BMW’s 6 Series has reached its halfway point in its life cycle, although I wouldn’t call it a midlife crisis. The sixer has undergone some cosmetic surgery and thanks to some gearbox work is even a touch quicker than before.

Both the Convertible and Coupé get a more masculine look with a wider air intake in the front bumper, side skirts and a more chiselled boot lid rids the car of any bulbous appearance. A newly designed indicator cluster makes use of some LED technology but it’s the optional headlight technology that really impresses.

The aptly named Adaptive Headlights make sure that visibility under various light and speed conditions is at the best possible level. In a typical city light situation below 50km/h the light distribution is broad, making it easier to recognise objects on the opposite, oncoming side of the road. In the motorway mode the beam becomes longer offering greater illumination on the left-hand side with oncoming traffic. High Beam Assistant switches off the high beam automatically as soon as the car encounters oncoming traffic or another vehicle ahead comes into sight.

Extensive list of options

As we’ve come to expect from BMW the list of options is extensive and the 6 Series list of boxes to tick include the likes of interior trim strips, upholstery, Head-Up Display, Dynamic Drive suspension and, and, and…

But that’s enough, you can pull all the specs off BMW’s website or your local dealer. You’ll also see that the 6 Series is available in both manual and with BMW’s new 6-speed auto sports gearbox. So what are they like to drive?

First on my driving list was the manual. I completed a couple of hundred kays from George, through Uniondale and onto Oudshoorn. The box was typically Beemer. Sharp, precise and the ratios seem spot on for comfortable driving at any speeds. I then hopped into an auto and blasted from George to Cape Town.

While mixing it up on various road conditions it hit me — this is the first car in the world where I’d take an auto over a manual. In normal auto mode it is a smooth as a babies bum and in ‘manual’ shift mode it is even better. Smooth when you want it to be and as the revs increase so the speed of the change increases. In sport mode it even blips on aggressive down changes and mid-corner overriding changes didn’t happen.

Besides the glorious sound of the V8, the engine also propels the car with some gusto. The 4.8-litre lump in the 650i Coupé and 650i Convertible develops maximum output of 270kW at 6300rpm and maximum torque of 490Nm at 3400rpm. And fuel economy is not too bad either. BMW claim an average fuel consumption of 11.7l/100km on the Coupé and 12.6l/100km on the Convertible. I managed to average 12.1l/100km in the Coupe over the 470km trip to Cape Town.

Convertible or Coupé? You will battle to tell the difference between the ragtop or the hard top if you have the hood up. It is really quite and comfortable. Not even scuttle shake raises its head.

I’d still stick for the Coupé, though, because it just looks so good.

Pricing
BMW 650i Coupé: R850 000.00
BMW 650i Coupé Sport Automatic: R866 800.00
BMW 650i Convertible: R933 500.00
BMW 650i Convertible Sport Automatic: R950 300.00