2010 BMW 7-Series

• Overall
• Prices
• Performance
• Exterior
• Interior
• Safety
• Reliability

Exterior - What the Auto Press Says

The last generation of BMW's flagship featured a divisive design. It was almost universally panned by the critics, but buyers apparently didn't mind; it outsold every previous version of the same car. Reviewers seem to think the new 7-Series is a drastic improvement over the car it replaces. In particular, auto writers are thankful that the oddly bulbous trunk lid - derisively called the "Bangle butt" in honor of lead designer Chris Bangle - has disappeared. Bangle's name comes up frequently in discussions of the new 7. He led BMW design for both the maligned previous-generation 7-Series and for this one, which reviewers say makes up for the old car's sins. 

• "The 7 wears a more muscular front end and a higher belt line. It takes a more subtle design approach than the earlier heavy-handed treatment." -- Popular Mechanics
• "The exterior is spruced up with a strong crease that runs the length of the car as well as a far less bulbous trunklid, although in person, what most caught our attention was the nearly vertical and dramatically enlarged grille. The bumper-mounted exhaust tips appear to be a near copy of the Lexus LS460's and are a move away from the 7-series' traditional hidden pipes." -- Car and Driver
• "Be wary of revisionist nonsense suggesting that the new 7 succeeds because it erases Bangle's memory faster than a Communist re-education camp. Those willing to remove their anti-Bangle blinders will see the latest car as a clear evolution of his work. Certainly the 7 looks better, yet it is no mea culpa. All the cues are there - even a slimmed-down Bangle booty - but they are better integrated." -- - New York Times
• "The 750iL now even has its own roofline to help prevent it looking simply like a ‘stretched' standard sedan." -- Motor Trend
• What the last-generation car needed badly, and what it got, was a makeover...The more you look at the 750i, the more details become apparent."  -- Automobile Magazine