The BMW X7 is the single largest car ever built by BMW. It made its North-American debut at this year's L.A. Auto Show and, thanks to those oversized kidney grilles, there's no way you're going to miss one on the road. That's also because of the fact that it's bigger than a bus - figuratively speaking, of course. Why did BMW create this Jumbo-SUV? Well, because they had the American customer in mind all along.

In its top spec, the full-size X7 is powered by a 4.4-liter, twin-turbocharged, V-8 that's capable of 458 horsepower and 479 pound-feet of torque, enough to send the 5,617 pounds behemoth from 0 to 62 mph in 5.2 seconds. But beyond the performance figures, this car was designed to be an ultra-luxurious hauler meant for the people that, up until now, were buying Mercedes' GLS-Class or the Cadillac Escalade.

The European roads are too small for the X7 because it was conceived for the American ones

BMW's customers complained that the new-generation BMW X5 is a bit of a handful in Europe's bustling cities, that it's hard to find a parking spot for such land yachts. BMW nodded, looked across the Atlantic to the American coast and promptly designed a bigger truck: the X7. That makes it 1.3 inches longer than the Mercedes GLS-Class and, with a wheelbase of 122.2 inches, it's as roomy as the longer Lincoln Navigator. Indeed, BMW claims that each of the X7's seats - of which there are 7 - can fit an adult comfortably.

2019 BMW X7 exterior dimensions

“This car is designed for the U.S. market, and you can see that in terms of size, you can see it also in terms of seating configuration," said Ralph Mahler, the BMW U.S. product planning and strategy manager to AutoGuide. While that's a lot, it's still less than the 93.8 cubic-feet of room you'll find in the GLS-Class once you fold all of the back seats.

2019 BMW X7 interior dimensions

Still, it's not all about room, even in the case of this truck that was created for the American market. Being a BMW, a brand built around the idea of creating 'driver's cars', the X7 also goes around like a small car, or at least that's what Mahler claims. "I can only tell you because you are not able to drive it… you don’t feel the weight of the car, it is a true BMW as a luxury SAV,” he said. The X7 is an SAV, or a Sport Activity Vehicle, because, as BMW puts it, it has great towing capabilities and is the perfect companion if you want to go kayaking or if you want to take your bikes with you.

The basic X7 xDrive40i powered by a turbocharged inline-six brings to the table only 335 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque. Yes, it does have a steeper MSRP of $92,600 - $18,700 more than the base model - but you need a lot of power if you're driving around the car with the biggest kidney grilles ever. Lincoln sold a little over 10,000 units of the Navigator last year, so expect BMW to target such numbers once the X7 hits the showrooms nationwide next year.

Further Reading

Read our full review on the 2019 BMW X7.

Read our full review on the 2018 Mercedes-Benz GLS.

Read our full review on the 2018 Lincoln Navigator.