2007 BMW 650CI Reviews

No one at BMW is waiting for the new year to get a start on diets, resolutions or new models.Next year will be huge for the German brand, which is finalising plans for a range of new diesel engines and will have new models including the M3 sedan, so it rushed its newest update through before Christmas.The latest 6-Series gets some subtle design changes and a new six-speed sports automatic transmission with paddles in place of a traditional gear lever.The result is a quicker 0-100km/h for both the 6-Series coupe and convertible, dropping the hardtop to 5.2 seconds and the open-air model to 5.6, without any changes to the car's 270kW V8 engine.On the design side, the 650i gets some minor tweaking.There are new sporty side skirts, a lower contour edge, newly designed light clusters and wider bars in the front spoiler, for more character without a loss of glamour.The biggest design change to the 6-Series is at the rear, which has a revised boot lid and is more concave underneath the rear spoiler.But the changes do not come cheap. The 2008-model 6-Series now starts at $212,000 for the coupe and $228,800 for the convertible.Hit the road and you instantly notice the 6-Series is a big, heavy car.But as the price suggests, it has all the performance you would expect from a two-door luxury sports car, with great control on winding roads, responsive and agile handling, and a strong feel through the steering.The new transmission, which is also available now as an option on the 5-Series, makes the drive even sharper, whether uphill or on long, straight roads.The 6-Series still has run-flat tyres, which can get a little noisy, but now drives on newly designed 18-inch light-alloy double-spoke wheels, with 19-inches available as an option.Other additions include soft-close electrically assisted doors, cruise control with brake function, as well as a USB/audio interface, which means you can now connect your iPod and control it with ease through i-Drive.The soft-top comes with what BMW calls SunReflective Technology on the leather seats and interior.A jet fighter-style head-up display remains standard on the 6-Series, with the speed reflected on to the windscreen in front of you, which is useful and not distracting.One significant safety improvement is the recently developed active headrests, which in rear-end collisions direct the head restraints to automatically move closer to the occupants.Fuel consumption is rated at 11.1 litres and 11.7 litres for 100km, but on a 280km run we averaged about 13 litres in the coupe and 15 litres in the convertible.Though the sportier M6 models miss out on the basic design changes and the new transmission, they get the new features, raising the price by $3000.So the M6 coupe is now $279,400 and the M6 convertible $299,000.The update also brings several new exterior and interior colour options to the entire 6-Series range.Despite the hefty price, you can still dip into the optional equipment list for the 6-Series and the choices now include a lane-change warning system, Stop&Go functioning on the cruise control, BMW Night Vision and a premium sound system.  INSIDE VIEWBMW 6 SERIESPRICES 650i Coupe $212,000, Convertible $228,800, M6 Coupe $279,400, Convertible $299,000ENGINE 4.8-litre V8OUTPUT 270kW/490NmTRANSMISSION six-speed automatic, rear-wheel-driveCONSUMPTION Coupe 11.1 litres/100km, convertible 11.7 litres/100km 

At least the inclemency allowed us to test the efficacy of the lid on BMW's updated 6 Series Convertible during a 250km autobahn and B-road ride through Bavaria last week. Maybe we should tour it through the worst drought zones when it arrives in Australia a few weeks before Christmas.At a time when the lids of many convertibles are hardening up in the form of folding metal or composite jobbies, the revised 6's top stays soft. Suffice to say it works in the grimness of a central European autumn and if you want something more substantial there's the considerably cheaper (but still prohibitively expensive) Coupe, which is to be relaunched alongside the ragtop.The 650i is a quintessential German grand tourer, as relentlessly effective consuming freeway kilometres as it is comfortable and compliant when cruising a country road.Really, the only time the softness of the top is apparent (and with us, it's always up) is with wind noise that comes with the sort of speeds that would get you summarily executed in Australia.To a (too) great an extent the 650i's resonant 270kW/490Nm V8 will be wasted on us. Oh, the joys of driving in Germany, where cars are cars and the people are taught to drive them ...Still, the revised line-up hardly lacks for readily appreciable additions that bring the big two-doors into line with the more recent iterations of the X5 and 5 Series.Tactile touches include sun-reflective leather upholstery and a new colour choice of saddle brown, chrome-grey gauges, reshaped and more powerful LED headlights, restyled boot, plus comfort access and soft-close doors.Technical tune-ups run to DSC with Active Cruise Control and Stop/Go function, driver's heads-up display, the less fraught version of i-Drive and a night-vision option.Best of all is the automatic sports transmission controlled with the X5/5 Series electronic gear selector that might have been modelled on a computer's joystick. While a six-speed manual is available via special order there can be few complaints about the rapidity of the auto's gearshifts and the seamlessness with which it transmits power to the rear wheels.Manual mode is engaged conventionally enough by slotting the gearstick to the left of Drive, though the most satisfactory method of changing for yourself is via the paddle shift which allows temporary manual over-ride.You can engine brake into sharp bends, accelerate out and allow the Drive mode to resume automatically.Touching off the sport mode button noticeably sharpens cog swaps and throttle response. Even when its power is not being tapped, the Bimmer feels potent, as though it wants to spring forth.In rapid deployment it just piles along, reaching 100km/h from standing in an improved time of 5.6 seconds, keeping overtaking exposures to a minimum.Relentless and poised on the wide, open tarmac, the 1800kg plus 650i is a blunter instrument on back roads. It's able, however, to keep a correct line longer than most would be willing to push it.The Active Steering that wouldn't be so welcome on a sports coupe is as perfectly suited to the 6 Series as the auto, underwritten by Cornering Brake Control.The stoppers are hydraulically controlled swing-calliper numbers with inner vented discs that scrub speed emphatically but with a feel and progression that suit them equally to low-speed urban and triple-figure open-road stopping.The 650i's everything expected from a big Bimmer, delivering satisfaction that increases incrementally with the steerer's ability, but accessible and rewarding even to the meek.Visually the optional 19-inch alloys shod in low-profile Pirelli runflats are a happy match. But Bavaria's roads ain't ours, so stick to the 18s.These shoes should serve you as soundly as the Bimmer's soft hat, come rain or shine. Though we can only guess about the latter... BMW 650i ConvertiblePrice: $228,800 (Coupe $212,000)Engine: 4.8L/V8, 270kW/490NmEconomy: 11.9L per 100km0-100km/h: 5.6 seconds