Introduction

The BMW 650i returns for 2007 all but unchanged from 2006. It delivers excellent performance, brilliant handling and that arrow-like stability that defines BMW. Available in coupe and convertible body styles, the BMW 650i is a premium grand touring car. It comes with a 360-hp V8 and a choice of three transmissions. Changes to the 650i for 2007 are few, mostly limited to creature comforts, including an iPod interface, optional Pearl leather upholstery and other leather accents. New also is a tire pressure monitor that warns the driver when a tire begins to lose air. The BMW M6 Coupe, introduced late in the 2006 model year, returns for 2007. The M6 boasts a 500-hp V10, seven-speed sequential gearbox, M-tuned suspension and electronic stability control, special wheels, Z-rated tires, and distinctive interior and exterior styling. New for 2007 is the M6 Convertible, a first in the long and storied history of 6 Series BMWs. Like the 650i Convertible, the M6 Convertible is identical to its coupe counterpart, other than the one-button, powered folding top. For 2007, the M6 gets a tire pressure monitor. Late-model 2007 M6s will be available with a six-speed manual transmission as a no-cost alternative to the standard seven-speed Sequential Manual Gearbox. The SMG substitutes an electronically operated clutch for the regular clutch pedal, and we don't love it. We recommend getting the six-speed manual. Both coupes and convertibles have a back seat that can fit small people in a pinch, but are really intended to move two people and their belongings in high comfort, style and safety. The 650i is more luxurious than the Z4, and delivers higher performance, more agility and sportier styling than the 5 Series sports sedans. The M6 sacrifices some of the Grand Touring comforts of the 650i in favor of a more aggressive handling package and stratospheric acceleration performance. At the same time, the M6, and especially its sequential manual transmission, takes the marque in a direction purists find distressing, increasingly transferring control of the car from its driver to its super-sophisticated electronics. More generally, and more generously, BMW's corporate design themes, panned by many in recent years, seem to fit better on the long, low 6 Series. And an intricate top design blesses the convertible with the same, nicely integrated, fastback-like profile as the coupe.

Walkaround

The styling of the BMW 6 Series remains essentially as it's been since the car was launched in 2004, and it's an interesting bit of design. The 6 comes in coupe and convertible body styles. All are two-door, four-passenger cars, and the coupes and convertibles are nearly identical save for their tops. The twin-kidney grille, quad headlamps and other classic cues readily identify the 6 Series cars as BMWs. The M6 versions get a uniquely styled, more strongly sculpted front fascia. The 6 Series shares some key elements with BMW's 5 Series sedan, but the 6 was designed from the ground up as a coupe, and subsequently as a convertible, rather than a sedan with two doors welded shut or a coupe with the top chopped off. This is a classic BMW 6 Series: The front and rear overhangs (the distance from the wheels to the bumper) are short. The cabin separates the long hood from the short deck. The 6 Series cars are shorter than the 5 Series sedans, but they benefit from a relatively long wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear wheels). In sum, you suspect these cars handle great just by looking at them. The primary turn signals are located above squinty-eyed, compound headlamps, which wrap well around the corners to the sides of the car. The grilles take front and center stage with no bumper ledge in front of them. When viewed from overhead, the front corners look rounded, giving the 6 Series a shark-like nose. In profile, the lines are sculpted but clean. Sleek, Euro-style combination side lights-cum-turn signals in a thin slit at the trailing edge of the front wheel wells give the impression of attention to detail and on the M's discreetly house the unique, stylized logo distinguishing those from the 650s. The 6 looks raciest in front three-quarter view, which happens to be our favorite angle on the car. From the rear, however, the 6 Series cannot be identified as readily. The tail lamps and badge label it as a BMW, but the back end looks different from past BMWs. The tail lamps wrap around to the sides, so there's no precise break where the rear of the car ends and the side begins. As with the new 7 Series sedans, some critics don't like the way the rear deck looks somewhat disconnected from and perched atop the rear fenders. BMW points out that the high deck improves downforce, and therefore rear grip, at high speeds and allows for a big trunk. In any case, this is a tidy, attractive car that looks sporty. It's best in silver and other lighter colors; the design details tend to blend together on darker cars. There are also some interesting design features that aren't apparent to the eye, starting with extensive use of weight-saving materials. From the windshield forward, the 6 Series' load bearing structure is made of aluminum, just like a commercial airliner's. Its doors and hood are also aluminum; the front fenders and trunk lid are composite materials. A carbon fiber roof on the M6 Coupe reduces weight without compromising safety. At the same time, because it's the roof that's lighter, the effect is to lower the car's center of gravity. The underbody is shrouded in more high-tech plastic, much like the wind tunnel-groomed bottoms of F1 race cars, to improve aerodynamic efficiency. The soft top looks great, featuring a fastback roofline with fins on the trailing edges that frame the vertical rear glass, much like vintage Ferrari coupes, giving the convertible the same side profile as the coupe. The rear glass can be raised or lowered like a side window by pressing a button. Replacing a metal roof with a convertible top often times tends to reduce structural rigidity, so BMW has reinforced the B-pillars and the lower sides of the frame, and built the windshield with an extra-high strength frame. This not only improves rigidity, but also adds an extra element of safety in the unlikely event of a rollover. The 6 Series' standard adaptive headl

Interior Features

From the driver's seat, both iterations of the BMW 6 Series seem to have it all: comfort, luxury, convenience and the ambience of a true high-performance car, with the M6 versions only adding to what the two 650i models promise. Coupes and convertibles inspire feelings of control, even of success, before the cars ever leave the driveway. These cars promise great rewards to drivers who take their driving seriously. And as far as the interior appointments go, with an exception or two, they deliver. The 6 Series seats provide excellent support. The 650i base seats are the more accommodating, with the optional sport seats more firm than cushioned but still not as encapsulating as the M6's. Depending on the package, front seats are power-adjustable in either 12 ways or 14 ways (in the M6, either 16 or 18 ways, including seatback bolsters) and combine with a steering wheel that both tilts and telescopes, again with the push of a button, to allow drivers of virtually any stature to find a comfortable, if not perfect fit. All front seats also have BMW's signature, manually extendable thigh support. The back seats will accommodate pre-adolescents on short trips, but will not work for two couples enjoying a night on the town. Access, though, isn't as difficult as in some cars, as the front seats readily move forward and, thankfully, return to their previous settings. Driver-side memory buttons are on the outboard side of the seat base, a much more convenient placement than in the 7 Series, where they're on the center console and unreachable before climbing into the car. Interior materials and finish are generally up to standards expected in this price range. The headliner in both coupe and convertible looks and feels rich, and expensive. The standard trim, BMW calls Ruthenium (named for a hard white metal), is a metallic material, and we like the way it looks on the doors and dash. For 2007, a pearl-shade leather is the optional trim for the 650i. Those who prefer a more traditional look can choose either light or dark stained birch wood in the 650i at no charge. The M6 offers Olive Ash as a cost-free alternative to the standard Madeira Walnut. Our M6 came with trim designed to look like carbon fiber, but came off looking like something you'd see in a modified Honda Civic. A Start button is used to start the 6 Series. The key is an electronic cartridge that slides into a slot on the steering column. Once that's done, the driver simply presses a button on the dash to the right of the steering column to start or stop the engine. That's the cool part. But turning on accessory power requires pressing the button once, then again, and then again, all while consciously keeping your foot away from the brake pedal so the engine doesn't start. James Bond would be in big trouble with this setup. Comfort Access is an option that takes this keyless concept a step farther. It's proximity-activated, meaning you can simply walk up to the car, open the door, and press the Start button without having to pull the fob out of your pocket or purse. The car will warn you if you try to leave with the key while it's running. The M6 adds another start-up challenge with its Sequential Manual Gearbox: The SMG has to be in Neutral to start. It has to be in gear when switched off or you get an annoying tone. You may grow to hate that tone, you hear it so frequently. The tone comes on immediately upon starting if you don't have your seatbelt buckled. The gauge cluster features a large tachometer and speedometer framing an LCD box that displays a wide range of information. The package is crisp and legible and, if you like BMW's familiar orange backlighting, quite attractive. The optional Head-Up Display projects speed, navigational information, cruise control status and other data onto the windshield and can be programmed to show whichever data set the driver chooses. It works well and we find i