Compare the2023 Bentley Flying SpurVS 2022 BMW 7 Series

For enhanced safety, the front and rear seat shoulder belts of the Bentley Flying Spur have pretensioners to tighten the seatbelts and eliminate dangerous slack in the event of a collision and force limiters to limit the pressure the belts will exert on the passengers. The BMW 7 Series doesn’t offer pretensioners for its rear seat belts.

For enhanced safety, the front seat shoulder belts of the Bentley Flying Spur are height-adjustable to accommodate a wide variety of driver and passenger heights. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages passengers to buckle up. The BMW 7 Series doesn’t offer height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the Flying Spur and 7 Series have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Flying Spur has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The 7 Series’ child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, All-Wheel Drive is standard on the Flying Spur. But it costs extra on the 7 Series.

Both the Flying Spur and the 7 Series have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning, available night vision systems and lane departure warning systems.

The Flying Spur comes with a full 3-year/unlimited-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The 7 Series’ 50,000-mile basic warranty expires sooner.

The battery on the Flying Spur is in the trunk, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the Flying Spur’s battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The 7 Series’ battery is in the hot engine compartment.

The Flying Spur has more powerful engines than the 7 Series:

As tested in Motor Trend the Bentley Flying Spur turbo V8 is faster than the 745e 3.0 turbo 6-cylinder hybrid:

On the EPA test cycle the Flying Spur running its gasoline engine gets better mileage than the 7 Series running its gasoline engine:

The Flying Spur Hybrid can travel with zero emissions on electricity, only, on a full charge for 25 miles. The 745e has to start its internal combustion engine after only 17 miles.

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Flying Spur (except Hybrid)’s fuel efficiency. The 7 Series doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

The Flying Spur Hybrid’s standard fuel tank has 8.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the 7 Series 745e’s standard fuel tank (21 vs. 12.1 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Flying Spur’s standard fuel tank has 3.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the 7 Series’ standard fuel tank (23.8 vs. 20.6 gallons).

The Flying Spur offers a standard sequential manual gearbox (SMG). With no clutch pedal to worry about and a fully automatic mode, an SMG is much more efficient than a conventional automatic but just as easy to drive. The 7 Series doesn’t offer an SMG or a conventional manual transmission.

For better stopping power the Flying Spur’s brake rotors are larger than those on the 7 Series:

The Flying Spur stops much shorter than the 7 Series:

For better traction, the Flying Spur has larger standard tires than the 7 Series (F:265/45R20 & R:295/40R20 vs. 245/50R18). The Flying Spur’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the 7 Series (F:275/35R22 & R:315/30R22 vs. F:255/40R20 & R:295/35R20).

The Flying Spur’s standard 265/45R20 front and 295/40R20 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 45 series front and 40 series rear profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the 7 Series’ standard 50 series tires. The Flying Spur’s optional 275/35R22 front and 315/30R22 rear tires have a lower 35 series front and 30 series rear profile than the 7 Series’ optional 40 series front and 35 series rear tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Flying Spur has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the 7 Series. The Flying Spur’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the 7 Series.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Flying Spur is 2 inches wider in the front and .5 inches wider in the rear than the average track on the 7 Series.

The Flying Spur handles at .98 G’s, while the 750i xDrive pulls only .88 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Flying Spur executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.4 seconds quicker than the 745e xDrive (24.7 seconds @ .78 average G’s vs. 26.1 seconds @ .73 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Flying Spur Rear Wheel Steering’s turning circle is 5.7 feet tighter than the 740i’s (36.3 feet vs. 42 feet). The Flying Spur’s turning circle is 4.8 feet tighter than the 7 Series xDrive’s (37.6 feet vs. 42.4 feet).

The Flying Spur has a larger trunk than the 7 Series (14.8 vs. 14 cubic feet).

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Flying Spur to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The 7 Series doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.