BMW 8 Series Review (2018-present)

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.