BMW 7 Series saloon (2008-2015) - Reliability & safety

The BMW 7 Series is extremely well built. The interior feels high-quality and there's a robustness to the controls and switches that very few rivals can match. The current model has been on sale for a good few years now and a new version is set to arrive by the end of 2015, so most of the mechanical parts should be free of niggling reliability issues.

BMW 7 Series reliability

As not enough owners responded, the 7 Series didn’t feature in our Driver Power 2015 customer satisfaction survey. However, BMW as a brand secured a mid-table result of 14th out of 32 manufacturers. The marque has slipped out of the top 10 since 2014, but owners still rate it highly for build quality. Running costs were an issue for many, though.

Reliability should be pretty strong for the 7 Series – as the current generation has been on sale since 2008, BMW has had plenty of time to fix any glaring issues. And while the engine range has been recently updated with BMW’s latest TwinPower turbocharging technology, this has already been used in other BMW and MINI models with hardly any issues.

Safety

As regards safety, there are driver, passenger and curtain airbags, as well as traction control and electronic brake-force control, which helps you stay in control when braking heavily. The 7 Series hasn't been crash-tested by Euro NCAP, but the extensive safety kit ensures you’ll be well protected in the event of an accident.