BMW 840i Coupe provides an awesome drive, but it’ll cost you almost $100K
The big but low-slung sports coupe from BMW will impress with its driving dynamics and stands out for making shifting fun again even without a clutch. And this is just the slow, cheap version.
2023 BMW 840i xDrive Coupe: Fast and fun.
Price: $96,595 as tested.
Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes the “incredibly smooth and quiet-riding, refined, and responsive power trains, decadent cabin,” but not that there are “several annoying blind spots, not-so-big rear seat, the Lexus LC is prettier.”
Marketer’s pitch: “The 8.” Well, then. ‘Nuff said.
Reality: Not at all frugal. And there are versions that cost way more and go way faster.
Changing gears: After a couple EV tests, we’re back firmly in fossil fuel territory. (And for those eager to see a Nissan Leaf test as promised last week, that’s been pulled. Sorry!)
What’s new: BMW’s 8 Series coupé gets a new look — a different grille and wheels, mostly. Five new colors as well.
Competition: Lexus LC500, Chevrolet Corvette, BMW M4
Up to speed: Oh, it certainly gets up to speed in a hurry. The 3.0-liter twin-turbo V-6 creates 335 horsepower and rockets to 60 in 4.7 seconds, according to a Car and Driver review of a 2020 version.
The more expensive models get a 523-horsepower 8-cylinder engine. And here I thought I was having fun.
Shifty: Despite the lack of a clutch pedal, the 840i shows what good shifting can be.
Even with sports cars, I’ve become more fond of letting today’s cars do the shifting work for me. There’s so much power available that rowing the gears in a shiftable automatic seems pointless.
My shifting ennui may be in part because the cars I’m testing just don’t do shifting well, either in lever feel or in mechanical settings.
In the 840i, the shifter and the paddles both work nicely to move the 8-speed sport automatic transmission up or down through the gears.
The glass shifter and iDrive controller ($650) certainly adds beauty to the nice moves as well.
On the road: Whee! Expensive BMW sports cars tend to provide a joyful driving experience, and the 840i all-wheel-drive model is no exception. Plan to zip through the turns and almost slide into corners, as the coupé will provide all the excitement your heart can handle. Sport Plus makes for a delightful side-road companion, but the other modes are not bad as well.
The ride is nice on the highway as well, but there you want to stick to Comfort mode.
A rear-wheel-drive version is also available.
Driver’s Seat: “Can you even see?” Smart aleck Sturgis Kid 1.0 asked when we took the car out for a short jaunt one Saturday afternoon. The 840i does sit rather low to the ground, and it did require some seat adjustments — and attitude adjustments — to get used to the experience.
But the seat itself and all the components surrounding the driver are lovely and comfortable, with a beautiful $650 Alcantara headliner and the $2,000 white/tartufo full Merino seats.
Friends and stuff: Beware of lawsuits before jamming people into the backseat. It’s so cramped that people might be permanently scarred. There’s nowhere for heads or feet, and knees are well acquainted with the seat back.
Cargo space is a healthy-for-its-size 14.8 cubic feet.
Play some tunes: The Harman Kardon sound system is very good but not great. The equalizer allows for very distinct adjustments in sound, but the system still rates about an A, and not an A+. It’s not producing any sections that surprise me.
Operation is simple, with the console dial plus a volume dial on the dashboard, and a large 12.3-inch touchscreen as well.
Keeping warm and cool: Toggles at the bottom of the dash control the features and further adjustments happen through the touchscreen.
Night shift: Take extra special care about putting all the 840i power to the test after dark. The low beams definitely live down to their name and will clearly allow you to see groundhogs and slithering snakes moving around in the blackness. Perhaps even fish when riding seaside. But the road ahead? Not so much. The high beams help, but even they seem a little underwhelming.
Fuel economy: I averaged just under 18 mpg in a fairly spirited round of driving.
Where it’s built: Dingolfing, Germany
How it’s built: Consumer Reports bets the reliability will be a 3 out of 5.
In the end: Definitely the best among its competition. Cue the angry e-mails from Corvette lovers.