A FACELIFT EVEN A MOTHER COULD LOVE.(News)

Byline: GREG KABLE

Three and a half years after its introduction, the fourth-generation BMW 7 Series gets a makeover, one that leaves it better looking and better equipped, with a new, more powerful V8 and a host of chassis upgrades. Even better news? BMW promises to accomplish all this without a significant price increase in North America.

The new 2006 7 Series makes its world premiere in Geneva in March; the U.S. debut is scheduled for the New York show later that month.

The various modifications represent quite a major upgrade, even by BMW standards. But BMW thought the changes were needed, especially since Mercedes-Benz is set to wheel out a new, technically advanced S-Class at the Frankfurt motor show in September and Audi is surfing a wave of success with its classy A8. So the midlife changes (insiders say an all-new 7 Series will come at the end of 2008) could not come at a better time for Munich's controversial big car.

The 7 Series' much-debated shape has been replaced by a sleeker and more integrated appearance that BMW is hoping will go over better with potential customers. Presided over by BMW's new design boss Adrian van Hooydonk, the cosmetic upgrades are concentrated primarily around the front and rear ends. The results seem mostly positive, if these first official photographs are any guide to how the new 7 will look in the flesh.

Up front there are curvy new headlights, a larger kidney grille, a reworked hood set three-quarters of an inch higher, a revised bumper with chrome highlights and an altered design for the air ducting. Out back BMW designers have incorporated a restyled decklid that is more rounded and carries a chrome strip intersecting with larger tail lamps. There is also a deeper rear bumper, chunkier side sills and new wheel designs in either standard 18-inch or optional 19-inch.

Inside the 7 gets a new steering wheel (four-spoke standard, three-spoke optional), detailed changes to the air conditioning controls and a revised iDrive system. The complex ...