BMW's Luxe i7 EV... Now All You Need Is A Driver

Exceptional but serene saloon with theatrical extras

Electric hypercars with a couple of thousand horsepower that can do nought to 60 in the time it takes to blink, like the new Lotus Evija, hold no interest to me. They're pointless, overpowered and overpriced.

I like small electric city cars but my favourite EVs are luxury cars.

We've spent the last week in BMW's new i7 luxury saloon and the only thing that the company could have done to improve the experience would have been to provide a chauffeur.

Presumably, those who could afford to buy the i7 xDrive60 Excellence are minted enough to be able to employ a driver. Or their company could.

The car should also appeal to chauffeur companies but over a hundred grand is a lot of money to have locked up.

Unlike several of its rivals, the i7 uses the regular 7-Series platform which has just seen a generation change and is now codenamed G70 (it replaces the previous G11/G12 version).

Buyers have been given the pure electric version first, but later this year it will be joined by two plug-in hybrid models and by another electric model called the i7 M70 which has a massive 650bhp. European markets still have the option of a diesel engine. All i7s have a long wheelbase body and are four-wheel drive.