BMW 735iL: Enjoying a luxurious and prestigious car
Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Strangely, the recent journey to try out the new BMW 7-Series was highlighted by "fly moments".
A couple of times, a green fly got inside the car, flying around hysterically before our instructor, Arthur, shooed it out.
"You know something, inside the indicator lamp of one of the cars (the 7-series), there's a dead green fly," he said.
Sitting in the back seat of the luxurious and comfortable automobile, I almost laughed, thinking of myself as a fly -- a creature so used to dirt and garbage and that wants to feel a little sensation of luxury.
PT BMW Indonesia recently invited The Jakarta Post to try the new BMW 735iL, which is said to be the most deluxe and sophisticated sedan of 2002, setting a new standard in the luxury limousine market.
Instead of a regular test drive, we spent the whole day driving out of town, with occasional stops for meals at fancy restaurants.
"We want you to experience not just the comfort of the car, which is undeniable. We also want you to enjoy the lifestyle following it, the attention people give you when you arrive in the car," PT BMW Indonesia's head of public relations Helena Abidin told us over breakfast at JW Marriott hotel, Central Jakarta.
Hearing the word "attention", I was about to suggest changing the initial destination of Bogor, West Java, to a club full of hunks. But then I decided Bogor was OK after all.
I spent the first half hour of the journey admiring the interior and observing the features in the central armrest of the back seat.
The armrest has switches for operating seat ventilation, seat width and headrest adjustment, plus heating and air conditioning. If a telephone is installed, that can be directly operated from it too.
The BMW 7-Series has been around for the past 25 years. Some of the things that distinguish the latest version from its predecessors are its technological innovations, including electronic key and iDrive technology.
The latest model no longer uses a mechanical key, but an electronic one with buttons to open the doors or trunk. It can also activate internal, external and door handle lights.
The key also activates the car's memory, which holds seat position, steering wheel and mirror, as well as air-conditioning settings.
The iDrive technology, meanwhile, is a new type of simplified vehicle operation concept for all the main control functions.
It provides the driver with considerably more information and functions -- as many as 700, depending on the fittings -- and at the same time reduces the number of switches and control elements.
At the center of the dashboard is a monitor, or a control display, both for display and as an adjustment aid for the communications, entertainment, air-conditioning and navigation functions.
Another world-first innovation is the six-speed automatic transmission. It is shifted electronically and comes with a selector lever on the steering wheel, replacing the conventional automatic selector lever on the transmission tunnel console.
With this new transmission, the car will deliver optimal performance at every speed, with a maximum speed of 250 kilometers per hour.
Another advantage of this model is the latest-generation, eight-cylinder engine, which uses 14 percent less gasoline (about one liter per 12 kilometers).
For me, it was the comfort that really mattered. Traveling there and back from Jakarta to Bogor, a total of 140 kilometers, the car ran smoothly.
Be it rough roads or uphill climbs, we did not feel a thing inside. This was the result of active dynamic drive and electronic damper control, which reduced slip and vibration, as well as stabilizing shocks.
Every now and then, Arthur demonstrated the functions, such as the telephone, where you simply insert your SIM card and talk on the phone through the speaker.
"There's also a CD-changer inside here," said Arthur pointing to the dashboard, while putting on some music.
The latest pop music from a boy band then blasted out. While such bubble-gum pop would be fine anywhere else, it sounded so unsuitable inside this car. Only soft chillout tunes, jazz or classical music would sound right.
As for the attention, we got some from a police officer who stopped us, checking the driving license, while his colleague patted the car admiringly.
On the way back to Jakarta, we stopped at Sentul circuit in Bogor, where I was given a chance to drive the car.
Wow! The steering was so light. Everything was so comfortable that I dared not speed.
I tried both the automatic and manual override functions. The gearchange for the latter was adjacent to the steering wheel, just as on an F1 racing car. After checking out the autopark function and the sensor for objects around the car, Arthur took over again.
The day with the car -- some Rp 1.8 billion (US$196,000) if you wish to purchase it -- ended in afternoon tea at The Dharmawangsa, South Jakarta.
It was where the last "fly moment" occurred, as a green fly laid helpless in a saucer.
While feeling sorry for the waiter, who might not have been able to sleep later that night, I also felt a little self- satisfied, because luxury is apparently not totally isolated from dirty or inconsequential things.