Beeming the 6er. Our review of the BMW 640d
BMW 640d:
I was compiling a list of new cars to be introduced in India and I was feeling rather bored. As much as I like new car launches, the future array of Nissan’s, Renault’s and Maruti’s left me wanting for more. At that very instant, I got a call from BMW India informing me that their 640d and M5 were available for a test drive. Being a true petrol head, it was the M5 that caught my attention. However, I was told to take the 640d first and the M5 would follow suit. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed; reason being that I was never a fan of the previous generation 6 Series to begin with. The previous 6 looked a bit dull and somehow the engine options never ignited the torch. So it was with much apprehension that I received the keys to the 640d. What follows in this article is my experience living with the car for a couple of days.
[gallery ids=”2505,2492,2491,2490,2495,2497,2486,2485,2489,2488,2487,2494,2498,2503,2493,2500,2501,2504,2484"]
The Exteriors:
The 6 Series is BMW’s offering for a GT (Grand Tourer). BMW India has on offer the 650i and the 640d. Also, you can get the 650i in a coupe or a convertible while the 640d coupe is the only body style available with diesel. The new 6 has a mix of handsome lines and sculpture mixed into a beautiful body style. If you view the side profile carefully, you can notice the lines of an American muscle car. Certain cars look bad when viewed at certain angles. With the new 6, you will never have that problem. As far as word analogies go, the 6 has the charm and appeal of Aamir Khan and the body and looks of John Abraham.
You will surely make heads turn wherever you go. To top it, if it’s Vermilion Red, you are assured a huge fan following.
As far as technical specifications go, the 6 is quite the large car measuring at 4894 mm bumper to bumper. Navigating the 6 through crowded streets can be unnerving at times. However, once you get used to it, you realize that it’s relatively easy to drive in the city. The only problem as such would be the very low 124 mm ground clearance. Even while driving it in Comfort+ the 6 tends to scrape its belly over speed breakers.
The 19’’ wheels only add to compliment the 6. BMW will charge you a good INR 185,000 for 20’’ M alloy wheels if you want them.
The 6 looks stunning, period.
Interiors and Comfort:
Open the frameless door and you are greeted with the familiar ambience that accompanies all BMW’s. For an additional Rs 60,000, you can get the soft close doors that work brilliantly. When a normal door is not closed properly, you have to open it and close it a little harder. With BMW’s soft close option, when the door is approximately within 6 mm of the lock, a motor automatically closes the door fully shut!
As usual, interior quality and attention to detail is fantastic. A small disappointment came in the form of the bad cushioning on the leather seats that I felt was a bit too firm for comfort. You get powered seats for the driver and the passengers and basically you can adjust anything and everything at the push of a button. To get in to the rear, you can press a button on the front seats that slide them all the way. Even then, access to the rear seats is difficult and it is advisable to stack the fairly thin ones at the rear. Also, I felt that the speed with which the front seats slide forward and backward is a bit slow, thus making the entire process of getting in and out of the car time consuming- a problem that can cause a small traffic jam behind you. The amount of rear legroom on offer can only be termed mediocre at best. But then again, this is a grand tourer and it is assumed you would seldom use the rear seats for anything but shopping bags.
Meanwhile, the driver’s seat has a completely different story. You do feel like you are in a cockpit as all the controls are within reach. I love the way BMW has stacked up and arranged all the buttons and controls. In fact, once you get accustomed to the interiors, I bet you can change the AC controls, operate the iDrive and everything with your eyes closed! And apart from all this, if you want your 6 to have that extra air of exclusivity, you can always tick a lot of options BMW has for you. Sports seats, ceramic package, comfort access, contrast stitching for the leather and many more. We have included the list of options and the numbers you will need to fill in that big, fat checkbook of yours when your pen does the ticking. So that said, the interiors of the 640d score big.
Boot space is very good as well. You get a very usable boot that is decently shaped.
Engine, Gearbox and Performance:
The 640d has a rather sane 2993cc straight 6-cylinder diesel engine under the hood. Now you are reading that and probably going “Hmm…Well that’s no good”. But then I can tell you that it is twin turbo charged and produces 313bhp. Again, you are frowning and that is understandable. The bigger 650i makes 407bhp and a Honda Accord V6 churns out 275bhp. Well, here is something to keep your frown away. The 640d has 630Nm of torque from 2000rpm. The bigger 5.2 V10 Audi R8 so called supercar has 530Nm. The 6 is all about torque and the way twisting force is converted to crazy fast and spit on your face acceleration. The specs? 0–100km/h is discharged within 5.5 seconds. Before driving the 640d, I would have voted Audi as the best diesel engine maker. A couple of years ago, I remember reading a journalist’s opinion of the initial prototype of the R8 diesel. It was supposed to have 1020Nm of torque; however, due to the non-availability of a clutch capable of handling that they had to do with half of that. After driving the 640d though, I can say without a doubt that BMW could well be the number one diesel engine maker! It is indeed a tall claim to make and the reason is because the 640d exceeds our tall expectations. Gearbox in sports mode, suspension in Sport and foot flat down. It is that simple. The sheer pace with which it accelerates is astonishing.
A question I constantly kept getting was about the sound the engine makes. The car looks good, but does it sound good as well? I’m very happy to tell you that I don’t mind making the engine note of the 640d the calling bell for my house. I was completely surprised with the way the engine sounds. It’s a straight 6 diesel revving and sounding like V6 petrol. Flat out acceleration sounds are something rather special as well. Given the high revving nature of the 6, the engine sounds especially thrilling at the top end, urging you to go further. As far as big diesel engines go, Audi’s V12 diesel is a bit of a lunatic. I haven’t driven that yet and hence cannot comment or compare. However, BMW must be commended for the way they have tuned this oil burner. It offers the best of all worlds.
The 640d comes with an eight-speed gearbox that offers super smooth shifts when left to its own. Driven in the softest setting, you can hardly tell when the gearbox swaps a ratio and the progress is very smooth without any jerks. Even when driven in the comfort mode, the gearbox is more than willing to shift down by one or even two gears when your right foot calls the shots. Also a point to be mentioned is the superb joystick like gear lever that is now a standard in all BMW’s (save for the X1). In fact I was impressed with the speed in which the gearbox shifts even in comfort mode. It is like a nice butter knife, spreading all the juicy torque in a fast and smooth manner. And fast.
And with great power comes greater responsibility. Which is why you get big 348 mm ventilated discs at the front and equally big 345 mm discs at the rear. They provide for very good stopping power and even under several hard braking tests, the 6 never lost composure. The grip from the tires is very good as well.
Ride, Steering and Handling:
a. Comfort+ mode: While going through potholed riddled Chennai, I chose this mode for general driving with city speed limits. The ride quality, even in this setting is pretty poor and potholes and bumps on the road enter as a rough shatter through your spine. What makes things worse are the hard leather seats which have almost no cushioning in them. As a result, you have to slow down to a near walking speed (also because of the low ground clearance).
The traction control is switched ON in Comfort+. As a result, when you throw the 6 around a corner, there is just that hint of under steer and you let go off the power yourself rather than the computer cutting it. The 640d weighs a hefty 1790 kg and you certainly feel the weight of the car. Clearly, the 6 does not like its direction to be changed suddenly. Adding to this is the relatively light steering. While moving about at city speeds, it is a boon. However, I would have preferred a bit more weight to it at a higher speed. That said, the light steering provides fantastic feedback and you know how much lock you need to apply for any given curve. Body roll is controlled very well, but present still.
b. Sport+ mode: With just a few pushes of the same button, you can activate the Sport+ mode. Well first thing you are asking is how is it different from Sport. Simple, traction control and other electronic driving aids are switched OFF in Sport+. The 640d sends 630Nm to the rear wheels. Do the math. Very low speed, foot flat down, turn the steering and immediately the 6 slides its rear end. Apply a dab of opposite lock, foot still flat down and you have got yourself a diesel-powered lunatic that will go sideways all day long! Handling is better as well. You can now enter a corner at a higher speed, foot flat down while cornering and opposite lock and the 6 will be more than willing to entertain you. Forget the under steer now. The earlier quick gearbox becomes even quicker if that is possible. It holds on for a gear longer and even the slight accelerator dab translates to an immediate downshift.
However, what becomes progressively worse is the ride. It is rock solid and each time you want to take a speed bump, you have to put in Comfort mode. That aside, the Sport+ mode truly makes the 640d a car you can use on a track and most importantly, you it will put a smile on your face.
Other features and parameters:
As a standard feature, the 640d comes with a Start-Stop system that turns off the ignition when you are not moving for more than 5 seconds. It works brilliantly and the starting and stopping is instantaneous. However, you will always know when it happens as you feel a small vibration whenever the engine is starting again. This may be due to the fact that it is a diesel engine. Also, the system is very intuitive. If you are periodically stopping and starting (as in the case of a traffic snarl), the feature does not work given that it is pointless to stop and start for something like a second.
For INR 600,000 you can get the 6 with a Bang & Olufsen stereo system and speakers. A quick consumer advice. It is not worth it. Quality is good but 6 lakhs seems over the top. Go ahead with the standard ones.
Fuel economy:
So the 640d is a BMW weighing 1.8 tonnes, doing a sub 6 second to the ‘ton’ and having a top speed limited to 250 km/h. All from a 3.0L straight six. How much do you think the 640d averaged for a liter of ordinary diesel when driven like a lunatic continuously? A whopping 9.7km/l is what it did! Lets put things in perspective. My 1.6 Petrol SX4 does 5.5km/l when I drive it hard and just manages 10 when driven like a chauffeur. Our old X3 did just about 9 even though it had a 2.0 diesel from the 3 Series. If while reading this review, you haven’t fantasized the 640d yet, it is a very good time to worship it now. Add to the fact a 70lt tank and we are talking about Chennai-Goa on a tankful and maybe more. What is more is that it is recommended you use the normal diesel instead of a premium one. So we are talking 40 odd rupees for 10 km of unadulterated fun.
The Verdict: Should you buy one?
Ignore the heading. While giving reviews of cars such as the 640d, we try not to give consumer/buying advice. Mainly because when you’re spending more than 80 lakhs for a car, you would rather drive it yourself and form your own impressions rather than me telling you. So let me stop with just the verdict.
For an ex-Showroom price of 80 lakhs, BMW is giving you a GT that has well established itself in international markets. Add to the fact the exotic looks and superb interiors of the car and you have the deal sealed halfway. Add to all that a beautiful engine which offers brilliant performance and you have just reached in your briefcase to take out that cheque book. Finally, consider the running costs and the brilliant efficiency. You just signed all the paperwork and cannot wait for D-day to arrive!
The 640d is a joyous occasion rather than ‘just a car’. When you drive it around, people smile, wave hands and are generally happy to see it. What’s more, it puts a smile on your face even when you factor in all the small niggles such as the hard ride and low ground clearance. And that is why we are giving it a 8.5/10.
What’s good:
Brilliant blend of performance.
Pure driving pleasure.
Fastest and ‘funnest’ way of getting from A to B.
What’s bad:
Ride quality poor
Hard leather seats
Low ground clearance
Certain options very expensive
CARMA. Rating: 8.5/10
