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Well, Here’s the verdict:
I cancelled the 740 and ordered a 750 instead. Here’s why...
Both cars are amazing. It was my first time on a BMW and my first time of driving 220 Km/h (137 mph), The winter tires were limited to 210 so I didn’t try to go faster.
I’ll start with the things I didn’t like in both cars:
1. Too much wind noise!
2. The Automatic transmission might be the best but still it’s not fast enough in kickoff.
3. Throttle response was not as responsive as I imagined (Well it’s not a Ferrari) so even at idle, the engines were inherently limited.
4. EDC (Electronic damping control) is not worth the money, when it’s off the car is too soft, makes you feel insecure at high speed, when it’s on, it’s like not having EDC at all, I prefer the standard fixed setting.
5. These cars drink fuel like a herd of singing Bavarians in the Oktoberfest.
6. Engine noise was evident, I was expecting less noise (after hearing that the 750 should be very quiet) but maybe it was the very high speed.
Comparison:
The 750 is stronger, no doubt about it. Right from kickoff you certainly feel the extra torque. Not that the 740 has anything to be ashamed for, it’s a rocket too, but still a smaller one. The gearshift in the 740 was more nervous; it downshifted with every gentle touch on the pedal as if to cover up for not having the extra horsepower, I didn’t like that.
It’s true that in the US you can’t drive that fast so what’s the big deal about more high rev horsepower? Well, these two engines love high revs, even at low speed, right from the start, you can take the engine to the red line and then the difference between the cars is even bigger. The second gear of the 740 is already considerably weaker, with the 750, the engine doesn’t choke up when going up for second gear, and the acceleration is hardly degraded.
The decision was not easy, The 750 is much more expensive and the engine did not communicate with the gear as well as the 740’s engine did (maybe because it’s an older design), sometimes I felt like I want the gear to downshift but I had to kick the pedal all the way to the switch for that to happen. Still I took it, the feeling of acceleration makes you want to have more, I wonder what the new 760 would be like…
About the 740 sport (they call it M Sportpacket here), I wouldn't. A higher trip speed of the torque converter means you have to wait even longer from the moment you press the pedal until you feel the chair in your back, not for me.
That’s it my friends, the story of two crazy guys in Germany, two super cars, two suspicious Bavarian policemen and one hard decision to take. I’ll get my car on the end of April, I’ll post some pictures then (Sandbeige/Schwartz, cosmoschwartz, 18" ...)
Raanan
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