A Sedan with a Long Seduction Curve

摘要

Imagine a car that knows you as well as your spouse does. Insert the ignition key, and the car immediately responds to your personal desires: The seat glides into position, while the back rest wraps snugly around your middle and the cushion beneath you extends to support―and even massage―your thighs. Mention a radio station, and 13 speakers surround you with your favorite tunes. You can have that kind of relationship with the 2002 BMW 7-series. Just don't expect to fall in love right away. You will have to spend a considerable amount of time getting to know this car first. Billed by BMW as the most advanced sedan ever, the flagship 7-series, starting at $68,495, is an astonishing vehicle. It is also maddeningly complex. I spent more time studying the owner's manual than I did preparing for my first driving test. Oddly enough, the very controls that confounded me were intended to make the 7-series simpler to operate.