Test – BMW i7 xDrive60: the charging and travel times of our Supertest

The BMW i7 is not afraid of the highway with its big battery. And she proves it well during the final stage of our Supertest.

The BMW i7 represents the very best in BMW technology. To live up to its promises, it has a large battery with a net capacity of 101.7 kWh and a maximum charging power of 195 kW. This allows it to provide 611 km of mixed autonomy according to the WLTP cycle (625 km maximum depending on the configurations) and a full tank of 10 to 80% in 34 minutes. Before getting to the heart of the matter, remember that we observed a consumption of 25.2 kWh/100 km at the end of our 500 km motorway journey, which translates into an average total autonomy of 404 km, or 283 km on a useful full tank.

Charging curve for the BMW i7 xDrive60: a useful full tank in 33 minutes

Unsurprisingly, the BMW i7 has kept its promises on fast charging stations. In terms of power, first, with consistent values ​​on the first part of the recharge. It was at 32% load that we observed a peak at 199 kW, before seeing the curve drop from 35%. Although the values ​​are lower, the profile of the curve evokes that of the Tesla Model S Long Autonomy, which we have already been able to measure. It is only from 70% that the power drops below 100 kW, to stabilize at 74 kW at 80% load. This is barely more than on the Model S, and this represents a deviation of -62.6% from the peak observed on this curve.

The Quick Charge Exercise ships in 33 minutes, one less than the spec sheet. This translates into an average power of 138 kW depending on the energy delivered by the terminals. The Model S Grand Autonomy and the Hyundai Ioniq 5 are in front. The end of the charge is however more interesting since it takes 9 minutes more to get 90% and another 21 minutes to fill up completely. That is a total immobilization of 63 minutes.

Autonomy recovered: 271 km in 30 minutes

This rapid charging exercise compared to the average autonomy noted on the motorway allows the BMW i7 xDrive60 to recover 271 km of autonomy in 30 minutes. We will not be able to draw a parallel with its competitors that we have not yet tried on our reference course. However, note the proximity to the BMW i4 eDrive40, which recovered 262 km in half an hour.

Cost of BMW i7 xDrive60 top-ups

The electric limousine consumed 76.04 kWh on average between 10 and 80% load. With the BMW Charging Ionity Plus subscription (€13/month), the unit price drops to €0.30/kWh. This is where a useful full tank will cost the least with a total of €22.81, or €8.07/100 km.

Travel time for 500 km: 4 h 52

According to our estimates, we decided to leave with a capital of 90%. Enough to allow us to reach our first Ionity charging station with just over 10% charge remaining (12% exactly). This is where we will fill our only tank up to 75%, which will allow us to reach our finish line with 22%.

In the end, we therefore made a single stop for a total immobilization of 28 minutes. This brings the total travel time to 4 h 52 to complete these 500 km of reference. That puts it in third position, just behind the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (4:51) and BMW i4 eDrive40 (4:49), the fastest to date among those we measured.

Note that neither Chargemap nor ABRP offered the BMW i7 in their respective databases for planning a trip at the time of our test. However, the limo has the latest generation of the on-board system, which predicts charging rates upon arrival and when unplugging, as well as the expected charging time. If the recharging time is pessimistic on the order of 4 minutes on average, the consumption forecast is slightly optimistic with a delta of 3% load compared to our actual observations. Nothing penalizing, the forecasts of the planner being rather faithful to reality.