Price as tested: €116,991
In brief: Really quite exceptional. Lacks the pin-sharpness of say, a 911, but smooth, agile, beautiful and with a toweringly brilliant engine.
God, I did not want to like this car. Fate just seemed to be shoveling barriers to me liking it in the way as I went to collect it. First off, with a few notable exceptions, I don’t like convertibles. I’m a coupe man, and that’s an end of it. I also have a natural Marxist aversion to cars with six-figure price tags. I know the bill for such technological mastery has to be paid, and if I had the wherewithal, I’m certain it’s a price I’d be happy to pay. But I don’t, so I’m bolshy about it.
Finally, as I set off from home and flicked on the radio, there was Depression FM (formerly RTE Radio 1) informing us all of the doom laden live register figures and further plummets in growth and consumer sentiment. Just what kind of attitude was I supposed then, to take to a €100k Beemer with no roof?
I guess that it’s the biggest compliment possible to the 640i Convertible that not only did it win me over, it did so within seconds. Sucking my Marxist ideals straight out of its open roof, it took just one hefty prod of the throttle and a quick listen to that gorgeous, creamy-smooth snarl to have me desperately assaying my kid’s college funds.
As we’ve started with the engine, let’s start with the engine. The 640i does not use a V8, despite being so close in badge to the old 645i. Instead, it uses the 3.0-litre straight-six turbo that’s found, in slightly detuned form, in the 335i. The headline figures are 320bhp and 450Nm of torque. No, scratch that. The headline figures are the 185g/km Co2 figure (for a 3.0-litre engine, let’s not forget...) and a combined fuel economy figure of 7.9-litres per 100km. Don’t believe it? You can. In spite of my leaden right foot and in spite of keeping the aircon blasting on muggy, showery August days, we averaged 8.9-litres per 100km over a week’s motoring. Now that, folks, is how you do engine.
Tied into the excellent 8-speed ZF automatic transmission, it’s little short of a wonder. It reduces motorway slip roads to snarling, roaring 1/4 mile drags, yet it’s whisper-quiet and tractable around town. And it pulls like a mule from low rpm in a high gear. The only downside is that the Sport mapping of the gearbox still doesn’t give you total manual control when using the (wonderfully tactile) steering wheel paddles. The computer, infuriatingly, still overrides you if it thinks you’re wrong. Which it will. A lot.
And the body it’s wrapped around isn’t half bad either. The old 6 Series, distinctive though it was, always looked a bit blocky and lumpy. This one, although probably quieter in looks, is also cleaner, sharper and much more elegant. Much of that is doubtless down to BMW’s decision to eschew a folding steel roof and stick with good old fashioned fabric. So, no big arse needed to hide all the gubbins that go with a folding steel roof, and no obvious loss of comfort within the cabin either, thanks to exceptional levels of refinement and insulation. Plus, you get that lovely camping sound of raindrops on the canvas above your head. Security worries? Well yes, someone could stick a knife through your roof, but hey, they can just as easily shove a brick through the window of a folding steel roof cabrio...
In the cabin, though, you’d better be prepared for a couple of disappointments. The fit and finish is, frankly, wonderful (note; this is not one of the disappointments). From the way the outer edges of the centre console loop out and over the passenger’s knees to the crisp, clear, beautiful instruments this is a fabulous motoring interior. But for one major flaw which is the driving position. For a start, the steering and pedals are offset to the right by at least two inches. Doesn’t sound like much, but it’ll be enough to trigger bad back syndrome in more than a few of us.
Secondly, the seats just aren’t supportive enough if you have them set low down in the car (surely the correct location in a convertible) yet if you raise them up, then you feel perched up and exposed. And if you’re tall, your head will be above the windscreen header.
Still, it is spacious. Sufficiently so that I was able to take the entire family (wife and two small kids plus various bags, baby seats and etcetera) out for a lovely day’s driving and avoiding showers. If those seated in the front are prepared to sacrifice a little legroom then the rear seats suddenly become adequate. The boot, hampered slightly by the need to save space for the roof to fold into it, seems small compared with the massive space you got in the old 6, but you can still pack sufficient in. BMW reckons you can get a set of golf clubs in there, which is fine if you like golf, but seeing as I hate it, I’ll just point out that you can’t get a three-wheel Phil & Teds buggy in.
I’ve saved the best bit for last. The way the 640i drives. It could have just been a big, jelly-ish thing for the American market. All squishy suspension and no deportment. Or it could have been a stiff-springed Kommandant of the Autobahn Aggressors Klub, with astonishing precision but bricks for dampers. In fact, it treads neatly between these two paths, riding with firm-edged comfort, steering with unerring precisions (and better weighting at the wheel rim in Normal rather than Sport mode). Toggling between Normal and Sport does firm things up and theoretically improves the handling but the need for extra bump absorption on twisty Irish roads means you’re better off in Normal. Besides, this is not a gung-ho sports car, even if it can play that game when asked. It’s more a precision Corniche attack weapon, ideal for an exactly timed, laser-guided sprint along the Amalfi coast before arriving at your villa just in time for Martinis. Or just bombing down the coast road between Ballyvaughan and Lehinch. Whatever. Mary Poppins-like, it’s practically perfect in every way.
So then, Unemployment. US debt downgrades. Consumer sentiment. Eurozone crisis. Gay Byrne running for Prez. Marxist ideals. You can make them all go away with a 6 Series Convertible.
Facts & Figures
BMW 640i SE Convertible
Price as tested: €116,991
Price range: €97,480 to €133,040
Capacity: 2,979cc
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Top speed: 250kmh
0-100kmh: 5.7sec
Economy: 7.9l-100km (54.3mpg)
CO2 emissions: 185g/km
Road Tax Band: E €630
Euro NCAP rating: Not yet tested
