I drove a $108,000 BMW X7 to find out if the largest BMW ever built is worth the price - here's the verdict

Matt DeBord/BI

The big bimmer arrives!

• The BMW X7 is the largest vehicle the Bavarian brand has ever produced.
• We tested a $108,000 BMW X7 XDrive50i, outfitted with a 4.4-liter V8 engine and crammed with technology.
• The BMW X7 is intended to go up against the Mercedes GLS, the Audi Q7, the Volvo XC90, and a host of other premium, seven-seat, full-size SUVs.
• The X7 strays from the Ultimate Driving Machine ethos that defines BMW, but there's no question that it's the three-row giant the brand needed, and the price is actually something of a bargain.
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All the major premium automakers have taken the three-row plunge, as SUV sales have taken over the US market. BMW was a laggard; its wonderful X5 was a hit with customers, but the lack of a third row was losing the Bavarians some sales. You could jump from a BMW to Audi and its Q7, if you added a third child to the family or simply wanted to haul some extra friends around.

Enter the X7, BMW's big boy. He's a 5,600-lb. baby! BMW let me look after him for a week, and I did my best to see if the guy was as large and in charge as he looked.

Here's how it went: