The New BMW i7 LCI Has An Insane Amount Of Changes But I'm Not Sure It's Enough!

TL;DR

The BMW i7 LCI gets a major under-the-hood refresh with a new battery and architecture, but falls short on charging infrastructure and suspension compared to rivals.

Key Points

• 1.The i7 LCI receives an entirely new battery pack with 115 kWh usable capacity for US cars. This is a 10–12% increase over the pre-refresh i7, now using Gen 6 cylindrical 4695 cells co-developed with Rimac, replacing the old prismatic Gen 5 cells that suffered DC fast charging derating.
• 2.Charging is now rated at 250 kW peak using a record 630-amp current draw. Because the i7 remains on a 400V architecture, BMW raised amperage instead of voltage — but no current public charging infrastructure can deliver 630 amps, limiting real-world peak charging in practice.
• 3.A completely new zonal electrical architecture removes 2,000 feet of wiring and reduces ECU count. The car adopts iDrive X with BMW Panoramic Vision display, the same system debuted in the EX-3, representing one of the most significant software and hardware platform upgrades ever seen in a BMW refresh.
• 4.The power door issue from the previous generation is largely unresolved. The reviewer noted the doors still struggled during filming, though BMW claims a 70% improvement in response; the physical button in the door has been removed as a tell between old and new versions.
• 5.Motor hardware carries over with minor updates — a silicon carbide inverter was added to improve efficiency. The externally excited synchronous motors (EESM) are retained rather than upgraded to the latest EX-3 spec, meaning the i7 lags behind newer BMW EVs in outright motor technology.
• 6.Pricing starts at just over $100,000 for the i750 xDrive and around $120,000+ for the i760 xDrive with 528–530 hp. The reviewer considers this reasonable versus a Tesla Model S at $120K, and notes the i7 has held its resale value better than the Mercedes EQS.
• 7.The reviewer concludes the LCI is not quite enough for road-trippers but is excellent for luxury cruiser use. The BMW i3 now charges faster, goes farther, and is a better EV than the i7 — leading the reviewer to suggest the used pre-LCI i7 for casual buyers and the new LCI only for heavy road-trippers who use all features.