Yes it's a very talented, very desirable car, but an M5 Competition is both of those things, and faster, more entertaining and more practical. And it nags at the M850i evangelist incessantly. But for the rest of us the diesel 840d make a load more sense more than £20k less expensive, not slow (1.2sec slower 0-62mph) and 46.3mpg (official) versus 26.9. It's a fantastic engine, and if you're very wealthy/prepared to write off the fuel bills/living somewhere better than the UK, where petrol's almost affordable, you won't regret going for it. Is a 4.4-litre petrol V8 a good idea in 2019? In fact, in terms of ride quality, stability and refinement, that weight almost certainly works for the car.ģ.
But all of this barely holds the M850i back as an awesomely capable GT. (Reliability was complete, the car asking only for new front rubber, a coolant top-up and fuel.) Neither can the car's obesity and routine real-world 25mpg be unrelated. Some owners blame the Bridgestone run-flats. Our fronts – fronts! – cried enough at 6000 miles, not through silliness but uneven tread wear. Oh, and if you really enjoy the car's body control (strong), grip (really strong) and traction (scarcely believable) you'll savage the tyres, naturally.
That mass blunts braking performance and agility, too, despite the rear-wheel steering's best efforts. It's quick, sure, but it's not the supercar the raw numbers would suggest. All-wheel drive, swift yet cultured auto 'box and still the 523bhp M850i never manages to feel ballistic. First off, it blunts the fabulous twin-turbo V8 of much of its savagery.
So yes, this car is proof of the return of a mojo – just not perhaps that mojo. But as a big GT and everyday fast car, the M850i's proved mesmerising, and far more convincing and enjoyable in this role – effectively that of Audi's RS models – than the RS5 I ran. The M850i is vast but that huge footprint does not translate directly into cabin space (just a boot deeper, length-wise, than the Mariana Trench), and there's little of the E9's handling delicacy here. Blame everything from connectivity to crash structures. The truth is – like everybody's big coupes – BMW's has grown too big, too heavy and arguably too complicated. I've driven a couple of E9s, including a 3.0 CSL, and they are sensational, even now: not actually that big, of course, with an engine like strong surf, real adjustability and an effortless, elegant style alien to contemporary BMW design. But it wasn't an E9, which is the big BMW coupe Munich pervs (guilty) go gaga for. When, do we think, was BMW last in possession of its big-coupe mojo? For a couple of generations, the modern 6-series (which the new 8-series replaces) was a good car. Is this car proof that BMW has re-discovered its big-coupe mojo?
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