BMW M850i xDrive Convertible 2019 review: Snapshot

It’s a rare treat when the convertible version of a beautiful car is actually more attractive than the Coupe or sedan it’s based on, and this is not one of those occasions. 

While the M850i is a scintillatingly sharp thing to look at, the Convertible is slightly softer, as is the way it drives.

But it does allow you the option of letting the sun in on a warm day, with the roof dropping - or raising - in an impressively quiet 15 seconds.

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Your $9000 extra spend - at $281,900 - over the Coupe does get you the very lovely Air Collar Neck Warmer.

The big Beemer’s brawny 4.4-litre, V8 twin-turbocharged engine makes a whopping 390kW and 750Nm, which is enough to fire the Convertible to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds. Which is hugely fast for a rag top, and particularly one as luxurious as this.

The 850i xDrive might have super-car-like power figures - so much so that it needs to be all-wheel drive (or xDrive) to get all its power to the ground, rather than in the traditional, rear-drive BMW fashion, but It is not a snapping sports car unless you want it to be. Its default setting is very much as a classic grand tourer, capable of crossing vast distances in VIP comfort. 

The standard inclusion list is as long as Lebron’s arm and includes the BMW Air Collar, to keep your neck warm when it’s cold, and then everything you get in the Coupe - 20-inch M-branded light-alloy wheels, a tyre-pressure indicator, M Sport Brakes, M Sport Differential, Adaptive M Suspension Professional with Integral Active Steering, Active anti-roll stabilisation, Comfort Access including a kick-open tailgate, wireless phone charging, Soft Close Doors, BMW Crafted Clarity Glass Application, Driving Assistant Professional, Parking Assistant Plus, including 3D View and Reverse Assistant, Laserlights, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.25-inch Control Display, metallics, paint, merino leather upholstery, heated steering wheel and arm rests, and seats, a 16-speaker harmon.kardon sound system, a Head-Up Display and the hugely pointless Gesture Control.