The 730Li is imported CBU from Thailand, and at RM648,888 (OTR without insurance, with BMW Service Inclusive + Repair) lowers the entry point for the F02 7-Series by RM50,000 – previously, the 730Ld was the most affordable 7 at RM698,888. The 730Li now matches the locally assembled Marcedes in price; the Merc is actually costlier by RM1,000 but shoppers at this level spend that sum of money on a night’s dinner, so let’s consider them level. Geoffrey Briscoe, BMW Group Malaysia’s Managing Director said: “This is the 7-Series that our customers have been asking for, and it will form the bulk of 7-Series sales.”
The 730Li is powered by the N52 3.0-litre inline-six engine pushing out 258 bhp and 310 Nm of torque, more than what S300L’s similarly sized V6 makes. Although it’s the only current Seven to do without turbos, performance is very decent for a 1.9-tonne limo – 0-100 km/h is done in 7.8 seconds and top speed is 245 km/h. Average fuel consumption is 10.2 km/l. As part of BMW’s Efficient Dynamics, the Seven gets selected aluminium body panels to reduce weight and brake energy regeneration.
You don’t get an “empty” limo either; the 730Li comes with rear climate control and two rear 8-inch LCD screens where one can plug in his/her laptop, camera, iPod and game consoles. The base F02 also comes with Dynamic Drive Control and BMW Connected Drive. The latter includes satellite navigation, 80GB hard disk space and BMW TeleServices. Visually, one can tell the 730Li from the 740Li from its exhaust pipes (two on one side, as opposed to one on each side) and smaller 18-inch wheels.
