UK Drive: The BMW 840d xDrive is a GT car with true driver appeal

What is it?

Remember the 6 Series? BMW’s big, swooping grand-tourer may have been an underground favourite for big-distance drivers (and performance enthusiasts too with the M6), but the German firm has seen fit to replace it with this – the new 8 Series. In-your-face and packed with tech, it’s BMW’s new battle cruiser – and is designed to take on rivals like the Mercedes-Benz S Class Coupe.

Can it deliver though? We’ve been out and about in the diesel-powered 840d to see what’s what.

What’s new?

There’s a lot going on with the 8 Series. At 4,843mm long it’s actually shorter than the 6 Series it replaces, and shorter too than the Mercedes. Don’t think of it as some compact four-seater, however; in the metal its long, swooping lines give it immediate presence and the massive front grilles are hard to ignore.

Underneath it’s a heady mixture of aluminium, magnesium, carbon-fibre reinforced polymer and good old fashioned steel all combining to create a solid base. The engine sits up front, and sends power predominately to the rear – though BMW’s xDrive system is included to shuffle some power to the front wheels should a lack of traction demand it.

What’s under the bonnet?

Sat under the 8 Series’ sweeping bonnet is a 3.0-litre, turbocharged straight-six. Pushing out 316bhp and a heady 680Nm of torque, it’s capable of sending the car from 0-60mph in 4.7 seconds and all the way up to a 155mph top speed.

As we’ve already mentioned, xDrive means that power is sent to all four wheels, and it’s done so through an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

But the big thing here is the 8’s fuel-sipping ability. After all, good grand tourers need decent economy, and because the 8 should return up to 46.8mpg combined, you’re looking at around 500 miles between fill-ups. Though a V8-powered 8 Series is available (and is in fact the only other powertrain option), the diesel suits the country-crossing, huge-mileage character of this car.

What’s it like to drive?

As a luxurious grand tourer you’d expect the 8 Series to be wafty and supremely comfortable – and though this is the case with the S Class Coupe, it’s not quite the story here. Make no mistake the 8 Series is still a nice place to be, but it’s far more dynamic and tuned towards the driver than the car with the three-pronged star. It doesn’t float over bumps, but this inability proves to be a real boon when it comes to twisty roads, which the big BMW eats up time and time again.

But what’s it like at home on the motorway? Pretty sublime, in honesty. The diesel engine settles down to the merest whisper, and the suspension feels composed and well-suited to higher speeds. The driving assistance systems are excellent too, and allow big miles to go under the car’s wheels without any real driver fatigue.

How does it look?

Long and swooping, the 8 Series certainly has plenty of presence about it. The grilles are large but not overly so, while the tapered rear end has been well executed.

In truth its dimensions are both a plus and a minus; they give the car a mean, stealthy look, but the sheer amount of bonnet in front of you make it enormously difficult to judge where it’s corners are, and this isn’t ideal when it comes to parking or slow-speed manouvers.

What’s it like inside?

As BMW’s flagship, the 8 Series needs to feel pretty special inside, which is why all manner of high-end elements have been used in there. Our test car came with a package called ‘CraftedClarity’, which essentially means that many interior elements such as the gearstick and starter button. Chintzy? Just a touch. But in a car of this level it almost feels appropriate. That gearstick is illuminated too, were it not in-your-face enough already.

Practicality-wise, it’s those sat up front who come out on top. There’s plenty of room to stretch out, and a good amount of oddment bins too. However, the same can’t be said for those sat in the back.

The rear seats are frankly laughable; only the smallest of children could sit here, and even they would be a touch uncomfortable. Adults are unlikely to fit, and if they do are undoubtedly going to want to get out pretty quickly. It’s best to think of the 8 Series as a two-seater with additional space behind.

What’s the spec like?

The 8 Series comes loaded with tech – but then it should, given a £74,655 starting price. You can only have it in M-Sport trim, which means you get a variety of dynamic styling touches for the exterior, and some M-specific interior components too. But of course, this being a BMW, there’s a wealth of optional upgrades to choose from.

Our test car came with the Visibility Package, which adds Laserlight headlights (you’ll spot these by the light blue hint to them), along with the previously mentioned interior glass accents (a £575 extra).

However, you do get BMW’s latest infotainment setup as standard, displayed via a large central touchscreen, along with an accompanying 12.3-inch display in place of the conventional dials. The main screen is just fine, but the dials in front of the driver are over complicated and difficult to read. BMW has long set a reputation for creating clear and simple dials – so it’s a shame that this hasn’t been continued for the digital version.

Verdict

Large, heavy, diesel-powered coupes aren’t a common sight these days. However, BMW has executed it brilliantly with the 8 Series. It’s comfortable yet enjoyable on a more challenging road, and is impressively frugal over longer journeys too.

If you’re often on the motorway – with maybe a short b-road jaunt at either end – then the 8 Series would be ideal. Rivals may feel a tiny bit more special, but the 8 Series is so capable in almost all areas that you just won’t care.