It’s a rich man’s world
A lot of bang; a lot of buck. By Chris Chilton
It’s all about the monthly cost these days. Most people aren’t actually buying their new car; they’re leasing it, or paying a monthly fee for a PCP (and treating it like a lease agreement).
And when you look at the monthly cost, versus a traditional list price, you realise you can get behind the wheel of a much tastier machine than you thought possible. You might hesitate to shell out £75k on a loaded Range Rover Sport, but £550 a month for the same car doesn’t seem so horrific if you’re already paying £300 for a washing machine on wheels.
What’s that got to do with our M8? Well, two months in and a mix of different roads and journeys covered, I’ve found myself enjoying it so much that I’ve started to wonder exactly how much financial pain I’d have to endure each month to put one outside my house on a more permanent basis.
Turns out it would cost as much as the house itself. A four-year lease on an M8 like ours with the Ultimate Pack would require a £15,729 deposit followed by 47 monthly payments of £1714. Ouch.
To be fair to the M8, that’s in line with what you’d pay to lease other cars with a similar list price, like Porsche’s £134k 911 Turbo. The Porsche isn’t a direct rival, but it’s still a bit of shock when you’re reminded how far into big-league territory BMW is pushing here.
Even with a mileage limited by lockdown 2.0, we’ve still covered enough ground to start cementing some opinions about the M8’s strengths and weaknesses. Its performance and excellent seats make it better suited to long journeys than town work, where the sheer size and bitty ride work against it.
And if you stick near the motorway limit it’s even tolerably economical, much like the Porsche. I’ve seen close to 30mpg on a very gentle run back from Heathrow along the M4. Well, I saw it for about for about two junctions then decided life’s for living, not fretting about mpg. Or I imagine it is of you can afford £1714 per month.