Trimmed in ‘Vernasca’ leather, they have no equal in this segment.īMW’s Live Cockpit Professional system comes as standard and consists of a ‘frameless’ 10.25in display nestled atop the dashboard and – on the same horizontal plane – a new 12.3in digital instrument cluster in lieu of analogue dials. Special mention must also be made of the electric seats, which offer as much support as they do comfort. Owners will be grateful for generous stowage options beneath the central armrest and in the door cards. The 8 Series nevertheless feels ready to be comfortably driven anywhere, at any speed, in any weather and 420 litres of boot space is plenty. It’s not quite special enough and, by its own admission, BMW has gone for a minimalistic ambience but has perhaps confused that with a lack of imagination. Elsewhere, the electroplated surrounds for the ‘closed clasp’ door handles flow nicely into the dash-mounted air vents, but the design of the leather-clad M steering wheel of our test car is functional to the point of being plain. High window lines, a broad new transmission tunnel (whose inlaid switchgear is particularly slick) and the trademark driver-facing centre console cocoon the driver.īMW also claims to have angled the prominent lines of the interior longitudinally along with the high scuttle and low roof, the result is a pronounced pillbox effect that’s pure GT car. What character there is instead stems from the architecture. Even the decadence of the optional crystal gearlever and mirror-ball rotary controls can’t dispel the business-like aura. It’s not been entirely successful here, and while perceived quality is greater than any other BMW in recent memory, the 8 Series’ interior lacks the cheek-puffing ‘wow’ factor of an Mercedes S-Class Coupé. It’s hooked up to an eight-speed automatic gearbox with a wider spread of ratios than the 640d had. The 840d’s straight-six diesel engine produces a bit more power (315bhp) and torque (501lb ft) than it did in the outgoing BMW 640d coupé – but only as much of either as you get in a BMW 7 Series 740d. Pay for BMW’s optional M Sport Technic package (£2500) and you get beefed-up brakes, a torque-vectoring rear differential and non run-flat performance tyres (which our test car had) otherwise, the 840d comes on run-flat tyres as standard. Steering is electrically assisted, and by an active variable ratio ‘integral active’ steering system that acts on both front and rear axles.ĭrive goes to the rear axle by default, to then be sent in part to the front one as well as deemed necessary by the car’s intelligent xDrive four-wheel-drive system. Suspension is by double wishbones and multiple links underneath steel coil springs and adaptive dampers unlike on rival GTs, there will be no air suspension option. ![]() ![]() ![]() Some testers preferred the less fussy, more reserved look of the standard exterior design, although a typical BMW buyer would likely opt for an M Sport styling kit if given the choice. The design could perhaps be more graceful, tasteful even – and the slightly aggressive look of UK cars has been enforced by BMW UK’s decision to clothe all with M Sport exterior bodystyling as standard. Our test 840d weighed 1901kg on Millbrook’s scales, making it lighter than the shorter Lexus LC we tested in 2017 and the Mercedes-AMG CLS 53 4Matic we tested in October last year.īMW says it was aiming for “clarity, modernity and emotional engagement” with the car’s styling, and seems to have hit its marks. ![]() The car has an overall length of 4843mm and a 2822mm wheelbase, neither of which screams sports car, although by GT coupé standards those dimensions certainly aren’t huge (both are shorter than the last 6 Series).
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