BMW X7 review - Reliability and Safety

The BMW X7 is too new to have featured in our 2019 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey but BMW itself didn’t fare too well, finishing in a disappointing 25th place out of 30 manufacturers. High running and servicing costs were highlighted by owners, while 22.3 per cent reported having experienced a fault with their car. We hope that BMW’s flagship SUV will prove to be reliable in the long term, but owners should expect their X7 to be pricey to run.

Euro NCAP is yet to test the X7 but there’s no reason to doubt the car’s safety credentials given the good performance of other modern BMW models. The X7 is loaded with up-to-date active safety and driver assistance systems including adaptive LED headlights, automatic emergency braking (AEB), cruise control, a speed limiter and a driver attentiveness monitor.

Opt for the Technology package and the X7 gets active cruise, lane-change and departure warning, lane-keep assist with active side collision protection and many more sophisticated systems. It’s easily a match for the safety-conscious Volvo XC90 in this regard.

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Warranty

All BMW models are covered by a three-year, unlimited-mileage warranty as standard. This compares favourably to the three years and 60,000 miles offered by Volvo and matches that offered by Land Rover. The warranty also includes three years of roadside recovery.

Servicing

BMW offers fixed-price servicing for its models and owners can spread the costs of maintenance. Schemes include BMW Value Service, Fast Lane Service (with a 90-minute turnaround) and Service While You Fly, whereby a participating service centre near an airport can service your car while you travel.