• Plush cabin with familiar BMW fixtures
• Standard leather across the interior
• Huge amount of adjustment and lots of space

How is the quality and layout?

All-round quality in the X7 is superb – as you’d expect from an SUV that’s priced from over £80k. The large screens present a strong digital feel to the cabin, yet there’s still plenty of good old-fashioned luxury present in the choice of materials. Merino leather is lavished throughout, while fine wood and the ambient lighting bar add a real sense of exclusivity.

Plenty of models do use piano-black plastic, however, which looks great until it’s covered in fingerprints. And is has to be said that the crystal highlights used in areas like the gear selector and iDrive controller verge on gauche.

The centre console area is fairly minimalist, yet there’s still buttons for the infotainment system as well as the iDrive rotary controller. Sadly, physical climate control switches have been jettisoned, but at least the icons to change the temperature are ever-present on the central touchscreen.

It doesn’t feel as opulent as a Range Rover, mostly because it looks an awful lot like cheaper BMW models, but like-for-like it is around £25,000 less than the Rangie.

Infotainment and tech

There’s a high-tech feel to the media system too. BMW’s latest 8.0 iDrive infotainment is standard, with a 12.3-inch digital instrument panel and 14.9-inch curved central screen. It’s operated via either a rotary controller, touchscreen, voice control or gestures (including twirling a finger to adjust volume), or a mixture of all of the above.

If it sounds confusing, don’t worry. It soon becomes intuitive, with BMW’s iDrive system showing why it’s one of the best on the market at any price point. The graphics and menus look sharp, while the responsiveness and functionality is second-to-none.

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Comfort

• Exceptionally comfortable seats
• Good for rear seat passengers
• Smaller wheel sizes best for outright luxury

Key to the luxury levels in the X7 are standard-fit comfort seats for the driver and passenger. Boasting fully electric adjustment of the seat position and head rest height, they are extremely supportive and make even the most arduous of journeys fly by. Heated seats are standard, while active seat ventilation and massage functionality is available as an option.

Rear seat passengers are well catered for too, with separate climate controls. Springing for the Entertainment Pack means they’re treated to touchscreens with a TV tuner too.