BMW 8 Series Review (2018-present)
BMW 8 Series cars for sale
4.0
Expert review
Pros
Quick, and handles well
xDrive 4x4 models perform in all weathers
Choice of convertible, coupe, and four-door body styles
Cons
Not as exciting as a Porsche 911
Not as luxurious as a Mercedes S-Class Coupe
Coupe and convertible are cramped in the back
The CarGurus verdict
On the one hand, the BMW 8 Series does neatly split the difference between its rivals from Porsche and Mercedes. That means if a 911 is too uncompromising for you but an S-Class Coupe far too big and flabby, the 8 Series could well be the just-so solution. However, it does inevitably mean as well that no version of BMW’s flagship truly excels in one particular area – in that sense, the 8 Series manages to be neither one thing nor the other; neither thrilling road racer nor peerless continental missile.
It’s frustrating given the substantial footprint of the 8 Series that its back seats are not more useful than they are. If you often carry passengers, you’ll need the more usable 8 Series Gran Coupe variant with its far more accommodating rear cabin. BMW has proven countless times in the past that it’s very capable of producing some of the finest vehicles on the road. The 8 Series – attractive, quick and broadly-capable though it might be – ultimately is not one of those.
What is the BMW 8 Series?
In the parlance of BMW’s model line-up, even numbers indicate a coupe or convertible, while odd numbers denote more ordinary hatchbacks, saloons and estates. The 2 Series, 4 Series and 8 Series are all sporty coupes or drop tops; the 1 Series, 3 Series, 5 Series and 7 Series are more practical everyday machines.
Simple enough? Well, not exactly. For one thing, a number of the coupes are available with four-door body shells, meaning they’re technically more similar to saloons. What’s more, whereas the 4 Series is very closely related to the previous model in the numerical sequence, the new 8 Series owes little to the 7 Series from which you might reasonably assume it is derived. In fact, the 8 Series is just as closely related to the 5 Series – presumably BMW thinks the higher number confers greater status upon its flagship performance model.
The 8 Series straddles a kind of middle ground between the overtly sporting Porsche 911 on one side and the sumptuous Mercedes S-Class Coupe on the other. It revives a model name that was first introduced in 1990 and that survived until just before the turn of the century. The original 8 Series was BMW’s halo product and that’s true of this latest version, too. In fact, in M8 Competition guise, the current 8 Series range offers unto the world the fastest and most powerful road car BMW has ever brought to market.
How practical is it?
Not entirely straightforward, then. The key is to do a little research so you’re absolutely clear about what you’re looking at. After all, anybody buying an 8 Series on the misguided understanding that it’s really just a 7 Series with a swooping roofline – and by extension a purely comfort-oriented device – might be left wondering where all the space, luxury and refinement has gone. Certainly, rear seat space in two-door variants is anything but generous.
The boot space in the regular coupe is a reasonable 420 litres, but that drops to 350 litres in the convertible version. The most practical boot of all 8 Series models comes in the form of the four-door Gran Coupe's, which manages to deliver 440 litres of room
What's it like to drive?
While BMW can insist all it likes that the 8 Series is a sports car, in reality it’s far too big and heavy to ever be such a thing. It’s much closer in philosophy to a grand tourer, albeit with a sharper and more focussed edge should you choose an M8 variant. Whichever 8 Series you go for, you’ll find a reasonably cushioned ride that could be more supple still, accurate but lifeless steering, lusty performance as a minimum and, in the M8 Competition, truly breathtaking acceleration.
Technology, equipment & infotainment
All 8 Series variants boast the same striking design, just with more or less aggressive body styling to signify their positions in the range. Their cabins give a sense of opulence and come stuffed full of comfort and convenience equipment, but architecturally they’re unambitious (particularly compared to the yacht-like interior you get in the Mercedes S-Class Coupe or the very arresting cabin of the petrol-electric i8) and switchgear quality is only okay. In short, BMW could and perhaps should have done a lot more with the 8 Series’ cockpit, although its iDrive infotainment system is perhaps the best of its type.
BMW 8 Series running costs
Given that the entry-level 8 Series has half the horsepower of the range-topping model, it’s inevitable that running costs will vary dramatically across the line-up. While the 840d will return in the region of 40mpg in mixed driving, the M8 Competition will realistically only manage 22mpg – or even an mpg figure in the high teens if you tap into its fearsome performance with any regularity. Meanwhile, expect 30mpg from the 840i and around 23mpg from the M850i xDrive.
Counter-intuitively, there’s no such variation in Vehicle Excise Duty, or road tax. All 8 Series variants from the most basic diesel model to the fire-breathing M8 Competition will set you back £475 per year. However, the more powerful petrol models do incur a sizeable £1,850 first-year tax rate.
Insurance will be an area of significant expense each year since even the least powerful 8 Series sits in group 44 of 50. The M850i xDrive and M8 Competition do, of course, land firmly in the highest group.
A full set of tyres for an M8 Competition could cost as much as £1,000, although for lesser variants you might pay only half that. Finally, servicing will be another area of expense that would-be owners should be aware of, no matter which model you might be considering. However, BMW offers fixed-price service plans that allow owners to spread the cost of annual maintenance over the course of the year. This costs £30 per month for any non-M 8 Series and £45 per month for the M8 Competition.
BMW 8 Series reliability
It’s too early to say how reliable the 8 Series will eventually prove to be. Nonetheless, brand new cars are covered by BMW’s standard three-year, unlimited mileage warranty, which is pretty much par for the course among the premium German manufacturers, but actually quite mean compared to what’s offered elsewhere (Kias, for instance, are covered for seven years). BMW Insured Warranty allows owners to extend that warranty cover at extra cost.
According to owner satisfaction surveys, BMWs aren’t as reliable as the marque’s premium-market positioning would have you believe. In fact, one such study found that the company finished far closer to the bottom of the pile than the top, being outperformed by mass-market car makers such as VW, Seat and Vauxhall.
- Available as a two-door convertible (codenamed G14), a two-door coupe (G15) or a four-door Gran Coupe (G16), plus the really potent M variants, the 8 Series line-up is expansive to say the least. Some are powered only from the rear, while xDrive models are all-wheel drive. Power outputs range from 315bhp for the 840d with its turbocharged six-cylinder diesel unit to 335bhp for the 840i, which is powered by a six-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine. At the top of the line-up is the 617bhp M8 Competition with its thundering twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8. The mid-range 850i xDrive models use a detuned version of the same engine, producing 523bhp. Certain markets also get the standard M8 with 591bhp, but in the UK we’re only offered the range-topping M8 Competition.
- Determined you want a rear-wheel-drive 8 Series? You’ll have to pick the 840i, the only version made available with only one driven axle. All other versions have BMW’s xDrive four-wheel-drive system, which favours the rear axle and only transfers any meaningful torque forwards when the rear end begins to lose traction. This makes the 8 Series more usable throughout the winter and also more stable in on-limit handling situations. Even M models send drive to all four corners.
- The 8 Series starts at a fraction under £75,000, for which you can have either the 840d xDrive or the 840i. The M850i xDrive, which is a sort of junior M-car, costs just over £100,000, while the full-fat M model, the M8 Competition, will set you back an eye-watering £126,000. Gran Coupe and convertible variants inevitably cost a little more than their two-door coupe counterparts. All versions of the 8 Series come fitted with eight-speed automatic gearboxes – there is no manual option.
- On a budget: Not only is the 840d the cheapest 8 Series in the line-up, it’s also the most economical version to run. Its diesel engine means it’ll return around 40mpg in mixed real-world driving, which isn’t at all bad for a car that will still hit 62mph in just 4.8 seconds.
- Money no object: The M8 Competition, all 617bhp of it, is BMW’s fastest and most powerful production car to date. The thumping twin-turbo V8 engine rockets the car to 62mph in just 3.2 seconds, giving the halo BMW not only the luxury of a grand tourer, but also the performance of a supercar.
- Real driving thrills: The most enthusiastic drivers will need to look away from the 8 Series line-up and away from BMW altogether. In this price bracket, the venerable Porsche 911 remains the definitive sports car. Even the most basic Carrera variants (and the Audi R8 for that matter) are far more engaging to drive than any 8 Series up to and including the M8 Competition.
- Comfort and luxury first: While a less hardcore 8 Series like the M850i xDrive is a fine grand tourer, the very best car of that type is actually a Mercedes-Benz. The S-Class Coupe with its double-glazed windows, peerless road noise suppression and plush air suspension is an altogether more luxurious machine than the BMW.
