Honda Accord Or Nissan Altima: Which One Does V-6 Better?
A decade ago, both the Honda Accord and Nissan Altima were offered in base four-cylinder versions... Read More
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GREEN | 7 out of 10
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BMW 740i - 740Li: 19/28 mpg (19/28 also with xDrive)
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BMW 750i, 17/25 mpg; 750i xDrive, 16/24 mpg
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BMW 760Li: 13/20 mpg
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2011 BMW Alpina B7: 16/24 mpg
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The 2013 BMW 7-Series is a lineup of luxury cars that are also, simultaneously in most cases, surprisingly fuel-efficient. Particularly in 740i or ActivHybrid 7 models, the 7-Series returns gas mileage that's not .
Across the entire model range, the 7-Series gets auto start-stop, brake energy regeneration, and ECO PRO mode. Auto start-stop cuts the engine at idle, for instance at a stop light, and restarts it when the driver lets off the brake. Brake energy regeneration captures some of the kinetic energy that would otherwise be lost in braking and stores it for use by the car's auxiliary systems.
The driver needs to select ECO PRO mode, but it functions mostly unobtrusively, managing powertrain behavior and programming of the heating, air conditioning, heated seats, and exterior mirror heating to maximize efficiency. It also enables a new coasting mode, which lets the car coast farther at speeds from 30-100 mph by decoupling the engine from the transmission. In the ActiveHybrid 7, coasting mode completely shuts off the engine to save even more fuel, restarting it when the driver requests acceleration.
The best numbers are generated by the six-cylinder Bimmers. The 740i and the 740Li both sport an eight-speed automatic, which helps them achieve gas-mileage numbers of up to 19/28 mpg, tops in the 7er fleet. That's impressive for a sedan than offers such spaciousness and long-distance comfort.
Thanks to the new V-8 engines, fuel economy numbers are up by about 2 mpg this year for the entire 750i lineup--at 17 mpg city, 25 highway, or 16/24 mpg with xDrive all-wheel drive. That said, it's still not the choice for green shoppers.
The same 16/24 mpg rating is applied to both the short- and long-wheelbase twin-turbo Alpina B7, the high-performance edition of the 7-Series, while the V-12 760Li gets just 13/20 mpg.
Conclusion
V-8 models of the 2013 BMW 7-Series boast efficiency improvements of 20 percent or more, but the lineup still covers a wide range for those who mind their consumption.
