We’d like to start this one with a confession. When the BMW X7 made its world premiere in October last year, we thought that it would arrive in India by the end of 2019. That guesswork of ours was based on the fact that BMW would commence the market launch of its new flagship SUV from March 2019. But, as it turns out, we were way off from our speculation about the X7’s introduction in India.

BMW India has gone ahead and made space for the X7 on its website. Already! That means the German carmaker won’t waste much time to launch the 7 Series of SUVs on our shores. Forget the end of 2019. You can expect it to launch as soon as by the end of January. In all probability, the BMW X7 will commence its Indian innings with just one and the most expensive variant – M50d. In markets like the USA, where the X7 is manufactured, it will launch in three other variants – 40i, 50i and 30d.

All variants of BMW X7 come with the xDrive all-wheel-drive system and 8-speed automatic transmission. The M50d will house a 3.0-litre, 6-cylinder turbo-diesel engine which produces 400PS of power and 760Nm of torque. BMW claims that the oomph is enough to hurl the three-row people carrier to 100kmph from nothing in 5.4 seconds. The top speed runs into the governance of electronic nannies and is limited to 250kmph. Those performance figures aren’t bad for a vehicle which measures well over 5 metres in length and has a kerb weight of more than 2.5 tonnes.

No points for guessing, the BMW X7 gets the most versatile cabin space ever in the company’s history. As standard, the second-row has space for three passengers. However, captain seats can also be had for an extra fee. The list of standard features includes LED headlamps, electrically adjustable seats, four-zone climate control, BMW Live Cockpit Professional with two 12.3-inch displays, ambient lighting package and a three-section panoramic glass roof.

To start with, BMW will bring the X7 to India as a direct import. And we all know what that means –ludicrous pricing! The M50d variant should carry an ex-showroom price of around Rs 1.65 crore. The first-ever BMW to have a three-seat layout will compete with the likes of the Mercedes-Benz GLS and the entry-level variants of the Range Rover.