I am an intern reporter for the Delaware Gazette, a small newspaper outside of Columbus, Ohio. I do a weekly Auto piece where I test a car every week and tell the readers what I think. This is my first foray into this and if you have any helpful advice, please e-mail me at nborgia@delgazette.net or leave me a message in the Comments Box.

Here is my article from Feb. 28

BMW 750iL
BMW has been known as the benchmark of automobiles. Other companies build their cars in attempts to reach the ultimate status that BMW has achieved. Their quality, sophistication and reputation has been unsurpassed.
The new 2006 BMW 750iL hopefully will hold up to that standard.

EXTERIOR
When you first lay eyes on this car, you can sense just how striking and how much power this $86,440 car deserves. It is instantly recognizable as a BMW, and then it demands your respect. No other car has this type of draw that this BMW possesses. It's simple Teutonic styling exudes
elegance.

Now your temporary paralysis has subsided, you can take a longer look at the 750iL. The front has the standard issue two kidney-shaped grilles (a BMW tradition) that are between two Xenon headlights, both having been freshened for '06. The headlights, Xenon Adaptive Headlights, not only self-adjust, but they also adjust their angle
when the car turns.

The rear has been redesigned as well. The square, slab-sided trunk lid is now tapered and contoured to flow into the fenders and the trunk lid now has integrated taillights. This is what the car should have been from the
start.

This car is more appealing to the eye than when the car was redesign by Chris Bangle back in 2002. The oddly shaped headlights and awkward rear-end of yore have been given a classier, simple look. The optional 10-spoke, 19-inch sport rims add a nice, subtle look to the overall
appearance to the car.

INTERIOR
The BMW motif that is seen on the outside has carried itself onto the inside. The quality of materials is amazing. The black dash is soft and feels rich. The Dark Ash wood inlayed in the dash and center console is gorgeous. The standard Nasca Leather and optional black
Pearl Leather are both soft and do not slide their riders around when the road carving begins.

For $86,000, you get 16-way adjustable front seats that have the ability to heat, cool and massage their occupants. The ability to adjust them into any position as well as to keep you comfortable and pampers makes being in this car a joy. The small four-spoke steering wheel (three-spoke wheel is optional with the Sport Package) tilts and
telescopes and has radio, telephone and buttons to control the manu-matic transmission are all encompassed on small-sized wheel. The wheel can even be heated.

As for safety, the 750iL comes with a plethora of safety devices. To accompany the requisite driver and passenger front air bag, the car also receives front seat side airbags, rear seat Head Protection System, which is a tube-shaped airbag that deploys out of the roof at the top of the doors that stretches from the front to the back on both sides, and front seat pretensioners and force limiters. Optional are rear seat side airbags and pretensioner seatbelts. I feel that for the price of the car, these should be standard on every model, and not just the upper-model 760s.

The reach to the ventilation controls, cup holders, headlights and iDrive controls are within easy reach. The navigation is one of the best and cleanest systems out there. Owners also get keyless entry that allows the owner to open the door and start the car without having to touch the key that is in your pocket. All you have to do is
press the Start button.

In the second row, with the extra five inches of chassis that is added to the iL, riders will have room to stretch out. There are optional sun screens can be raised for the rear passengers at the flip of a switch. Rear passengers can control their own air from the back of the center console. If you splurge, you can get a 6.5-inch rear DVD
player with a six-disk DVD changer in the trunk. Those who are relegated to the back seat will have no reason to complain.

Unfortunately, the interior is not as perfect as it may seem. Staring at the wheel and easily-readable gauges in front of you everything seems fine, until you start to see not one, not two, but FOUR stalks hanging out of the steering column. Each one as a specific job; one
controls the turn signals, one the wipers, one the cruise and one is the transmission lever. And on each of the stalks, there are more buttons that controls other features in the car! I have never been so confused in my life. I usually catch onto things quickly and after 10
minutes, I only got the top two stalks figured out.

Another thing that annoyed me, and has annoyed everyone else since its inception, is the infamous iDrive. In their defense, they have tried to make it simpler by having the HVAC controls separate from the iDrive as well as adding a Menu button to the system to return the screen to the Home screen. But sitting there trying to figure out something
simple like how to change the radio station by manipulating a knob through several menus is too much work. A simple Seek button can do the same. Also, if you press or move the cursor in the wrong direction, you will be come very lost. Hopefully those that own a car
with iDrive have more patience that I do, or work for Microsoft.

DRIVE AND PERFORMANCE
However, these discrepancies leave you once you select D from that right stalk. The car is a BMW through and through. The silky smooth 4.8 liter V8 makes 360 h.p. and the same amount of torque. And it moves. Zero to 60 comes up in about six seconds. The six-speed automatic transmission needs a little time to make its smooth downshifts, but the power from the engine will make up for that lost time. And big 13.7-inch disk brakes will help stop you from getting busted by the waiting state trooper. And is this thing quiet. You hear very little from the outside, and you can enjoy your optional 13-speaker Logic7 premium stereo.

The ride from the Sport suspension and 19-inch tires is a little rough for those you just want a cruiser, but for those that crave taking corners at double the posted speed, this is the option you want. The ride is not terrible, but you can feel some bumps on your backside.

However, you can point the three-spoke wheel where you want to go and the car responses immediately. This car drives like a sports car, despite its big stature.

There is one complaint that I do have about this car and it is the Active Steering. The Active Steering is a system that adjusts itself with the speed that you are traveling. When creeping in a parking lot, it is very loose so you can swing into an open parking spot. And as you are cruising down the interstate, the steering builds up force to help keep the car stable and straight.

Sounds like a good idea, right? No so. Simply, the steering produces no feel. Zero. Zilch. None. At low speeds, it is fine. But once you hit that windy back road, you lose all connections with the outside world. You turn the steering wheel and the car will go around the corner with no drama, but the complete lack any feedback is so bad that it takes away the fun of driving. The lack of feel in no way affects your ability to drive or the car to handle anything you throw at it, but you are making more of a guess than you are making a decision.

For what you get with the price, you get a very good car. No great, but very good. BMW is still the best, but buyers may be disappointed with what you get.