Tech-laden BMW 7 Series adds remote parking

BMW Australia has improved on the already impressive levels of technology in its 7 Series limousine with the addition of remote parking and ambient air included across the range as standard.

The remote parking system allows the driver to park their 7 Series into tight spaces such as small parking garages without the hassle of trying to exit the vehicle afterwards.

The system works by the driver pointing the nose of the car at the middle of the confined parking space. The driver exits the vehicle then uses the BMW Display Key to activate the car’s self-parking mechanism.

When needing to get back into the vehicle, the driver can again use the Driver Key to remotely back the car out of the tight space.

The remote parking system will be made available as standard on all variants except the recently-released 740e plug-in hybrid variant.

However potential buyers from Western Australia must be warned, as the system is a breach of the WA Road Traffic Code, therefore cannot be used on Western Australian roads.

BMW has also added the ambient air filtration system as standard.

Operated through the 7 Series’ iDrive controller, the ambient air system purifies and filters the air before it is pumped into the cabin, which improves air quality and, according to BMW, can result in reduced occupant fatigue.

The ambient air system also comes with a feature that allows the driver to choose from a number of different scents that are released into the cabin.

Eight scents are available across four ‘suites’, and there are three different settings in terms of scent intensity.

Pricing across the range has been marginally reduced by the introduction of lower Luxury Car Tax (LCT) thresholds, with the 730d ($217,455), 740i ($224,255) and 740Li ($237,955) dropping by $45, while the 750i ($289,315) and 750Li ($312,415) get $285 cut off before on-road costs. The new 740e ($229,000) remains unchanged.

The sixth-generation 7 Series that launched in November last year has found 166 homes so far this year, a big jump over the 44 sales it recorded in the first seven months of 2015.

It is sitting just behind the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (174) but well ahead of other key rivals such as the Maserati Quattroporte (45), Audi A8 (37) and Jaguar XJ (27).