BMW 650i Coupe review

Bmw 650i Review 1 Sometimes, people need to undergo a mid-life refresh, but there’s always a danger in doing too much. There may be nothing massively wrong with your life (and you) right now, but it can be tempting do a nip, tuck, jab or implant or all of the above.

It’s the same story with cars. Automakers often use a mid-life refreshe to correct styling issues, such as what BMW did with the 1 Series (reviewed in the story prior). However, with the 6 Series, the visible changes are subtle – it may be hard for the casual observer to spot the differences, but the big two-door has just emerged from the Munich plastic surgeon’s office with a new look.

There’s nothing too drastic (no forehead overfilled with Botox), but there’s no denying it looks even more handsome now, thanks to revised headlights with an all-LED cluster and a new kidney grille. The latter has lost a slat, but unlike a toothless old man, the nine remaining ones have been re-spaced to give the fascia a sportier vibe, and it also sports a re-profiled jawline with more chiselled, clean-cut looks.

Bmw 650i Review 3 Other nip-and-tuck procedures that have been performed on BMW’s largest coupe include more slippery aerodynamics, though unlike the changes detailed earlier, these are even more subtle.

Applied across the entire 6 Series range, there are tweaks to the airflow over, under and around the car. The engineers have added an underbody plate to smoothen out the airflow there, while the new front-end enables air to flow more efficiently through the bonnet. Meanwhile, unassuming additions to the shape of the wing mirrors and tail-lights help stabilise airflow over these components. As they say, a little goes a long way.

Thanks to those improvements, the updated 6 Series now emits the same amount of CO2 despite riding on larger 18-inch wheels as standard and using the same engine. In the case of our 650i test car, its CO2 emission figure is 199g/km, putting it in band B of the current CEVS (Carbon Emissions-based Vehicle Scheme).

Bmw 650i Review 4 It attracts no rebate/surcharge now, but under the revised banding that will come into force in July, the 650i will fall into the C1 band, which attracts a $5000 surcharge. That means it’ll be pricier, but I think that’s splitting hairs, especially considering the car will carry a local price tag of around $480,000.

Speaking of price, the 650i has always faced stiff competition from within its own stable, as prices of the 650i and M6 were barely $10,000 apart. But the new CEVS structure will likely widen that gap by around $25,000, because under the new rules, the 232g/km-emitting M6 will be hit with a $30,000 surcharge. This might see the 650i getting more interest from folks looking for more than an “entry-level” 640i and aren’t willing (or able) to spring for the M6.

More of interest is how the range-topping 650i Coupe (a 640i with a 3-litre inline-6 engine will also be offered here) drives like. I didn’t get to try the facelifted M6, but if memory still serves this ageing writer, the previous M6 is too raw (read: uncomfortable) for a grand tourer.

Bmw 650i Review 2 On the other hand, the previous 6 Series is a little too soft – it has too much wallow and its ride could get busy when the smooth roads give way to rumpled tarmac. Its heft is also easily felt, as the car squats unceremoniously when performing sudden, hard directional changes.

That has changed, thanks to slight modifications to the adaptive dampers. The chassis engineers made it sound easy (“just reprogramming the parameters”), but it’s not as easy as plugging something into the car’s USB port and making some magic happen immediately after.

The mounts of the rear dampers have been changed and the result is a much tighter rear end. In Comfort mode, the improvement is already perceptible, but when in Sport or Sport+ modes, the upgrade is indeed a pleasant surprise.

Bmw 650i Review 5 Just as pleasing is a sports exhaust that now comes as standard equipment on petrol-powered 6 Series models. When the engine of the 650i is fired up, the distinct rumble of its V8 immediately fills the cabin. It’s not loud and raspy in the way a Maserati GranTurismo or a Jaguar F-Type is, but rather, the 650i has an understated, creamy burble that settles down to a purr.

As I potter around town, the exhaust note is unobtrusive, and even at unpublishable speeds on the Portuguese highways, there isn’t an exhaust drone to wear my patience thin. However, when a heavy foot is applied to the accelerator, the exhaust roars and each upshift is greeted by a low, smooth crackle – a gentility befitting a gentleman’s sports car.

The 6 Series has aged well, and BMW did an admirable job with the model’s mid-life refresh by improving on its strengths and addressing its shortcomings. The changes are subtle, but that’s not a bad thing, and perhaps people can take a page from the 6 Series’ book: To effect welcome changes, drastic isn’t always the way to go.

SPECIFICATIONS

DRIVETRAIN

TYPE V8, 32-valves, turbocharged

CAPACITY 4395cc

BORE X STROKE 89mm x 88.3mm

COMPRESSION RATIO 10:1

MAX POWER 450bhp at 5500-6000rpm

MAX TORQUE 650Nm at 2000-4500rpm

POWER TO WEIGHT 250.7bhp per tonne

GEARBOX 8-speed automatic with manual select

DRIVEN WHEELS Rear

PERFORMANCE