BMW dishes up the luxury in this X7 sport-ute

Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews can be seen here and in the Cruisin’ News, "Oregon, Nevada and California's classic auto news & marketplace."

Sacramento, California -- I had not been behind the wheel of a BMW for some time, but my return to the automaker's cockpit could not have been any more pleasant.

Of course, that was probably helped along by my ride being a new power-laden, luxury-loaded 2023 BMW X7 xDrive40i sport-utility vehicle priced at $95,745.

Yes, class counts.  But so do many other things on this full-size sport-ute.

The look is decidedly aggressive, especially on the front end, with beautifully cut, split headlights and a sculpted, big-mouth grille.  While most grilles today are just big, this one had some subtle curves and angles to make it stand apart -- in a positive way.

The interior was a five-star hotel room with exquisite, perfectly stitched white leather and a thoughtful layout of dash controls, all sort of aimed at the driver for his/her convenience.  Sitting in the cockpit gives one a feeling of security and complete control.

Ditto all the technology built into this X7.

Driving-assist and enhancement controls are helpful without being overly intrusive.  And it's really easy to command everything with that massaging driver's seat and the primo Harman Kardon surround-sound audio system filling the cabin with pleasant noises.

I will confess that, while the BMW in-vehicle technology is similar to that found in other makes/models, it is triggered in different ways.  I had to study the owner's manual to master things, but it was a short, quick study.  Like riding a bicycle again?  Yeah, pretty much.

Auto-reviewing colleagues generally raved about the 3-liter TwinPower Turbo 6 engine in their reviews, and I second their endorsements after a week in my tester. The 375-horsepower engine is muscular off the line and silky smooth on the cruise once the revs are up.  A pleasure to drive.

Fuel mileage is OK at 21 miles per gallon in the city and 25 mpg.

Any gripes?: The third row seats are a bit of a tight fit.

Otherwise, this is likely the full-size luxury sport-ute that fans of the segment dream of owning.