BMW 740i vs BMW 840I

What's the difference?

While the new 7 Series won’t visually appeal to everyone, nor is it at the forefront of spirited driving dynamics, it’s hard to argue that it isn’t fit for purpose.

Its rear theatre screen and lounge layout might seem gimmicky at first, but it’s difficult to think of a more comfortable way to be transported on wheels short of putting a chassis under your loungeroom. Even then, you’d have to ask someone for a massage.

This is one of those cases where a car becoming larger isn’t such a bad thing, and BMW should feel like it’s achieved, seemingly, what it set out to do in building an electric limousine that doesn’t fall short in range or dynamics.

If BMW can bring this level of refinement down to its more affordable models, its electric future is looking promising.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

If you’re the sort of buyer who wants a car that signifies a lifestyle that is ‘large and in charge’, the BMW M850i Gran Coupe could be just the thing for you. It isn’t as showy as some of its competitors, and mightn’t reach the same levels of excitement as those cars either - but it is a convincing offering in its own right, and a beautiful piece of design at that. 

BMW freely calls the new 7 Series “monolithic” in its press material, and it’s hard to argue. The seventh-generation of its luxo limo is bigger in every dimension, and with a higher bonnet and bootlid, the car is convincingly imposing even when parked. Even more so in black.

From the front, the 7 Series clearly has a new face compared to its predecessor, with split headlights now an indicator of BMW’s luxury oriented models - the incoming XM SUV features the same.

Its LED daytime running lights feature Swarovski crystals, while the grille surround illuminates while the vehicle is parked and on. It’s currently unable to be illuminated while driving to comply with Australia’s laws.

It’s perhaps less elegant and more aggressive than previous generations, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be those who approve. It’s certainly emotive, especially when compared to the side and rear of the car.

The side profile of the 7 requires quite a few steps back from the car to really take in - it’s almost 5.4 metres long - though it's hard to hide the size of a car that allows its rear passengers to almost lay down.

From the rear, the 7 Series is probably at its most uninspiring, which is a reverse from the interior where the front feels more minimalistic than some of its rivals like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.

BMW has used crystalline geometric shapes throughout the cabin, and the front ‘interaction bar’ is perhaps the best example.

In keeping with the minimalism, its screen sits in an almost freestanding style out from the dash, with no physical buttons seen around it.

This could be BMW’s most convincing design in years. I mean, the X5 is predictably handsome, the X3 was unexpectedly muscled, and the less said about the frumpy 1 Series and busy 3 Series (apart from the wagon… drool) the better.

To my untrained but enthusiastic eye, the 8 Series Coupe is a bit too rounded over its rear haunches, and the rear screen is just a little steep - to me, that lets its dimensions down a little. But this. This is gorgeous. 

I mean, you might have questions over the tail-light design, which is a theme across a few BMW models now. But there isn’t as much confrontation between horizontal and vertical graphics for this model as you’ll find one other big Bimmers, like the X7. 

The M850i model has BMW Laserlight headlights, which throw a sharp beam and look menacing in their signature, while the grille and bumper are strong. The stance of the car is prominent - there’s a long body, a long wheelbase, and a long body in general. The standard wheel package consists of 20-inch rims, and they don’t look disarmingly large.

As our images show, there’s a lot to talk about when it comes interior design and finishes, but the cabin doesn’t quite benefit quite as mochas you might think it would from all that real estate. I mean, with dimensions of 5074mm long (on a 3023mm wheelbase), 1932mm wide and 1402mm tall, this is a squat, yet substantial vehicle. It’s just more cramped than you’d think inside.

If the word ‘practicality’ brings to mind simplicity, the 7 Series might require you to have a bit of a mental reset. If it means plenty of space and a long list of elements to keep you comfortable, you’d be closer to the money.

While it’s visually restrained in some ways, the space accessible to the driver is thought out reasonably well, as you’d expect from a car costing more than a quarter-million.

The front seats certainly aren’t the main event, but the Merino leather and cashmere wool combination seats are far from uncomfortable, with the heating, cooling, and massage functions accessible from the central multimedia screen.

The controls for those, as well as functions like the climate control, are easily accessible, though could probably be even easier with a physical climate control panel. 

Controls for the individual vents, and even the glovebox are found along the BMW interaction bar, which can (frustratingly) reflect light thanks to its crystalline design, meaning it’s hard to see while driving on a sunny day.

Similarly, while the centre console where the main control dial for BMW’s 'iDrive' isn’t far removed from previous versions, it’s less tactile and requires a look sometimes to see what’s being pressed. Here, too, sunlight can reflect (this time off the dial) and make it more distracting.

Fortunately, the steering wheel controls remain physical buttons, and they’re laid out in a way that previous BMW owners or drivers will find familiar. 

The 7 Series also now leans more heavily on voice activation, so if the lack of physical climate controls or the multimedia screen is a little distracting, much can be achieved by actually asking the car with a “hey, BMW… ”.

There’s a large storage unit in the centre console, as well as two cupholders and a phone charging platform in front of the multimedia controls.

The rear seats, especially the one behind the front passenger, are where the 7 Series begins to feel its worth. If you’re buying one with the intention of being the driver 100 per cent of the time, you’re missing a trick.

The ability for the front passenger seat to shift forward and maximise legroom while the rear seat reclines into a lounge position is nothing new, limousine sedans have been able to do this for years, but the 7 Series takes it to another level.

Not only is there plenty of space for even the tallest of humans to stretch out, but the positioning and angle of the huge 31.3-inch theatre screen is great, even if it impedes the driver’s rear view, and the ability to use it as a touchscreen for some functions means less need for the handy but sometimes fiddly door-mounted control screen.

If you plan on playing games, the controls (and the fact you’re likely in a moving car) can make it a little difficult, but the small control panel is overall easy to use and well-placed.

The cushioned armrest that folds down in place of a middle passenger is comfortable, features a phone charging pad and pop-out cupholders, as well as a storage space under the armrest.

Finally, the boot space in the BMW 7 Series is far from small, with the electric i7 offering 500 litres (VDA) of space, while the 740i boasts 540 litres thanks to its lack of battery.

I recall a Mitsubishi designer telling me, once upon a time, that he dreamed of making ‘a big car on the outside with a very small interior’. Maybe he made the jump to BMW, because that’s pretty much the 8 Series Gran Coupe.

There aren’t many other vehicles on the market, of this size, that offer less space inside. The boot capacity, for instance, is just 440 litres. Competitors like the Audi A7 (535L) and Mercedes CLS (520L) easily outdo it - but at least this car has more boot than the Panamera (405L), though the BMW is a smidge bigger. The cargo space is large enough for a couple of overnight suitcases, but you’re hardly going to fit a family of four’s luggage for a week away. 

And while we’re in the “not quite what you’d expect” column, the back seat space is hardly commodious. There’s enough space for me, at 182cm, to sit behind my own driving position, but not without wishing for a bit more toeroom, headroom and knee space. 

The big centre console section eats into the space in the rear, justifying the brand’s “4+1” seating claim, and unpleasantly it has a hard plastic finish to rest your leg against. Getting in and out of the second row isn’t easy for bigger people, and it’s quite a squat down into the rear seat - it really has taken inspiration from its squashy-back-seated predecessor in that regard.

If you have smaller rear-seat occupants, however, there will be catered for with dual ISOFIX and three top-tether points, plus there are air vents with climate controls (quad zone in total), and two USB-C ports as well. There are sun-blinds on the rear windows, too, which is a plus, and there is a pair of cup holders in the fold-down armrest, and map pockets in the seat backs, too. The door pockets are near-useless, though.

The front seats score better practicality, with bottle holders in the doors, bigger and sturdier cup holders, a covered centre storage bin between the seats with a USB-C port, and a wireless phone charger (Qi) with standard USB port in front of the gear selector.

Above that is the weird, very out-of-place quick buttons (1-8) that BMW could easily do away with, and further up are the controls for the climate control (thankfully with hard buttons for fan speed and temperature), and above that is the media screen, a familiar looking 10.25-inch touch display running BMW OS 7.0. 

The screen is quick and crisp, and is backed up by the rotary controller and buttons on in the centre console area. There’s wireless Apple CarPlay (now at no cost for three years), as well as a built-in SIM card for 4G data and access to the BMW Online news and weather stations, accessed through the screen.  

It’s all pretty easy to use, and the sound system is excellent - the standard setup consists of 16 speakers, with DAB+ digital radio, Bluetooth and USB plus the smartphone mirroring tech, provided you don’t have an Android device, as Android Auto is still missing from BMW’s range.

It’s a nice cabin, but I couldn’t help but thinking that I’d want a little more differentiation from the lesser models in the range if I was spending this much. Especially considering the optional cost of the interior trim fitted to our test car - see below for more detail.

No-one could level the accusation of affordability at the BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe, as it’s one of the brand’s most expensive models.

This one, the M850i xDrive Gran Coupe, is the range-topping version for 2020, with a list price of $272,900 plus on-road costs.

Where does that plot the BMW against its rivals? It’s beyond the level that the existing Audi RS7 Sportback was (last sold in 2018 at $261,140), and the Mercedes-AMG CLS 53, which looks like a value offering at $182,740. Also, it splits the difference between and the Mercedes-AMG GT 4 door Coupe variants (GT 53: $251,140; GT 63: $351,640), and could best be considered a contemporary of the Porsche Panamera E-Hybrid AWD ($252,400) or the Panamera 4S ($316,500).

So, look - competitors might matter to you. But there’s a good chance that if you’re shopping for an 8 Series, you’ve already made up your mind that you want the BMW four-door coupe slugger. So here’s what you need to know about it when it comes to equipment.

Standard it comes with the M Sport styling pack, 20-inch M alloy wheels with run-flat tyres and tyre pressure monitoring, adaptive M suspension with active roll stabilisation, 395mm M brakes, BMW Laserlight headlights, BMW Night Vision infrared camera with pedestrian detection.

Luxury touches include soft close doors, semi-autonomous parking, panoramic glass sunroof (front opening, rear fixed), keyless entry and push-button start and electric auto tailgate, heated and ventilated front seats with electric adjustment including lumbar and bolster, leather seat trim, a 16-speaker harman/kardon sound system, 10.25-inch media screen with gesture and voice control, 12.3-inch digital instrument display, full colour head-up display, ambient lighting and rear sun-blinds. 

You’re getting a lot for your money, though our tester had a couple of extras. Metallic paint is included, but no the Frozen Bluestone matte finish our car had ($2600), and the interior piano black trim elements cost $200, as well. Plus the Full Leather Merino finish in Ivory White and Night Blue - that box cost $10,200 to tick. All told, the price as tested before on-roads was $285,900. 

The BMW 740i is powered by a 3.0-litre turbocharged in-line six-cylinder petrol engine, as is the way with many of BMW’s larger cars. It’s also a mild hybrid, incorporating a 48-volt electric starter/motor combination.

The 740i makes 280kW between 5200-6250rpm, and 520Nm between 1850-5000rpm, which is transferred to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.

The electric i7 xDrive60 is the flagship model, with its dual-motor all-wheel drive powertrain good for 400kW and 745Nm, allowing for a claimed 0-100km/h time of 4.7 seconds - 0.7s faster than the 740i.

If you’re going for the M850i, you’re getting the big bopper engine. It’s a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 petrol engine, and it isn’t short on horsepower.

The outputs for this engine are 390kW of power (at 6000rpm) and 750Nm of torque (from 1800-4600rpm). Hardly numbers to sneeze at.

And the performance figures are exceptional, too: the claimed 0-100 km/h time is just 3.9 seconds. That’s because there’s the traction of BMW’s xDrive all-wheel drive system, and shifting gears is an eight-speed automatic transmission.  

For what it’s worth, your humble reviewer saw a 0-100km/h time very close to that (4.2sec). 

The quoted kerb weight for this model is 1995kg.

BMW Australia hasn’t yet specified local figures for fuel consumption or energy efficiency for either variant of the 7 Series at the time of our review, but the international specifications for both i7 xDrive60 and 740i give a relatively accurate guide.

BMW claims the electric i7 has a power consumption of between 19.6 and 18.4kWh/100km, which means its 101.7kWh battery allows a range of between 591 and 625km according to the brand.

It’s claimed to charge from 10 per cent to full in less than 5.5 hours with a 22kW AC wallbox, or in 34 minutes to reach 80 per cent using DC fast charging at 195kW.

The petrol powered 740i will use between 7.0 and 8.0 litres per 100km, according to BMW, which equates to between 183 and 159g/km of CO2.

You can’t really expect a big V8 beast like this to be a fuel miser, and it isn’t.

The claimed consumption is 10.7 litres per 100 kilometres. Which is alright, honestly, given the sheer volume of car you’re driving. 

But on my test - which consisted of more than 300km of mixed driving, including days of city commuting, some twisty mountain driving, and all the freeway floundering to get there - I saw an at the pump real-world figure of 15.4L/100km.

That’s not very efficient, and it’ll be expensive to run on the daily — yet the argument could be made that if you’re spending this much on a car, fuel costs won’t matter much to you. But with a small fuel tank capacity of 68 litres, it could become a little inconvenient as you’ll be seeing a lot of your local servo.

BMW hopes for two things for the new 7 Series: one, that it’s the best car to be driven in, and two, that it’s the best car to drive.

While one of those things could be argued to be true, we suspect there are some engineers in BMW’s M department who would be frustrated at the thought of a more-than 2.6-tonne limo being called better to drive than a car half that size with a manual gearbox.

But, perhaps unsurprisingly, the BMW 7 Series is rather refined from the driver’s seat, especially on roads where the speed limit is high and the corners are long.

The two variants Australia has available, the i7 xDrive60 and the 740i, differ in their drivetrains as mentioned above, and the dynamics of each are slightly different. 

The all-wheel drive electric i7, despite its extra heft (the 740i is almost 600kg lighter) the EV feels more nimble thanks to its immediate torque delivery and higher outputs give it more flexibility in dynamic driving.

The lower centre of gravity, even with the extra weight, helps the electric i7 hold its own against the turbo six-powered 740i.

Both variants come standard with BMW’s rear-wheel steer system, or ‘Integral Active Steering’, which is vital to providing the agility needed for keeping the 7 Series in shape on tight roads, where it tightens the turning circle below 60km/h, though its 3215mm wheelbase does a lot to keep it feeling stable.

Above 60km/h, the rear-wheel steering improves stability further by turning slightly with the front wheels as opposed to against them, allowing for smoother flowing cornering and highway lane changes.

In either case, the 7 Series is easy to drive, with the steering able to be set to Comfort regardless of the drivetrain’s intensity (Sport and Comfort are the only options), which leaves the wheel feeling lighter.

The ride, whether from the front or the back, is impressive, even when being chauffeured through rough backroads. 

The 7 Series, despite not being engineered specifically for Australia’s sometimes shockingly pockmarked roads, manages to soak up impacts before they transfer from the tyre into the seats, and that goes for the sound and road noise, too.

Unfortunately, our launch test drive was hampered by some roadworks out of BMW’s control, so stay tuned for a more in-depth drive soon.

It’s an impressive thing, this M850i xDrive Gran Coupe. But I’m just not sure who it’s trying to please.

It’s not the sort of German monster coupe-sedan that grabs you by the scruff of the neck and throws you around with its mammoth acceleration. Not unless you poke it and prod it and make it really angry.

And that might be exactly what you want to do - put it in Sport mode, sling the shifter across to sport or manual mode, hear the exhaust open up from a pursed-lip tongue-click to an open-mouth growl. 

You’ll push hard on the accelerator, watch the tacho needle jolt to the redline, and if you’re in auto mode you’ll feel the transmission whipcrack as it shifts rapidly up through the gears as you’re shoved back into your seat. Before you know it you’ll be in licence-loss zone, and you won’t have even made the tyres chirp - that’s how immense the traction from the all-wheel drive system is.

You’ll brake hard into a sharp bend, and you’ll feel the front end dip and the body of the car change direction more readily than you’d think given its size as you turn in. The steering response will meet your expectation, with rapid reaction to adjustments mid corner. And the Active Roll stabilisation system will mean you’re not being thrown around in your seat, because it’s sitting flatter and truer than you might have expected - you’ll notice how it works extremely well in conjunction with the car’s torque-vectoring-by-braking system. There’ll be little weight shift or body roll to be counteracted, and that’ll inspire you to push it even harder.

Put it in manual transmission mode and you’ll rejoice that it won’t overrule you and shift up, but you’ll also feel shortchanged because it gets to the end of its limit very quickly. And when it hits redline, it emits a breathless little cough rather than a “oh maybe I should stop” rev-bounce noise.

But, if you’re like me, you might be doing all this with a niggling thought in the back of your mind that, while this car is technically really good and it’s a clinical performance car, you might just think to yourself, “I’m not having as much fun as I thought I would”.

A Mercedes-AMG would be more fun; it’d be more raucous, more of a muscle car experience. An Audi RS7 (at least the previous one) would be noisier, brasher, more theatrical than this car. And likewise, a Porsche Panamera - no matter the model you go for - would be more entertaining in the bends.  

Maybe it’s just a bit too predictable - and maybe that’s a result of this car being honed for drivers who will spend more time on the Autobahn than anywhere else. I have to say, there are much, much worse (and slower) ways of getting from A to B, and the highway cruising comfort of the M850i Gran Coupe was what impressed me most. 

It’s also surprisingly adept at urban driving duties, coping well with unpleasant city surfaces, though potholes can still upset things because of the stiff-sidewalled run-flat tyres. The suspension does an exceptional job otherwise, however, and I switched between the Adaptive drive mode and Comfort mode for my commuting duties. Both proved comfortable and controlled.

The M850i is by no means a failure when it comes to fulfilling the expectations you might have of a luxury sports sedan of this size. In fact, it’s close to a distinction. But I just can’t help thinking that it’s not as much an ‘M car’ as that M850i badge might have you believe it should be.

The safety equipment fitted to the BMW M850i Gran Coupe as standard is extensive - but this model has not yet been tested by ANCAP or Euro NCAP, so there’s no safety rating or crash test rating available.

Standard equipment includes BMW’s Driving Assistant Professional system with adaptive cruise control with stop and go in traffic, auto emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, front and rear cross-traffic alert, lane keeping assist with steering input, blind spot monitoring, “crossroads warning and evasion aid” which can help you steer away from potential danger more easily. 

There’s also a comprehensive camera suite with a reversing camera, surround view and forward view camera setup which can adjust based on what part of the parking manoeuvre you’re up to. Plus if you get stuck, the reversing assistant system can remember the last 50 metres you drove and get you out of the spot. There’s also a thing called Active Park Distance Control rear, which will apply the brakes when you’re reversing if it thinks you’re getting to close to an impact.

There are six airbags - dual front, front side and curtain - with no rear side airbag protection, which seems odd in a car at this price point but is likely down to packaging.  

BMW offers a five year, unlimited kilometre warranty and that extends to both variants of the 7 Series.

BMW also offers servicing packs for its new cars, though the pricing for each group of models excluded the 7 and 8 Series and its M cars. 

Given the most expensive servicing pack listed is the BMW X7’s $2800 five-year, 80,000km pack, expect anything similar for the 7 Series to cost more.

In terms of when servicing is required, BMWs are condition-based, meaning the car’s own systems detect whether something like an oil change or part replacement is required, and provides that data to your BMW service centre to help calculate an estimate for work needed, ahead of time.

BMW backs its cars in Australia with a three-year/unlimited kilometre warranty.

You may be confused if you head to the BMW site and see that M models and 8 Series models aren’t covered by BMW’s pre-pay capped price servicing plan (as I saw when testing this car), but CarsGuide can confirm that the 8 Series is indeed covered - unless it’s the real M8, not this M850i jigger. 

BMW Australia has clarified that the Service Inclusive pack for five years/80,000km of maintenance cover is $2490 for Basic cover (no brakes/pads, no wiper replacement), or $5641 for the more comprehensive Plus pack. Hardly affordable, but nor’s the car. 

The company uses a condition-based servicing program, too - there are no set service intervals, but the car will tell you when it needs maintenance based on how you drive it.

For what it’s worth, we ran the numbers on resale value using Glass’s Guide predictive analysis tool, and after three years/40,000km the expected retained value for this version is approximately 66 per cent - which is impressive.