A NEW flagship SUV has been revealed by BMW in the shape of the X7 which is out to rival the likes of the Range Rover and Audi Q7.

On sale from next April and priced from £72,155 the X7 is a seven seat 4x4 with luxury trimmings.

At a shade over 16ft 10ins long and almost 6ft 7ins wide it is the largest model in the BMW X line up - bigger than the Range Rover and similar in size to the Q7.

At launch it will be powered by a choice of three engines - one petrol and two diesel - and all models will come with air suspension, an electrically operated panoramic glass roof and a full suite of driver aids.

Unusually for an SUV BMW has opted to fit two full-size seats with space between them in the back of the X7 - a first for a 4x4 but reduces luggage capacity to 326 litres.

However, maximum capacity with the second and third row is 2,120 litres and that is the biggest of the lot.

The mid-row of seats also slides fore and aft to help with access.

Three models will be available with the line up starting with an X7 xDrive 30d powered by a 3.0-litre diesel with 265bhp on tap.

As such it is good for 0 to 60 in seven seconds with a top speed of 141mph and officially is rated at 43.5mpg with emissions of 171g/km.

It will be joined by a sporty M50d which is boosted to 400bhp taking the acceleration time down to 5.4 seconds with a maximum up to 155mph.

Fuel return for the M50d is 40.4mpg (185g/km), although the performance model cannot be fitted with BMW's off-road package which allows for specific drive settings for snow, sand, gravel and rocks.

The M50d is priced from £87,240 with the petrol X7 xDrive 40i starting from £74,155.

The xDrive 40i uses BMW's newly developed 3.0-litre straight six turbo petrol engine which in the X7 delivers 340bhp giving the car a 0 to 60 time of 6.1 seconds, a top end of 152mph with 32.5mpg and a CO2 figure of 198g/km.

All models use an eight-speed Steptronic automatic gearbox which is calibrated to reduce engine speeds in higher gears to improve efficiency.

Inside, the X7 is fitted with the BMW Live Cockpit which has two 12.3 display screens and includes an adaptive navigation system with 20GB of memory.

Other driver aids include a semi-autonomous lane change system, cross traffic alerts lane departure warnings and an automatic parking system.

The X7 has a split tailgate with the lower section opening to create a bench extending from the boot and the air suspension allows for the car to be lowered by almost two inches to aid access.

It can also be raised by a similar amount to increase ground clearance over poor terrain.

All versions of the X7 come with the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant, a digital helper that responds to the prompt "Hey BMW" and is an advanced voice control system that can operate virtually all of the car's function.

Options will include BMW's Laserlight headlamps which replace the standard LED lights with a beam than can extend up to 600 yards ahead of the car at night.