The BMW 7 Series costs a similar amount to buy as its main rivals – such as the Audi A8, Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Jaguar XJ - and, like most large luxury cars, it doesn’t hold its value as well as, say, a large SUV might. On top of that, all of its consumables, such as the brakes and tyres, are expensive items, though BMW offers fixed-price servicing to assist with budgeting. Insurance is also costly. The purely-petrol versions of the 7 Series use a lot of fuel, especially at higher speeds, so long-distance drivers should consider one of the diesel models. It’s well worth looking at the 745e hybrid if you spend a lot of time driving in town or at slower speeds, especially if you have the means to easily charge up its battery from an external source with little difficulty.