2009 BMW 750Li Overview

The upstart player is BMW's 7, all-new for 2009. Both standard and stretched versions are available (the Li adds 5.5 inches of wheelbase); each includes aluminum doors and an aluminum roof that reduces weight and lowers the car's center of gravity. Inside, the new 7 takes technology to an entirely new level. Standard Dynamic Damper Control constantly adjusts the compression and rebound of each shock individually. Infra-red Night Vision can recognize pedestrians in the road ahead. Front-fender Side View cameras peer left and right down the road before your eyes get there. The high-resolution, 10.2-inch navigation display offers a 3-D view that can show representations of actual buildings. FlexRay high-speed data transmission allows the 16 on-board computers to speak to each other 20 times faster than on conventional automobile networks. And on and on.

Of course, the engine is tweaked to the max too: Fortified with twin turbos and direct injection, the 32-valve, 4.4-liter V-8 thumps out 400 horsepower and more torque (450 pound-feet) than the 6.0-liter V-12 in the 760iL did.

We cut loose in all three cars at the test track, over our favorite rural roads, and even for some cinematic "getaway" driving in downtown Los Angeles (with traffic controlled by LAPD escorts). What follows are our impressions and recommendations, whether you're looking to make like Statham, or simply want to get away from it all.

THIRD PLACE: BMW 750LI

The new 7 Series isn't a luxury sedan. It's an instruction manual on four wheels. That's not hyperbole: So complex and mechanically intimidating is this new machine, BMW has wisely incorporated the operating instructions for the myriad systems right into the on-board hard drive (you can summon pages using the iDrive controller). That's if, of course, you can figure out how to call up the manual first.

This is engineering run rampant. It's as if BMW, like the rocket scientists in "The Right Stuff," regards the human almost as "a redundant component." Can this new 7 Series really be from the same company that builds the M3, perhaps the world's single finest all-around automobile -- a car that functions as an extension of the driver's feet and hands? The 7 seems to deny that relationship at every turn. When our test car arrived, I ambled down to the MT garage to find technical editor Kim Reynolds sitting in the back seat, attempting to use the rear-seat entertainment system ($2200). "Well, I've been fiddling for a few minutes now," he said. "Still haven't got any sound."