BMW 6 Series 645Ci Convertible 4.5 Litre V8 Reviews

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Good Points: Feels indestructable, huge reserves of power on tap, very smooth convertible roof, great engine sound

Bad Points: Plasticky interior, suits fast motorway cruising rather than cross-country blasts, traction control is too invasive and you need to be a rocket scientist to operate the stereo with the overly complex iDrive system

General comments: I had a week with a BMW 645Ci convertible sports car(thanks to my contract leasing company) on approval. I was very excited. 4.5 V8, huge power, open top - what's not to love? Well, as it turned out, a lot of things.

First impressions: it's a big car. Big cars can be fun. This one is similar in length and width to a Jaguar XKR, but the Beemer has a high shoulder line which makes you feel as though you're sitting very low in the car. Although it's very comfortable, the visability from the driver's seat isn't great, which makes for rather cautious progress as you can't see that well.

Secondly, although it's 60k + with all the options, it's very plasticky inside. The leather seats and door inserts are nice but it has the same kind of ambience as a 3 series, or an up-market Alfa Romeo - certainly not in the same league as a Porsche 911 or a TVR.

Now to the nitty gritty... it's not a great drive. This is a very subjective matter, but if you've ever driven a BMW 3 series (as I have) you'd be expecting a sharp handling, lithe car with loads of steering feel and confidence-inspiring levels of grip. Not the 6 series. There's no doubt it's never going to slide off into a hedge, and the steering goes exactly where you point it - so far so good, but there's very little connection between the driver and the road, too much electronic trickery makes the driving experince rather dull and a little bit detatched. It's the kind of car where you need to look at the speedo to see how fast you're going, and 30 feels much the same as 90. Cornering is solid and secure and despite a little body roll, generally excellent...but you find yourself thinking "what's the point?" as one corner feels much the same as another regardless of speed or how agressively you attack it. Combined with the constant optical illusion (created by the driving position and the cars' size) that you're going to clip wing mirrors with every oncoming car, I found myself driving it slower than one of its smaller, sharper cousins. It's very much a BMW 5 series in a sharp suit rather than specialised GT car.

What it does do very well is raise and lower the hood. Lovely, smooth and fast action which seems a solidly engineered as the rest of the car. Perfect for crusing down to the South of France with the wind in your hair, accompanied by the deep, snarling sound of an excellent and highly powered V8. Shame that you'd probably be travelling alone because the luggage space is severly compromised by the roof compartment. One suitcase and some soft bags will fill it up, and if your girlfriend has as many shoes as mine, this means filling the tiny rear seats with luggage too, which isn't a great option given the high levels of car crime these days.

So, if you're in the market for a Jaguar XK, or Lexus Coupe then this is certainly a contender, I've never driven a Lexus, but I have used an XKR a few times and the Jag feels like a much more sporting proposition, even if on paper it's much the same. But those cars have a huge advantage over the BMW, namely they can be operated without the hugely confusing iDrive system. I am serious when I say it took me a full 30 minutes to get the radio to work. Of course, I didn't spend hours reading the massive manual, because in every other car I've driven you press a button on the stereo and it works. Not iDrive. Menu after menu pops up on a little screen, creating a user experience more like programming numbers into a mobile phone than operating a car. It's very clever, but rather pointless because the dash, rather than being covered in buttons is just a big swathe of black, rubbery plastic instead. I have to say that having a 'user profile' for a car that will only every be driven by one person is frankly, a waste of time.

Summing up, I'd say the 645 is a car for drivers who like going fast in a straight line, want to cover lots of motorway miles in style. It's not a great drivers car, or rather, if you enjoy driving you'll find this a little dull. Mind you, nobody in their right mind wants to drive from London to Monaco in a TVR Griffith either. As a piece of engineering, it's hard to fault but I was disappointed. The old BMW 6 series was much sportier, and naughtier.