BMW SIX SERIES COUPE (From Warrington Guardian)

BMW SIX SERIES COUPE

DRIVING up into the Maritime Alps behind Nice over the twisting, testing terrain greatly favoured by car manufacturers over the years is always enjoyable and, despite appalling bad weather, it was doubly so at the wheel BMW's low-slung, high-tech two door 645Ci Coupe.

The first Six Series car built by BMW in 14 years, the Coupe's vivid power is provided by one of the outstanding engines of recent years with a capacity of 4.4 litres.

Using what's called Valvetronic valve control, Bi-Vanos variable valve timing and fully variable intake manifold adjustment, the eight cylinder engine can push the car through the corners at more than 6,000 revs and yet cruise at 1,500.

So if you are in the wrong manual gear at any time the car immediately forgives you and begins the recovery instantaneously - and what recovery! Generating more than 330 horsepower, the car can reach 60 miles an hour in just five and a half seconds and its top speed is an electronically governed 155 mph.

When the six-speed manual version is slotted into Sport mode the acceleration and steering response is even further enhanced; in the Steptronic or sequential automatic variants the gearshifts are carried out at higher engine speeds.

Torrential rain and an abundance of leaves on the twisty roads above St Paul de Vence have spelled disaster for many drivers - I spotted three vehicles on their roofs during the morning drive - but this beautifully balanced machine caused no qualms.

Good old rear wheel drive, powerful brakes and stability control reduces the danger created by the conditions - or alternatively some over-enthusiastic driving.

Active cruise control cuts the power and applies the brakes if another vehicle appears too close "on the radar."

This two-plus-two will set you or your company back all of £60,000 but in addition to all that engineering expertise you also get mountains of technology to smooth your way forward - and even backwards. Front and rear parking distance control features a display on the dashboard showing the relationship of the car to objects and you also get an audible warning beep.

Once inside you really don't know where to look first.

How about the multi-function screen with options for pan European satellite navigation, entertainment, climate settings and advanced communication?

Or the leather seating that can be adjusted in all manner of ways for optimum driver and passenger comfort?

Then there's the leather-clad steering wheel where there are controls for the audio systems, cruise etc.

Trim strips of pearl gloss, or optionally, birchwood, are eye-catching too.

The basic instrumentation can be obscured by a lowered wheel, however, and the kilometre markings are far too small for those who wear glasses for reading and can't drive with them.

I have long rattled on about the need for someone to invent a display with alternative graphic grounds - but BMW will soon go one step further by introducing a projection of all the necessary information on to the windscreen but which looks as if it sits at the end of the bonnet. It will be here in September next year.

The familiar BMW kidney grille naturally continues but in a wholly streamlined version that even includes flaps that help to lower the drag co-efficient.

The car sits on its dedicated platform so that while it shares some components with Five Series it is a totally different animal.

The Wrap-round Bi-Xenon lights don't just illuminate the road quite vividly but can be swivelled by up to 15 degrees in the direction the car is pointing when it's going round corners.

Considerable use has been made of lightweight materials and this is emphasised by an astonishingly light bootlid. Beneath it there is enough room to hold a dance - or at least two golf bags and the amount of assorted luggage four people might normally take with them.

So what's the downside? If you are small, like me, there are blindspots created by the rear pillars and head restraints. And if you are tall, don't ride in the back!

A convertible version of the car will also be made available when the car is launched next month.

Buyers will be able to take advantage of a maintenance deal over five years or 60,000 miles for a fixed fee of £750 which is transferable.

Fact File

Car: BMW 645Ci

Configuration: Two door

Engine: 4398cc

Power output: 330hp at 6,100 revs

Top speed: 155 mph

Transmissions: Six speed manual, Steptronic or sequential autoshifts

Steering: Servotronic hydraulic powered rack and pinion

Brakes: ABS, stability and traction control

Wheels: 18 ins with run flat tyres (no spare)

Fuel tank: 70 litres

Boot capacity: 450 litres

Length: 16ft

Verdict: Car with a proud heritage yet in the stratosphere compared with its predecessors