A U T O     B U Z Z

Last Saturday, PGA cars unveiled the latest luxury car from BMW Philippines: the all-new 745i. Miguelito Jose unveiled the car at a short lunch ceremony held at the dealer located along EDSA.

Poised to take on the highly successful Mercedes-Benz S320, the 745i comes with a new body shell that's light-weight as it is controversial. The exterior borrows heavily from the X Coupe concept car a few years back, and although it may not look that good in pictures, the 745i looks very muscular and appealing especially when viewed from directly behind. The futuristic concept-car looks are complimented by the myriads of new technology found only in the 7-series BMW.

Among others, the infinitely variable intake manifold Double VANOS 4.4-liter 32V V8 producing 333 bhp at 6100 rpm and 450 Nm of torque at 3600 rpm. Mated to a 6-speed automatic with steering wheel mounted sequential shift controls, the BMW accelerates and shifts as smoothly as a CVT-equipped car!

Besides the engine, the 745i is fully equipped in terms of convenience features: Power steering, door locks, windows and mirrors; four-zone automatic climate control system; soft-closing doors; onboard computer system with integrated trip computer, service indicator, cellular phone, radio and 6-disc in-dash CD changer (i-Drive system); 10-speaker system; 10-way electronically adjustable front seats with memory; 8-way electronic adjustable rear seats with memory; keyless entry with immobilizer.

If you still have enough breath left, then you might as well as check out its safety features such as eight airbags; ABS, EBD, DSC, PDC among a lot of abbreviations used and the Servotronic drive-by-wire system.

Those concerned about performance may want to note that the 745i weighs in at a bantam 1945 kg. thanks to weight-saving technology used in the suspension, engine compartment and construction of the vehicle. It comes with 245 / 50 ZR 18 tires as standard on a set of light-alloy 18-inch mags.

Inside, the quality of the interior is top notch with acres of leather, light-grain ash wood and aluminum interior trim. However, the centerpiece is the i-Drive system that integrates more than 200 car functions into a simple joystick interface. It's even programmable and customizable!

Technophobes should steer clear of the 745i, but for the rest, it is absolutely the best luxury car money can buy. The suggested retail price is P 9,330,000 for the single variant available in the Philippines: 745i. For complete specifications of the BMW 745i, check out our CarChart!

[ BUZZ MAIN ]