Paul Ainsworth: excellence is baked into every aspect of the BMW X7

Telegraph

27-05-2025

I am completely aware of what a privilege it is to live in Cornwall. With the beaches, moorlands and woods all on your doorstep, one minute you can be knee-deep in salt water or flying down a trail on your bike, and the next you might be somewhere beautiful and calm, warming up with something rich and delicious, surrounded by your loved ones.
That contrast is something I think about often. It mirrors the balance that I am always aiming to strike with my work.
At our restaurants, we talk about two things: the standard of the food and the sincerity of the hospitality. For me, the technical side of what we do – the sourcing, the freshness, the creativity and the presentation – has to be spot on. But how you feel when you walk through the door is just as important. We want to be generous, welcoming and people-first. It is our pleasure to have you. That's the kind of hospitality I grew up with, watching my parents run a guesthouse, and it stuck with me.
The BMW X7 really reminds me of that duality. As a machine, it has technical brilliance baked into it, from the M TwinPower Turbo V8 engine and the all-wheel xDrive system to the adjustable air suspension and active-roll stabilisation. It is powerful and impressive, with advanced features like Integral Active Steering and a smooth-shifting eight-speed automatic transmission. The car moves with control and composure, even over tricky terrain. I took it down onto the beach at Porthilly, with the tide out and the silt thick under the wheels, and it just glided through it.
But then, there's the other side of the car: the experience of being inside it. As a driver, you spend probably 90 per cent of your time in the interior. So while it looks beautiful from the outside – with its large kidney grille, slim headlights and long wheelbase – the cabin is where it really shines. The seats are unbelievably comfortable, the panoramic sunroof opens the whole cabin to light and plenty of little touches, such as heated and cooled cupholders and soft-close doors. It's not showy; in fact, in many ways it's carefully understated. But it's confident, cosy and reassuring, just like I aim to be with my restaurants.
Even the ambient lighting and materials, such as Fineline open-pore wood trim, have achieved that balance of modern luxury and subtlety. It creates a space that feels like a calm cocoon, whether you're on a short hop to school or going up and down the rolling hills.
As I've always said, it's a privilege for us to have guests dining with us, not the other way around. That's the attitude we bring to every table, and it's the same feeling I get when I'm in the X7. It's not shouting at you; it's not brash but it's clearly delivering a first-class experience.
The space inside the car is also brilliant. We've got two young girls and one of them goes to school 30 miles away. Beyond that, I could be taking my daughter Cici to her surfing lessons at Polzeath, dropping my wife Emma off for a coastal walk or heading out for a family beach day. So we drive here, there and everywhere. The X7 handles all these different demands with ease. There's room for everyone, even our cockapoo Freddie. I love that the rear two seats in the third row fold away at the press of a button to give us space for up to seven people if we need it. It's extremely practical, but without compromising on enjoyment.
It's the balance of brilliant performance and confident capability with seriously impressive finishing touches that make the X7 such a standout. Whether you're loading up the back with paddleboards or just doing the family's daily commutes, it delivers technically and comfortably. It's the kind of refinement that doesn't forget the human side of the experience.
To me, that's the definition of luxury.