2006 BMW 750Li

The good: The 2006 BMW 750Li offers a limousinelike cabin brimming with technology, while its power and handling compensate for the car's size. Highlights include power-adjustable rear seats and sophisticated cell phone integration.

The bad: The 2006 BMW 750Li edges close to the $100,000 mark with all the options, not including an MP3 player interface. And iDrive still hurts more than it helps.

The bottom line: The 2006 BMW 750Li boasts one of the best interiors of any standard production vehicle, with technology amenities galore. Neither this nor the impressive performance comes cheap, but discerning buyers at this level will be satisfied with the complete package.

Intro: The 2006 BMW 750Li is chock-full of electronic vehicle systems for performance, safety, and convenience, and it constitutes an impressive blend of spirited driving and luxurious comfort. The crispness that makes the company's smaller cars worthy of their corporate motto isn't fully present in the 7 Series, but the negative dynamic effects of the car's size are offset by the space it affords inside.

BMW's much-maligned iDrive controller for the main dashboard functions rears its head twice in 750 models equipped with the Rear Entertainment Package, as our car was. Even with the 2006 BMW 750Li's revised submenus, iDrive is indeed difficult to master without a real investment of time. But in a vehicle with such a range of electronic adjustments and features to control and customize, BMW at least deserves points for homogenizing input to such a degree. A small army of knobs and buttons might be more direct and, we dare say, intuitive but would pull the driver's eyes off the road more often.