6 Series BMW 6-Series Coupe Road Tests & Reviews thread

[Human]

By Mark Elias Wednesday, Aug 31st, 2011

Droptops normally follow coupes to market, but such is not the case with BMW’s new 6-Series hardtop.

Now part of the F12/F13 glimmer twins, the Coupe follows its Cabriolet sibling to market. Introduced at the last year’s Shanghai Auto Show, the hardtop curiously only accounts for about 30-percent of total sales. Which is surprising considering it is one of the best-looking sport coupes in existence.

We tested the 650i Convertible in May down in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, where speed limits are merely suggestions. But the hardtop makes its North American media debut in Monterey, California, the kind of place where BMW hopes its two-door will park in another 50 years on the show field.

Longer, lower, wider

The 2012 version of the 6-Series fits all of those adjectives compared to the model it replaces. Inspired by the wake made by a boat cutting through the water, BMW says, this 2+2 has received a proper seeing to from front to rear. Gone are the remains of Chris Bangle’s flame design DNA and the big butt of the 6’s rear. We liked the look of the new 650i’s drop top brother, but we think the execution of the new Coupe is nothing short of bad ass.

With the length, width and breadth come new accouterments and functions. LED lighting leads and points the way, with the new full LED adaptive headlights. Comprised of the main lights, halo-rings, LED running lights and below-bumper fog lamps, the system burns brighter and whiter than on previous versions. The LED treatment carries over to the 6’s rear, where they are utilized in tail and brake lights.

The familiar roundel logo is also used for housing the rearview camera, tilting out of the way of the lens when reverse gear is engaged. We think the BMW 650i has new contemporary sheet metal that places well with the Porsche 911, Jaguar XK and Chevrolet Corvette Z06, a ragtag group if there ever was one.

It gets better

The new and improved 650i shines in many different places. A new driver-centric cockpit enhances the experience and features contrast stitching on all the leather throughout. Simplified controls are the order of the day, and their functions are determined through the new 10.2-inch Trans-Reflective control display, which offer bird’s eye and 3D views of buildings and terrains, when in navigation mode.

Bang & Olufsen is branching out from its Audi-only customer base to include BMW in its client portfolio for high-end audio systems. To that end, our 650i included the brand’s 16-speaker, 1,200-watt audio system. With two sound modes, a dash-mounted tweeter that rises to the occasion, and a pair of sub-woofers under the front seats, it was an audio tour-de-force that only occasionally got in the way of the music coming from under the hood. The aural pleasure option will set you back $3,700 big ones.

Driver commands are entered via the BMW brand’s fourth-generation iDrive system, which is now heads and shoulders better than its original version seen back in 2001. Borrowing from a design that we have also seen in Audi automobiles, entry of destinations is relatively easy. Complications arise, though, through the use of non-standard icons in the navigation application. A drop-down tab appears to tell you what the icon is, but it manages to occupy your eyes while underway. It would be much better if it used more standardized symbols.

The seats managed to hold us in place through every curve that we encountered in the Monterey/Carmel Valley area in northern California. Our test vehicle was equipped with ventilated and heated seats, both of which we managed to use within the same day. While down at sea level we encountered temperatures in the 90-degree range, and after a climb through the mountains, saw a drop of nearly 30-degrees, hence the need for the dual-range seat option.

A full-color head-up display helped to keep eyes forward while underway. Still invisible in the daylight while using polarized sunglasses, it really comes into its own as the sun goes down. Other features include blind spot warning, night vision and available side view cameras that combine to give a birds eye view of obstacles in the car’s proximity.

Everyone has an App these days, so why should BMW be different? BMW ConnectedDrive, available on Apple’s App store, offers connectivity on the road, with facebook, twitter, calendars, web radio, Last Mile, MOG and electronic telemetry. A two-way system, it uses the car’s cameras and sensors, through iPhones, and external devices like iPod, USB sticks, and so on, and enables the car to send and receive info from the dealer, traffic warnings, and we would assume notices of vehicle updates.

The 650i’s Infotainment system is now controlled in BMW Apps, which is an open architecture that includes the ability to update car systems at a future date. Apps include web radio, plugins, Pandora, and access to the MOG catalog of 11 million songs. We are not sure what a MOG is but will let you know.

Motivating force

It used to be, that in the old days, seeing a car with a designation such as “650i” meant that it was a 6-Series platform with a five-liter engine under the hood. Well, that was then, this is now. 650i in this case means that, yes, it is still a 6, but that 50 actually means it’s a 4.4-liter mill. Let’s just chalk it up to new math.

Powered by a 4.4-liter direct-injection V8, the new 6 is barely breathing when underway. It manages to make its maximum 400-horsepower rating between 5,500 and 6,400 rpm. An impressive amount of torque, namely 450 lb-ft, which comes on between 1,750 and 4,500 rpm, leads to a relatively flat power band. Zero to 60 mph comes on at 4.9 seconds. Electronic ghosts in the machine limit it to a top speed of 155 mph.

For space savings purposes, the 650i’s two turbochargers are nestled in the valley between the cylinder heads. Efficiency in packaging, it allows for “reverse flow” induction, which, according to the brand results in “an instantaneous and sustained wave of power.” Maybe, but we do know that if you think you want the engine to step things up a bit, it definitely rises to the occasion. In addition to the motivating force of the engine, the audibles from underhood are intoxicating. Deciding whether to listen to the Bang & Olufsen, or to the performance exhaust note can become a bit of a dilemma.

For those on an austerity kick, a 3.0-liter TwinPower Turbo inline six-cylinder direct injection engine that produces 315-horsepower and 330 lb-ft of torque, will soon be available. Internally, the engine is known as the N55.

Although a six-speed manual transmission is still available, the ZF-built eight-speed automatic transmission is one we have become intimately familiar with over the past few years. Receiving minor tweaks has only improved it, and we like the fact that it is controllable at will by a squeeze of the steering wheel-mounted paddle shift levers. You can still just set it and forget it using the “sore thumb” shift lever in the center console. To the left of it is the Comfort, Sport and Sport + switch, which helps to remap the engine, air dampers, steering and in the case of Sport + mode, all of the above, and the disabling of the traction control as well. Although mileage figures aren’t in yet, we think this 4,233 lbs. won’t stray too far from the 16 city/24 highway mpg that is achieved by the 650i convertible.

Handling is an art form at BMW/Munich, and the suspension in this new 6 shows the state of the art today. Utilizing the 650i’s suspension on Silicon Valley’s Skyline Drive displayed how advanced computer assists have come in the field of adjustable electronic damping. Able to adapt at the rate of 2.5-milliseconds is amazing. That it is combined with available Active Steering, as our test vehicle was, is even more impressive. At slow speeds, picture the movement of a skateboard. When the rider leans to cause the front wheels to turn left, the rear set tilts to the right to shorten the board’s turning radius. The Integral Active Steering control operates in the same manner at low speeds, while at high speeds, it causes both fronts and rears to turn in the same direction for quicker, more sure-footed response. We saw it all day long while traveling up and down the twists and turns that are more suited to the two-wheeler set than a 4,300 lbs. car.

Leftlane’s bottom line:
BMW presents quite a pair in the shape of its new 650i Coupe and Convertible. It’s a shame that the hardtop is not as well-loved as its convertible sibling is, but it’s clear the firm has you covered, or uncovered, whichever way your preferences lean.

For us? We’ll stray from the norm and slip inside the sexy 650i Coupe.

2012 BMW 650i Coupe base price, $83,875.

Source: http://www.leftlanenews.com/bmw-650i-coupe-first-drive-review.html

 

[Human]

2012 BMW 6 Series Coupe

By Matt Davis

We tried the open version back in January and, despite a couple of BMW's "I'm a niche car" choices for the model that are open to debate, largely enjoyed the 6 Series Convertible. Despite a serious keys-in-hand base price of $91,375 for the skybox 650i, the 6 Series is perhaps the best overall package in this small segment of near-millionaire large convertibles and coupes (i.e. sub Bentley/Aston Martin).

Just considering sheer finish and accommodation for four real-sized adults, this new 2+2 BMW fairly well beats the Jaguar XK, Audi S5, and Mercedes E-Class Coupe – with or without a metal roof. The Cadillac CTS Coupe lineup suffers by comparison in the total package, though its discount pricing will convince some, and none of the premium Japanese brands currently offer anything even close in ambition to this latest 6 Series.


Having just alluded to a few iffy choices by BMW, the first thing we have to talk about with this third generation 6 Series is its face, which is one only a mother could love. It's particularly disturbing because we really do like most everything else about the design, and the hardtop tested here is a much more holistic thing than the slightly odd looking convertible. In profile, the coupe's proportions are great, and that view – along with a variety of angles from the rear three-quarter school – is its best look. Start walking around to the front, though, and that honker just lands like poop on a princess.

We've been told and retold that the discrepant front end with its schnozzola double kidneys and heavily recessed lights was a solution concocted to satisfy global pedestrian impact regulations. BMW designers have basically told us that this new 6 Series was selected by company authorities spanning the Atlantic as the first major new model designed to live up to all of these regulations. Or maybe they just felt picked on and needed an ear to bend.

Well... did we mention yet that it looks great in profile and from the back? And it's built to run like Secretariat – if Secretariat also had a super sophisticated suspension available. The front is just out of whack with itself and with the rest of the design, looking like a variety of Japanese and American treatments from years past. To be fair, it's certainly not as though this car replaces a model that had no aesthetic challenges of its own. For most folks, the outgoing Bangle/van Hooydonk E63 and E64 6 Series still looks like a bundle of design schools took to fighting each other with rulers. On visuals alone, the smaller Jaguar XK and Audi S5 crush the last 6 Series and shame at least the face of this new car, and many would include the CTS coupe alongside the Jag and Audi in such a statement.

Enough already. We have some shining and delightful news to report that you may have already read earlier in an Autoblog news brief. We came to this drive event for the 6 Series Coupe with the understanding that the only 6 Series that North America was going to receive was the big-motor model, the 650i coupe and convertible. This was, after all, the way it worked out with the outgoing generation. We dug around and around all over Munich and finally got someone of authority to tell us otherwise. It turns out that the U.S. and Canada will be able to get this exact 640i trim as tested in both coupe and folding soft top spec, with the first examples due to arrive near the end of October.

In our opinion, this is great news. It's great because the 316-horsepower, 3.0-liter N55 inline six-cylinder with its single twin-scroll turbocharger and Valvetronic is the most current mill in BMW's already cutting edge engine lineup. Certainly, it is so versus the N54 biturbo (but not twin-scroll) 3.0-liter found in the 740i and the N63 4.4-liter V8 nestled in the 650i, neither of which comes with Valvetronic. The N55B30 used in the 640i coupe and convertible is 32 percent more fuel-efficient in the city versus the 402-hp N63 in the 650i, 20 percent more frugal on the highway, or 26 percent better on the combined cycle. And while the 650i coupe may be able to get to 60 mph from a halt in just 4.8 seconds or less, the 640i holds its own at around 5.3 seconds, and it's lighter, too.

Granted, all the V8s we care to talk about here feel more like rumbling rebels of the road, but this inline powerplant from BMW is arguably the best civilian tune six in a premium passenger car. In this 6 Series, taking all things emotive and practical into account, the inline six is a better choice than the pretty good 4.4 biturbo V8. The 640i convertible with either an eight-speed ZF Steptronic sport automatic or a six-speed manual should start out at around $80,700. The 650i coupe will start out nearer $83,000, while the 640i coupe will be the entry level sleeper to go for at $72,000. There is no discount for choosing the manual shifter, and interestingly enough, the U.S. is the only market on the planet that gets a manual shift model. In an indicator of how important the United States is to the 6 Series' business case, the 650i coupe starts customer deliveries here on October 1, while the rest of the world (even Germany) will have to wait until October 15.

We worked this 640i Coupe on the autobahn and on the many squeaky clean and manicured twisting two-lanes southeast of Munich where the low hills start to rumple up toward the Bavarian and Austrian Alps. Here, the 640i's 3.0-liter six with its hardworking twin-scroll turbo and Valvetronic proved to be a great driver according to our right foot, hands on the wheel and the ol' inner ear bone. Bundle its 316 horses (peaking between 5,800 and 6,000 rpm) and the 332 pound-feet of torque (1,300 to 4,500 rpm) with BMW's latest iteration of Driving Dynamics Control, optional Integral Active Steering ($1,750) and active roll stabilization ($2,000), and you've got a recipe for good times. The last 6 Series was absolutely never this polished over the road – at least not without an M logo on its decklid. Sitting still, the lock-to-lock of the Servotronic power steering is just 2.0 turns, so the maneuverability of this big 2+2 is actually pretty damned good in tight quarters.

Our wheels and tires in Germany were slick optional 19-inch Star-spoke units (17-inch alloys are standard on the 640i) wearing high-end Michelin Primacy HP rubber – 245/40 front, 275/35 rear. The single-piston floating calipers clamping on heavily vented discs (13.7-inch in front and 13.6-inch out back) were up to the task, and we weren't exactly pussyfooting around. Putting Dynamic Drive Control in Sport+, we found it challenging to not spin the Michelins on this 3,825-pound coupe (a whopping 700+ pounds less than the 650i convertible) from rest when accelerating swiftly or not.

The Driving Dynamics Control fairies govern everything from throttle tip-in to suspension firmness, steering input, transmission shift points, the integral rear-axle steering rate and active roll stabilization equipment (if so optioned). To run through them all, DDC modes on the 640i auto equipped cars include Sport+, Sport, Comfort, Comfort+, and Eco Pro. Everything but Comfort+ made our day. In this weird setting that's available only when one opts for both Electronic Damper Control and Adaptive Drive, any and all feedback goes away, leaving the driver on a plush, fluffed pillow with vague steering feel. Choose the tree-hugging Eco Pro mode and everything on the optional 10.2-inch iDrive screen goes blue, and the already decent fuel numbers of the 640i can swell by nearly 20 percent.

Eco Pro mode is only available on the 640i because the N55 engine has been engineered to incorporate Start-Stop in Eco Pro, Comfort, and Comfort+ modes. The Eco Pro setting keeps everything in the low revs zone at all costs. We tried this out, and it's best reserved for all those hours spent on the interstate when you're of a mind to sail along in the flats. The savings in fuel we observed held pretty much true to BMW's estimates, too.

Our vote in this new 6 Series range is clearly for this least expensive 640i Coupe, though one with a cloth roof will be a good call, too. It is the only model in this pricey lead-with-your-heart segment where four adults can feel properly treated while carrying practically anything they need for an easy weekend thanks to the well arranged 16.3 cubic feet of space. Life in the rear seat is about as nice as life in the front seat in this coupe, getting in and out is doable, the cabin sound is good and quiet, and fuel economy is more than acceptable (official EPA numbers will be published this autumn shortly prior to the start of U.S. deliveries).

When the 640i and 650i coupes start arriving in the States this October, xDrive versions of the 650i hardtop will also start to become available, most likely carrying a $3,000 premium. At the same time, back in the Old Country, Europeans will be able to get their mitts on the most frugal 6 Series of all, the 640d coupe with its 3.0-liter twin-turbo six offering 308 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque. It will average nearly double the mileage per gallon of the 650i coupe without giving up much in sportiness.

Hey, if you always approach your 6 Series from the side view, you'll never have to deal with the aesthetic challenge posed by the grille-headlight combo on your car. As happened on the last generation 5 Series with the extravagant Dame Edna headlights and "flame surfacing" wildfire, we're certain that the M version aero add-ons will make almost everything better on this new Size 6 proboscis. Until then, all that is great about this 6 Series makes it beautiful to us – all the moreso with its terrific new six-cylinder and coupe sheetmetal.
Image Credit: Copyright 2011 Matt Davis / AOL, courtesy BMW

Source: 2012 BMW 6 Series Coupe

 

[Merc1]

I cannot wait to see this car in person!!!!!


M

 

[GreyCoupe]

I cannot wait to see one particular MPackage 6 coupe in person...

 

[Soup]

http://img403.imageshack.us/i/bm5q.jpg/http://img194.imageshack.us/i/bm1bj.jpg/http://img46.imageshack.us/i/bm2ng.jpg/http://img707.imageshack.us/i/bm3x.jpg/http://img257.imageshack.us/i/bm4w.jpg/

 

[Soup]

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[Zafiro]

It changes gear after the 7000 rpm redline, reeving all the way to 7200 rpm. Cool!

 

[-=Hot|Ice=-]

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[Soup]

 

[Zafiro]

BMW 640d review by 5th Gear.

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[bombardier01]

Complete in depth tour of 2012 BMW 650i M-Sport Package.

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[Merc1]

I still love this car. The level of features is amazing, the look is amazing. I just can't get with the 100K price for a fully loaded one and the drive didn't wow me the last time I drove it. Still though this is the car I should be buying on paper. The look and the 2-door body are all me. Think M5.....


M

 

[K-A]

I'd personally get this over the M5 all day. However, the technical marvel of the M5 just isn't as important as the form factor of the 6 to me, mainly because the 400 HP and features/engineering in the 6 is good enough for the realistic use I'd give it (M5 would just be technical bragging rights in my case).

On the same note.... Form aside, the M5 technically should demand a higher premium due to the sum of all its parts.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

Picked up a 640d M Sport at lunchtime. HUD, adaptive drive, rear wheel steer. Got 2,000km ahead of me on varying types of roads. But first, an 800km dash across Northern Europe.....

 

[Betty Swollocks]

Handed this car back at lunchtime today. What a superb vehicle.

 

[Giannis]

We expect a thorough write-up Matthew. Nothine less than that is not acceptable

 

[Centurion]

Sublime interior dual tone interior setup. Can't wait to hear all the brilliance there is to say about the car.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

We expect a thorough write-up Matthew. Nothine less than that is not acceptable

Will try.

Have quite a bit of time in the next few days.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

Looking forward to an informative and entertaining report.

 

[Betty Swollocks]

We expect a thorough write-up Matthew. Nothine less than that is not acceptable

I'm sorry, but I've really lost any inclination to post anything other than a brief review of the 640d M Sport. Everytime I spend a few days away from the forum and come back I find the same old people having the same old arguments, and the same unequal apportion of punishment (or lack of). I have barely any affinity with the forum that once was a superb place in which to discuss cars and everything associated with them. I've complained and suggested changes, what can be done about the situation, what needs to stop......but to no avail.

Why the people who have influence on how the forum is run seem to prefer the contributions of hyper-active, immature and arrogant t*****s, who wouldn't dare to speak to people face to face in the same manner, over those who genuinely have something of quality to say.......I have no idea.

So, 640d M Sport....

Very big and cumbersome to place on the road in town. One of the hardest cars I've driven in town in fact. Harder than a 7 Series or an S-Class. The reason is the driving position which is very low down in the car. Good for a feeling of sportiness....not so good when you're going down even a moderately narrow road. The way the bonnet disappears from sight doesn't help either. The car feels heavy when in the lower of the five Dynamic Driving Controls (or whatever it's called), so ECO PRO, comfort+ or comfort. Put the car in "Sport" though, and it feels like a 3 Series.

The first leg of my 2,000km three day experience with the 640d M Sport was going to be a 400km night time cruise along the E40 motorway through Belgium to the port of Calais in France. Cruise set, tyre pressures set correctly beforehand, I wanted to know how economical the car would be on a steady drive. My biggest problem with the twin-turbo BMW diesels was that it defeated the object of having a diesel in the first place if the fuel consumption was too high. I've driven many, many 2.0 litre diesels with the single turbo, such as the 520d, and the performance is more than adequate and you don't sacrifice economy. After two hours at a constant 120km/h and in "ECO PRO" mode, it returned a more than acceptable 44mpg (36.6mpg US / 6.4 l/100km). I could live with that. For comparison, on exactly the same journey I usually return around 49mpg in a 520d. So, in these circumstances the 3.0 litre twin-turbo diesel isn't that less frugal than the 2.0 litre. Good. I also like to start my time with cars on a journey like this as it allows me to get used to the car, where the buttons are located, how the other "non-driving" elements of the car perform, such as the hi-fi, the interior ambience, the sat nav. In the 6 Series they're all top notch, and the sat nav with it's huge HD screen is second to none in ANY car I have driven or seen. Only later will I discover that the silver trim on the top of the screen will reflect into the windscreen during daylight hours. Annoying. But soon, my usually impeccable planning has been found wanting. Roadworks on the Belgian/French border that I wasn't aware of have made me late for the Channel Tunnel. Very late indeed. And at this time of night the next train will not be for another two hours. A quick mental calculation of the distance remaining, 85km, with the time remaining, 27 minutes, tells me I need to average around 180km/h to make my check-in deadline.

I can see the contraflow of cones are coming to an end. The line of traffic slowly rumbles its way back across onto its own side of the carriageway, and I'm third in line behind two Turkish lorries. I can see that beyond these two moving roadblocks the E40 stretches long into the dark, empty, no lights. I search for the DPC button (I still can't remember what it's called officially) and select "Sport". The superb auto gearbox switches to a lower ratio, the throttle increases it's responsiveness, the dampers brace themselves......the Turkish lorry drivers indicate right, moving from the outside to the inside lane of this two lane highway. I plant the accelerator pedal into the carpet and hold tight. What can only be described as an almighty kick up the backside hits me about half a second later. 313hp and 630NM of torque do that to you. Before I even have time to take stock of what has just happened, I hit 200km/h (125mph). Whoops. You only need 180 on the dial Matthew, steady on. So, I ease back on the pedal and engage the cruise control, settling on my target figure and making a fine adjustment with the cruise control toggle which I'm carressing with my right thumb. The Head-up display confirms I'm on 180, all is good. What I notice first is that the, rather sporty noise from the engine; No, VERY sporty noise, for a diesel at least, has been replaced by the noise of the wind rushing past the wing mirrors. I can hardly complain about this. I am covering one km every twenty seconds after all. There is literally no noise coming from the engine. Amazing. The Dynamic xenon headlights are carving a path in front of me, there is virtually no traffic on my carriageway, and when there is a sole car or lorry, it's dispatched before they even know I'm behind them. This car feels very comfortable at what is nearly 200km/h. I leave the DPC setting in "Sport" preferring the stability the harder damping setting gives at this speed and with the cross wind I'm occassionally experiencing. The ambivalence of the car to what I'm asking from it allows me to concentrate on two very important tasks. Spotting for local Gendarme and bizarrely, illegal immigrants hoping to make it to the UK which often frequent the hard shoulder of the E40 at night. I see neither.

After a brief retardation of the cruise control passing Dunkerque (a permanent speed camera that I'm well aware of), I make it the Channel Tunnel check-in with one minute to spare. Marvellous.

The consequences of my unexpected high speed flit across France means I have to refuel before I make it to my final destination in the North of England. Otherwise I would have been able to do the entire journey from Maastricht in Southern Holland to Leeds on one tank. I choose to refuel as soon as I leave the train in Folkestone. The average Mpg has reduced somewhat to around 36 mpg, but still not bad considering the speed I was attaining. The rest of the journey is uneventful and I make the 420km in three hours dead, cruise set at 150km/h. I arrive just after dawn at five in the morning.

Later that day I have more driving, but this time on twisty A roads, towards the coast. And this being a sunny weekend there is a fair amount of traffic. For one hour the car negotiates bends, twists, crests and troughs with aplomb. Slow moving traffic is dispatched effortlessly, even though I'm sat on the wrong side of the car for the UK. My passenger helped in that respect informing me when there was a gap in the oncoming traffic. With the DPC set to "Sport" the car feels so light and chuckable. It's truly amazing. The throttle response is instant. The gearbox is simply astonishing. It genuinely feels like a 3 Series, although maybe not quite as agile as a hot hatch, but that would be asking for the impossible of a 1,790kg car. After our appointment on the East coast of the UK has been dealt with, we set off home. Now, petrol stations are pretty hard to come by on a Saturday evening in the East of England. Ones that are open are even harder to come by. Eventually I find one in the port town of Grimsby, just to the south of the Humber Estuary. We're late. Very late. With the prospect of getting home long after midnight not an idea I want to entertain, I decide to push the car just a little bit more. I know the motorway we're taking back to Leeds is going to be largely empty and the weather is good. I set the cruise at 200km/h (125mph). Again, the 640d handles it with effortlessness. Some cars have a speed at which they just feel comfortable. This car seems comfortable at any speed. It's amazing. At one point the M62 motorway has quite a severe kink in it where it crosses the A1. At 200km/h you really do have to take some kind of racing line in order to take the bend. The 640d just felt so planted. So sure footed that I felt I could have taken it at twice the speed. These sorts of fast, mad journeys are what GT cars are all about, and the 640d is a true GT car. Sure, my R8 V10 could have done it quicker and the 640d wouldn't have seen which way it went, but you can be sure the passengers in the R8 would have arrived at the destination feeling a bit battered, needing a shower and a lie down; a bit like they've been at Le Mans. In the 640d they could step out of the car and sit down at a dinner table in a high-end restaurant without so much as a hot towel.

141km dispatched in 50 mins dead. Average speed 170km/h (106mph), and that included a bit of town driving at both ends. 23.6mpg.

The fact that the 640d M Sport was an amazing car didn't surprise me one bit to be honest. That it was SUCH an amazing car was the shocking bit. It really is a glorious place in which to spend time. An interior which ranks amongst the best around, frugal when you want it to be; high performance when the mood or necessity requires it; I can't think of many cars which would better it. The only downsides are that it is truly difficult to drive around town, the boot NEEDS the electric close and open option otherwise it's a pain and unelegant way to close the boot, and the price. It's just too much of a price jump over the very similar 5 Series. Would I buy one of these new? No. Would I buy one second hand after the price drops to more realistic levels? Most definitely. These types of GT cars are a depreciation nightmare for new purchasers......but I expect they'll be an absolute bargain in a year or so. I myself will be keeping an eye on the prices very closely indeed.