It isn’t often that a car’s mission statement includes both putting on the Ritz and saving the planet, but that’s exactly what the 2018 BMW 740e xDrive iPerformance is all about. Shorthand for that alphanumeric mouthful is the BMW 7 Series plug-in hybrid with all-wheel drive. The 740e artfully blends the well-contented luxury fitments of BMW’s limousine-like flagship sedan with partial electrification and a hybrid powertrain that nets the gasoline fuel economy of a much smaller car.
What’s surprising is the 740e is a relative bargain as flagships go. BMW 7 Series prices range from $83,650 for the “base” rear-wheel drive six-cylinder turbo-powered 740i all the way to $156,700 for the twin-turbo V12 M760i. At a base price of $90,700, the 740e xDrive plug-in hybrid is just $4,050 more than the gas-only 740i xDrive. That’s a very small upcharge for the considerable amount of onboard componentry that gives the 740e hybrid its electric-drive capability.