became very popular. The 7-series was first introduced in 1977, and 7 generations have been released since then. Today, we delve into the 5th-generation car of the BMW 7-series, encapsulating European styling, safety, and comfort within its design.

The BMW 730d has a very powerful 3-liter, inline 6-cylinder twin-turbocharged diesel engine that creates a maximum horsepower of 258 at 4000 rpm. It creates a 560 Nm torque when the rpm is at 1500. The engine was tuned to give a maximum torque under a minimum rpm. Talking about the fuel consumption of the vehicle, it covers 11-12 km per liter within the city, but when in outstations, it covers around 19-20 km per liter, according to the driving style. As the fuel tank has a capacity of 88 liters, once it is full, the vehicle can cover almost 1000 km with it.

The BMW 730d has a distinctive, elegant design with xenon headlights that give active cornering and leveling functions. When the car takes a turn, the lights automatically turn with the steering wheel. There are retractable headlight washers that are very helpful when the car is on muddy roads. Four sensors could be seen attached to the front bumper. The vents are located, right below the signature grill of the BMW cars. Anyone can recognize the car from the grill, even before seeing the badge. That's BMW.

Moving to the side profile, the car has disk brakes on all four wheels. Also, it has a considerable side ground clearance. It is easy to drive the car on any road, despite the fact it is a luxury vehicle. Since the car doesn't have the winker mirrors, there is a regulation to have an indication on the side. There is an attractive body line that goes all the way to the back. The doors are long enough, and they can be positioned according to the user's need, via the magnetic system of the door. Unlike Japanese cars, which have only two stopping levels, the user can hold the door as his requirement, even in a tight parking spot. The backdoors also open with an almost 90-degree radius.

The rear view of 730d includes a badge to identify that it is not an ordinary 2-liter engine car, it has a 3-liter capacity. The d stands for the diesel variant. There are rear lights, along with a large bumper. Rear sensors have been installed on the bumper. The car has real dual exhausters on the left side of the back. A blend of luxury and automation, the boot opens effortlessly, and gives 500-liter storage capacity, revealing a safety light and an under-luggage space. There is no way a backseat passenger can have access to the boot from inside. On the left side, there is a compartment with a net, to hold items still, and on the right side, there is another compartment for a toolkit since there is no spare wheel. The car has a considerable amount of boot lip, so it is a must to be careful when moving the stuff from the boot. Also, the boot has the soft-closing open such that it automatically locks the boot space.

The interior of the BMW 730d is spacious, especially the driver has all the space he wants. Starting from the right side, a wooden trim could be seen all over the interior, including the doors. Everything is made out of leather and soft-cast materials, but not cheap materials. On the right door, there are shutter controls, which are all automatic. Eight-way adjustable electric seats are available for both the driver and passenger, with two memory options to save the position and recall at any time. The leather multifunctional steering wheel and all other control adjustments are in electric mode. On the center console, there are gauge clusters with both analog and digital interfaces. RPM meter, Speedometer, fuel, and temperature gauges are in analog and every other control is indicated on a digital screen. It is a perfect blend between analog and digital. The analog quality was kept there to give a clean, elegant, and luxurious look. Since this is a European vehicle, the wiper controls and media controls are on the right side, and the signal light controls and cruise controls are on the left side. There is a huge screen for the infotainment system, which shows the vehicle controls, and the radio system controls. The BMW 730d has one of the earliest versions of the BMW iDrive system that is minimalistic and intuitive to use. Anyone can figure out the options and controls within a few minutes. It is one of the reasons why people love BMW cars very much.

The car has a four-zone climate control system, which means the driver and the passengers are allowed to have separate temperature and fan speed controls. The parking brake has the auto-hold option, which allows one to stop the car on a mountain slope with an auto engagement, and disengages by pushing the accelerator. There are four driving modes available on 730d namely; comfort mode, normal mode, sports mode, and sports plus mode. The suspension becomes stiff in the sports plus mode, and the power starts focusing on the performance of the car. The fuel economy decreases but the responsiveness becomes very high.

There is a 12 V power outlet and two cup holders. To have access to the armrest storage space, no need to take the hand of the other person. Inside that storage, there is a good space, along with an AUX-in and a 12V outlet. The glove compartment is not very spacious, but it is sufficient for the use. The door bins also have some good space available.

The first thing that can feel in the backseat of this BMW 730d is, how roomy the car is. Although the driving seat is in its final positioning, there is good legroom and headroom. The leather seats are much more comfortable, they give good shoulder support to a steady position to travel. By installing an ashtray on the door, it has gone old-school. The door bins are spacious such that a 500 ml water bottle can fit there perfectly along with other stuff. There are door bins on both sides. A laptop or some files can be kept in the seat pockets. There is a separate reading light for each backseat passenger. There is a tall comfortable armrest in the middle with a storage compartment. The cup holders are located on that.

The driver can feel the width and length of the car as he drives. It occurs to drive very carefully since the vehicle is bigger than the average. There is good visibility on both the front and the back. The middle headrest compromises the rearview a little bit, but the visibility is perfect. There is a crystal clear view with high-quality reverse cameras, compared to the other vehicles that were released parallelly. The small side mirrors also provide good visibility challenging the new trend of having huge side mirrors. The car has a very good pickup. When the driver touches the accelerator, the full diesel torque of 530 Nm kicks. The brake pressure is good and there are no sudden hitches.

There's a huge difference between comfort and sport modes. Throttle response is entirely different in each mode. As the comfort mode has a good pickup, sport mode has it better. The gearbox and engine are much more responsive. Even in the sport mode, the driving experience is very comfortable and it absorbs bumps. As the turning radius is small, it is difficult to turn the car in small spaces. But with the help of the sensors, reverse camera, and visibility, one can have the perfect driving experience.

The BMW 730d is not just a sedan; it's a statement of luxury and innovation. With its blend of performance, and comfort, it heralds a new era in mobility. Whether you're a tech enthusiast or a luxury aficionado, the 730d promises an unparalleled driving experience.

As of April 2024, the average Sri Lankan market price for BMW 730d lies around 17 million LKR depending on its condition. You can find the latest price with more details and cars of this model for sale from the following link BMW 730d Latest Price