2025 BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe M850i xDrive

The 2025 BMW 8 Series Gran Coupe is a more attractive way to haul four people than the traditional 7 Series sedan. Sure, it makes some compromises in comfort — mostly for rear passengers — but it's still a reasonably useful luxury sedan. The same sloping roofline that cuts into headroom gives this Gran Coupe, the biggest in BMW's lineup, striking low and wide proportions. It's also loaded with tech and standard features like navigation, four-zone climate control, and multiple drive modes that can be distinguished from one another.

There's a little bit of M car in every version of this sloping roofline sedan, even if BMW doesn't really talk it up in the base models. Even the base-trim 8 Series 840i and 840i xDrive offer substantial performance thanks to their potent 335-horsepower inline-six. What's more, every 8 Series Gran Coupe has adaptive dampers and a limited-slip rear differential. Opt for the more powerful M850i and you add active roll stabilization, which further minimizes body roll. But best of all it's still a sedan that can behave like one. Its rear seats are adequate for medium-height people and amply sized for child seats. It's a four-door "coupe" that strikes a solid balance between fashion and function.

The Mercedes-Benz AMG GT sedan and the Porsche Panamera are the 8 Series Gran Coupe's primary competitors. The base AMG GT sedan offers about 30 more horsepower than the BMW but it's also more expensive to start. The Benz is offered in a handful of versions with outputs from tame to ludicrous. Porsche asks for even more money than Benz to start in this category but, with its redesign for 2024, it is the newest of the bunch. One important note: Both the AMG GT sedan and the Panamera come with only four seats. You'll have to pony up additional cash for an optional fifth passenger seat in the rear of both.