The way the thing was wired up also meant that connecting to an external display engaged the GPU, and some unacknowledged hardware or software flaw set the power/heat floor to about 20W (it's not just the minimum draw of the chip—you can have the GPU active without an external display and it uses a fraction of that). The end result: if you have it plugged into a monitor, you're almost constantly hearing a fan, even when idle.
Mine replaced a 2015 entry-level MacBook Pro which, while it served me well, had long since fallen behind what I needed. I was so excited to have the 16" for about a week, until I realised that I was never going to not be hearing fans screaming. I know laptops (especially big laptops) aren't actually meant to be used on laps for extended periods, but I genuinely couldn't with that thing. Even mild load would make it uncomfortable to be in physical contact with. I don't understand how none of the reviews seemed to pick up on it—perhaps everyone was too distracted by finally having a functional keyboard again to notice.
The sad irony of it all is that I bet the vast majority of purchasers were developers like myself, who have absolutely no need for a dedicated GPU.
In any case I sold mine and bought an M1 Air, which I've been very happy with ever since. As nice as these new ones look (and as great as the new 14" and 16" M1 Pros are), I don't think I could justify it. This thing handles everything I throw at it (though my wife has the 8GB model and it really doesn't seem to be enough with how much RAM stuff guzzles these days).