MailOnline rides in BMW’s new £110,000 smart car with a 32-inch cinema screen

The days of front-seat shotgun shooting may soon be over thanks to BMW, which has taken rear-seat luxury to a new level in its high-tech £110,000 smart car.

MailOnline drove with the new all-electric BMW i7, which has 5G connectivityatmospheric interior lighting and a super-wide “theater screen” at the back.

The 8K screen measuring 32 x 9 inches folds out of the sunroof at the touch of a button and streams videos from Netflix, YouTube and more.

BMW picked me up during my morning drive around west London – a welcome alternative to the cramped and spirited tube.

Part of the iconic Series 7, the BMW i7 features 5G connectivity, mood interior lighting and a rear seat cinema screen

The proudest feature of the new vehicle is the cinema screen, which is really super wide at 32 x 9 inches

The BMW i7 is a new electric variant of the BMW 7 Series, produced by the German automaker since 1977.

According to the company, the new car redefines luxury “with new levels of electrification, sustainability and digitization”.

It states: “The new BMW 7 Series represents a significant advancement over its renowned predecessor, with innovative equipment designed to offer incredible driving pleasure, unmatched long-distance comfort and an innovative digital experience.”

By far the proudest feature is the cinema screen, which is really super wide at 32 x 9 inches and shaped almost like a wooden slat or a surfboard.

Sitting in the back and watching it fold down in front of me, it seemed a little too close to my face at first – probably about a meter away – but I quickly got used to it.

Luckily, passengers can change the aspect ratio, taking up the entire screen (32:9) to 21:9 or 16:9, which is closer to a traditional TV.

The 8K screen, measuring 32 x 9 inches, folds out of the sun canopy at the touch of a button and streams videos from Netflix, YouTube and more

Passengers can change the aspect ratio, taking up the entire screen (32:9) to 21:9 or 16:9, which is closer to a traditional TV

When passengers are done with the screen, it rotates 90 degrees and hugs the roof, which is made of glass and lets in more natural light than a regular car

For safety reasons, the theater screen is only activated when the blind covering the rear window is lowered.

BMW rightly says that watching video through the window would be a dangerous distraction for drivers in the car behind.

However, this means the driver cannot see the rear, making their rearview mirror useless with Theater Mode engaged and having to rely solely on the two outside mirrors.

I was wondering: is my ride less safe because I’m watching movies?

I asked the driver about it and he said that every new vehicle he has to drive takes a bit of getting used to. I think truck drivers have the same problem.

All of this is legitimate, of course – UK law requires all vehicles to have at least two rear-facing mirrors.

The huge “theater” display is a touchscreen, but can also be controlled via a small smartphone-sized display this is built into the handle of my passenger door (there is one on the other passenger side as well).

From here I can shut down the cinema screen and select apps like Netflix, Amazon Prime, YouTube, ITVX and more – much like a smart TV at home.

Although my ride was early in the day, I’m sure a night ride when it’s dark outside would really make it more cinematic, especially with a bucket of popcorn, like a movie theater on wheels.

All I can think of is bombarding the freeway with a supply of fast food from a gas station while watching the latest movie on Amazon Prime – bliss.

When I’m done, the screen rotates 90 degrees and nestles snugly into the roof, which is made of glass and lets in noticeably more natural light than a normal car.

Touchscreen displays for controlling the vehicle functions are integrated into the handles of both front passenger doors

From the back seat, passengers can change radio stations, connect a phone to make calls, close the blinds and more

I can also use the control screen in the passenger door to select different environmental settings, each of which emits soft colored lights and makes soothing sounds.

I hear a loud noise every time my driver steps on the gas pedal – again something that I think must be quite annoying to him after a while, although it doesn’t seem to bother him.

From the back seat, I can change radio stations, connect my phone to make calls, and close the blinds without activating the cinema screen.

A center armrest has a smartphone charging pad so I can give my phone a boost while watching a bit of YouTube.

My seat is soft and squishy and heated from below. I can also control the overall temperature with the “Climate Mode”.

The BMW i7 can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.7 seconds thanks to two electric motors, one of which drives the front wheels and the other the rear wheels.

I’ve never been in an all-electric vehicle and the ride is incredibly quiet and smooth (perhaps too quiet for comfort, some would say).

At £110,000 the car is clearly designed for wealthy people who like to be chauffeured to work

I reach the MailOnline office far too quickly and have to leave the comfort of the back seat onto the cold London street.

I could definitely get used to being driven to work every morning. Unfortunately the £110,000 car is clearly designed for very wealthy people so it’s back to the tube for me.

BMW is clearly pushing the boundaries of what a car can do and the i7 seems designed primarily for passenger comfort, but does this come at the expense of driver comfort?

I hope not, because driver comfort is also part of passenger comfort.

Otherwise, the next step for BMW is a bar, full table service and possibly a team of chefs in the trunk for fine dining on-the-go.

BMW unveils color-change car at CES 2023 – but says it won’t go on sale

At CES 2023 in January, BMW unveiled a new concept car that lights up in different colors.

The BMW i Vision Dee was unveiled at BMW’s keynote, which starred none other than the Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The EV sports sedan uses electronic ink to switch between 32 colors including purple, pink, yellow, white and red.

The body of the BMW i Vision Dee is divided into “microcapsules” – tiny spherical particles with a diameter equivalent to the thickness of a human hair.

The EV sports sedan uses electronic ink to switch between 32 colors including purple, pink, yellow, white and red

These microcapsules contain color pigments which, depending on the setting selected, are excited by an electric field.

As a result, certain color pigments collect on the surface of each microcapsule, giving the body the desired color tone.

BMW i Vision Dee can also project an image of the driver avatar onto the side window, visible from the outside.

And with dimmable windows, reality can also be “hidden”, but this is intended for the time when the car is not being driven.

However, BMW told MailOnline that the car was just a prototype and would not be launched.

When asked about the purpose of a color-change car, BMW said it was “a vision of the distant future.”

“At BMW we always try to push the limits, which also means exploring all aspects of innovative materials,” said a spokesman.

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