When the BMW 6 Series was replaced by the BMW 8 Series in 2018, it aimed to raise the profile of its luxury coupé, convertible and four-door coupé trio. But although it proved a strong sporting coupé, the 8 Series has somehow always felt more like a 5 Series derivative than its name suggests. And now, just over four years on, the 8 Series has had a midlife facelift; though it doesn’t look as if it’ll markedly change the car's status quo.
The interior was always the issue, being impeccable in terms of materials and fit and finish, but just a little too plain and business-like compared to a Lexus LC or Porsche 911, let alone a Bentley Continental GT. That’s just as true today, though one might prefer it to the tech fest that is the new Mercedes SL. It’s also worth keeping in mind the 8 Series is a fair bit less expensive than all its rivals bar the Lexus.
The lack of any major change inside is a blessing in some respects. The multimedia screen has been upgraded from 10.25- to 12.3in, but unlike the updated 3 Series and X5, it still runs BMW's old iDrive software, which means it’s still a paragon of user-friendliness, with logical menus and plenty of physical shortcut buttons. It still looks modern, too, and the physical climate controls are present and very much correct.
Outside, the facelifted 8 Series gains an illuminated grille (which looks nowhere near as chintzy as it sounds), a selection of new wheel options (all 20in in diameter), M-style twin-spar door mirrors for the M850i, and four new paint colours (including the classy San Remo Green you see in the pictures).
The diesel 840d has been dropped, leaving the six-cylinder rear-drive 840i, the four-wheel drive V8 M850i xDrive we’ve driven here, and the fire-breathing M8 Competition. As before, all come as a two-door coupe, four-door Gran Coupe or as a fabric-topped convertible.
Join the debate
Add your comment
The 8 looks so much better than the old 6 series, but I struggle to see what it is meant to be.
Not a sports car because it is too wide and too heavy, not a convincing GT car because of the plain interior and brittle, harsh and noisy ride and hardly any larger in accomodation terms than the 4-series, which also has the superior iDrive 8.
I suspect this lack of purpose and the £120k price will mean very few sales. This car is supposed to be special, but at this money a nearly new Bentley, Aston or Porsche would seem to be the way to go for that.
I'm with you Bimfan. An M3 convertible is not only a far better drive, but also has a very similar interior, costs way less, and does everything this 8 does so much better. And for those that say the 8 is bigger, well when did you last see back seat passengers in a BMW convertible. Globally how many of these does BMW shift each year, it must be enough to support the business case, but which markets buy them? And seriously, when did you last see a 1 star or 2 star review from Autocar. This should be a 2 star all day long?
Worth mentioning the weight as the F type was labelled heavy at 1720kgs, this is also pretty much the same weight as a Model S.