BMW 6 Series Coupe 2011 Review - International

BMW 6 Series coupe

Not so much
>> Struggles to find a character of its own
>> 120kg heavier than the old one!
>> World’s ugliest brake calipers

It wasn’t going to take much for BMW design boss, Adrian van Hooydonk, to leapfrog the very small pile of design awards the old 6-Series BMW garnered. Even though it was actually his own design, it was one scribbled under the influence of controversial former BMW crayon king, Chris Bangle.

Now his own man, Van Hooydonk was free to let the imagination run wild, but wilderness is a relative thing at the top of the corporate tree.

The all-new 640i looks a longer, leaner, sleeker machine than the old car and it’s clear the team’s been at pains to eradicate some of the clumsier detailing that plagued its predecessor. That doesn’t mean there aren’t awkward angles, because the front end is a bit Z1 from certain angles and a bit overhangy from others -- it’s certainly longer and looks leaner, even if it isn’t.

Part of the reason the new 6 looks longer is because it is -- by 74mm. It is now just 106mm shy of five metres. That extra length is all in the wheelbase, too, because that’s 75mm longer at 2855mm. To top the stretch off it’s 39mm wider as well.

That all means that in a world where BMW espouses Efficient Dynamics and its enormous efforts to reduce weight, the 640i has put on (astonishingly!) 120kg when compared to its predecessor…

But that extra heft doesn’t mean it’s slow because it will launch in Europe in October with a range-topping 300kW V8, a sweet-spinning inline turbo-six and a crunching turbodiesel.  And even with 230kW, the 3.0-litre turbodiesel scores 5.4L/100km on the combined EU cycle (with 143 grams of CO2/km) all while delivering its 630Nm of torque from just 1500rpm and posting a 0-100km/h sprint of only 5.5 seconds.

On paper at least, the 640d sounds like the everyday pick of the big coupes.

Of the others, the 650i runs the TwinPower version of the 4.4-litre V8, complete with variable valve timing and lift, direct fuel-injection and twin-scroll turbocharging. And it’s fast. Indeed, fat or not, the 650i runs to 100km/h in just 4.9 seconds on its way to a top speed of 250km/h (all three launch models have the same artificially limited V-max) thanks to 300kW and 600Nm.

BMW brags about the V8’s 10.5L/100km consumption performance, but the reality is it suffers from carrying 1845kg around.

The 640i, which we tested, is similarly afflicted, with 1745kg to move around, but the 235kW TwinPower 3.0-litre six -- also boosted by twin-scroll turbocharging, direct-injection and double VANOS variable valve timing and lift --  does its best to hide it. The six is such a strong, sweet engine that it can hit 100km/h in 5.4 seconds with a 7.6L/100km fuel figure, though this much weight means it will almost certainly balloon in the real world.

BMW touts the 640i’s active suspension system gives the big two-door a chameleonic ability to change character from soft cruiser to hard-headed sportscar to grand tourer. Truth is it just feels like a very, very good car that a blind passenger could easily mistake for the 5-Series on which it’s based.

It carries every piece of kit in the BMW armoury, either as standard or optional equipment, and that explains some of the weight issues. Everything from active LED headlights to electronic steering is on the list. Nominate a letter and the 640i’s probably got one or more acronyms containing it.

Yet, somehow, it never seems to come together as a fun thing to drive. It’s competent, for sure -- more than competent in fact. In fact it’s downright superb in some areas and refuses to be ruffled by any kack-handedness from its operators.

The suspension system ties in to throttle, gearbox and skid-control systems to create Comfort, Automatic, Sport and Sport+ modes, plus a new Eco Pro mode that BMW claims will also help you to learn to cut up to 20 per cent from your fuel bill.

Most beasts with a Comfort setting usually end up quite wallowy, but not this one. It’s supple and comfortable and very limousine-esque in its behaviour. Smooth and quiet, it only starts to get woozy at high speed.

Auto is still the pick of the modes for most situations. It allows the dampers to put the 17-inch boots (the 650i has standard 18s) on the road for longer, while Sport is sharper in its handling and Sport+ is sharper again. But in this case sharper isn’t necessarily enjoyable -- just more competent and faster to react.

Cramming more length into the wheelbase usually won’t give you any added agility, and despite the cleverness of the suspension, the 640i’s no different. What it adds is stability in longer corners and a more comfortable ride on sharp bumps (not that they’re easy to find in Bavaria).

The steering doesn’t really contribute to the fun, either. The wheel has a very thick rim and is comfortable, for sure, but there’s still a lack of feedback (even though the ratio changes with whatever suspension mode you choose). There’s also an active steering system as an option, but our machine didn’t have it.

The engine’s a sweetheart. Even if it’s well down on the V8’s torque peak, it never feels like it struggles to move the metal and revs beautifully at higher rpm. The sound is terrific and generous and rich, and there’s an enticing big blip on the downshifts that makes them all the more tempting.

The eight-speed auto is more at home in the cruisier of the five modes, though, and it drives through a rear diff that combines mechanical and electronic cleverness to stop wheelspin. On the road, it gets its power down beautifully out of corners and even when corners unexpectedly tighten the 640i shows no signs of discomfort in rescuing the situation.

The more relaxed manner of the 640i gives you time to look around the cabin, and that’s something of a treat. About the only jarring note is the massively wide screen for the satnav et al that sits atop the dashboard and looks for all the world to be a pop up screen. It isn’t.

The seats, though, are superb and they look and feel it. The leather and the stitching is absolutely first rate, and so is the beautifully sculpted curves running from the dashboard in front of the passenger down to the centre console.

There’s more room in the back, obviously, and there’s more headroom, too, even though the car’s roofline is lower. That trick carries over to the boot, too, with more space everywhere in a deeper compartment.

If it all sounds a bit like we’re not committed to liking the 640i, that’s probably because we found it almost impossible to get through the electronic shields and down into its character. If it has a distinguishable character of its own, rather than being a more-stylish version of a 5-Series, then we’re yet to discover it.

That will still be enough for plenty of people, because the new 6 Series coupe is, on balance, a very good car. If you make the mistake of thinking it’s a sportscar, you’ll be sadly disappointed, but as a grand tourer it’s fast, impossible to wrong foot and very, very comfortable.