6 Series Box Opinions

[mpaul0055]

Hi Guys

Just scouting round for a 650i as my company car goes in a couple of months.

Noticed there all automatics and was wondering what its like.

Ive got a R32 DSG at the minute. So im a bit nervey going to a normal auto, Especially a slushbox as ive herd it called.

Not seen many SMG ones either although i gather it is an option. Is that something worth looking at?

Any 650i owners wanna share any stories too, feel free. Would love to know what ownerships like, especially in this snow.. lol

[dubbs]

I've got the SMG on the M6 and if going for a 650 I would go for the auto.... M6 you have it as it's more sports oriented, 650 is more GT cruiser and an Auto suits that engine really well. The SMG box needs to be run manually all the time, it's useless as an auto imho

[mpaul0055]

Cheers man.

Was wondering if the SMG had an auto mode. Obviousley not.. Ive got very lazy in the R32...lol

Dont suppose the m6 was out in the snow was it?

[dubbs]

SMG does have auto mode but I don't think it works very well, not compared to a traditional manual - it's bad enough for me to always change using the paddles.

M6 + Snow = Absolute disaster! It stays on the drive :-)

Saw an M5 in London this morning... brave man!

Saw an XKR on the news last night in traffic - what a div... one bit of an incline and he'll be a danger to himself and everyone, no matter how skilled he is.

[mpaul0055]

Lol... Brave or silly man in the M5.. Although i hear with Winter tyres you should be ok.

Just saw a M5 owner mention it in Gassing...

This is going to be my daily driver so wanna make sure it will takle most days. But tbh we didnt get a load of snow here being on the coast, and rarely do... Im sure im just being a minge....

Ill be RWD this RWD that a month after owning...

Cheers for ya advise man...

Any other 6 series owners wanna share some views on stuff.... Is the 650i a load better than the 645 ci... I cant help but want the 650i, but wouldnt mind saving some pennies i suppose....

[phib]

I am looking at at a new 635d sport, 630 sport or audi s5 anyone got an opinion ?
Thanks
Phib

[JNW1]

phib said:

I am looking at at a new 635d sport, 630 sport or audi s5 anyone got an opinion ?
Thanks
Phib

As you've suggested an S5 - and therefore fuel economy is presumably not a priority - why not consider an M3 coupe? My local dealer had a pre-registered one with no miles on the clock in the showroom for just under £42k when I was in a couple of weeks ago and with a bit of haggling I suspect you could have got it for the right side of £40k for cash. Almost certainly cheaper than a new 635d and a pretty good deal considering the list price with options was £57k! Also a way better drive than a 635d, 630i or S5 (IMO of course!).

[tigerkoi]

mpaul0055 said:

Any other 6 series owners wanna share some views on stuff.... Is the 650i a load better than the 645 ci... I cant help but want the 650i, but wouldnt mind saving some pennies i suppose....

phib said:

I am looking at at a new 635d sport, 630 sport or audi s5 anyone got an opinion ?
Thanks
Phib

Hi,

Owned a 645Ci, drove my friends 650i a number of times, and tried the Audi S5 for a while. (Also tested the M6 which I believe was ultimately bought by Dubbs recently, but not important to this chat..... )

My thoughts: of course you'll be aware that the difference between the 650 and 645 is an engine change from the 4.4 to the 4.8. What this means in real world terms.......I really couldn't say. There's very little in it. So you drop down from 5.4 to 5.1 seconds racing to 60mph, but this is so negligible unless you were side by side at Bruntingthorpe. The 4.4 is commonly acknowledged as one of the marques best engines of recent times, and for me I never felt that much of a need to get the extra .4 litrage. But that's me. As for the rest of it, well I couldn't see anything that was wildly different inside or out that would make me choose either over the other. So categorically if I took 30k out the bank what would I do? I choose a 645 over the 650 and spend the rest. And make sure the software revisions are at their latest.

Re: the 635d. I have not driven this engine in the Six. I have however run the 535d, and yes, it is a supremely capable car. Awesome in many respects. But - this is purely subjective - a car like the Six needs a big petrol engine. It forms the character of the car. Also factor in relative diesel/petrol, cost/time ratios and really.......I'd choose petrol/fun/sound anyday.

So this brings me round to the 630i. Once again, an excellent engine, but the car needs a V8 or V10. It is subjective of course. If you get a convertible, pop down that rear window, then you'll be glad you can hear that mellow rumble of the V8.

The S8. I really like the car, and think it looks awesome. But when I was in the market, they only made it as a manual (since changed). For me, this is fine if I lived in the country, but stop/start driving in London, rush hour etc, then an auto is what I wanted. There are lots of debates as to what is the S5's true rival: the 335i or a Six-sized car. For sure the S5 is a lovely car to sit in, is very quick, and refined. But.......for many the reason they buy something like a Six is not for practical reasons. It's emotional. A big fast GT. And to be honest, the S5 has to share model space with many other engine sizes, which means over time it will be more ubiquitous. Also the S5 is newer so a used model will be comparatively more expensive

Pound for pound, a 645Ci in excellent condition weighing in at 17-20k, black, convertible........wins on so many levels.

[phib]

Thanks for the replies to my hijack of the thread ( sorry !!)

Bassically I am looking for a company car circa £800 - £1000 pcm to do 30k miles pa not overly worried about diesel v petrol as 635 would be much pricier to start with so the fuel over 3 years would be off set.

Just looking for something fun but comportable to drive

Thansk
Phib

[JNW1]

phib said:

Thanks for the replies to my hijack of the thread ( sorry !!)

Bassically I am looking for a company car circa £800 - £1000 pcm to do 30k miles pa not overly worried about diesel v petrol as 635 would be much pricier to start with so the fuel over 3 years would be off set.

Just looking for something fun but comportable to drive

Thansk
Phib

That sort of annual mileage implies a fair bit of motorway and/or dual carriageway running and that being the case even a petrolhead like me would have to concede that an oil burner has its attractions! A petrol offers no advantage over a diesel if you're sat at 80 something on a motorway and the longer range of the diesel would probably prove quite appealing after a while...

[mpaul0055]

Thanks for all the replies... And cheers for the Hijacks, more stuff to read lol

Tigerkoi.. Great read mate, nice one..

Whats your opinions on the normal auto box? Are there paddles? also how many gears is it?

Really considering a 645i aswell now.. Save those extra pennies..

[chrisx666]

I have had a 645ci auto for 6 months now. Not driven a 650 but I can't imagine the extra 30hp would make a massive difference - putting the hammer down in sport mode results in plenty of forward thrust.
Forget about snow unless you get the optional winter wheels/tyres (£1500 a set..:-O).

When not in sport I find the drive-by-wire accelerator a bit soggy for the first bit of travel. Probably so it's easy to smoothly crawl in traffic - they overdid it IMO.

Never drove an SMG, and only saw 1 for sale. I was warned off them by comments of it not suiting the car/difficult to make smooth progress/reliability etc. No personal experience though.

I shopped around for a while to get the exact spec I wanted - most had something missing off my 'must have' list. Eventually paid top money for the desired spec from a franchised dealer.

[mpaul0055]

Hey Chris

Cheers for that mate..

The box sounds similar to the DSG tbh. D mode does feel alot more sluggish that S mode... But S mode will hold your gears.. So its just a case of Flicking between them both. I always drop into S for roundabouts and junctions, then back into d once im off...Unless using it in manual mode.

So are there paddles on this box? If so how many gears is there, is it the full 6. Or is it like merc boxes and crappy autos where you have 4 gears? Like M1 M2 M3 M4....

So overall are you happy with the car? Ive herd mixed reports on the feel of the car, does it feel as big as it is.. Ive herd not at all untill you really push it, but other reports are that it does feel very large all the time. Which i suppose is a little obvious at its a big car.. lol

Hopefully going to test drive one this weekend at a local garage, but definatley buying from a franchise dealer.

Would love to here more views from owners, got the reading bug...

Ta Mark

[chrisx666]

Hi Mark.

It's a six speed box. 'D' is normal mode. Moving the lever over to the left puts it in 'DS' - this is still full auto (higher change points) unless you click the lever forwards or backwards -/+ which selects the gears manually 'M1/2/3/4/5/6'. I think only the SMG has paddles.
When using 'M' the box will automatically change down at around 1000rpm to prevent lugging/stalling. The display tells you what gear it's in.
If you are in a sporty mood you can also press the 'SPORT' button on the centre console which really tightens up the throttle response.

It is a big car but does not really feel like one to drive. Mine has the optional 'dynamic drive' which uses a variable roll bar system to keep it amazingly flat on a bend. The F/R graphic parking sensors and door mirror that dips to the kerb make it pretty easy to park for it's size.

Edited by chrisx666 on Thursday 5th February 14:01

[mpaul0055]

Nice one chris.. Sounds exactly like what i want... And ooo a sports button.. Im still a kid at heart and silly things like that excite me...

Ill make sure i get plenty of pics up when i pick her up...

Im thinking this is going to be a slow 7 weeks....

[mpaul0055]

My final worry is colour.... lol

I love these cars in black.. But i promised myself about 8 years ago id never get a black car again. Mainly down to swirl marks...

How is the BM black paint? My Cupras swirl marks looked almost 3d sometimes as they where that bad.
I know to an extent this is down to cleaning etc.. but some paints fair better than others...

Obviousley if you havent got a black car ignore me.. lol

[derestrictor]

Observe: user objectivity, unsullied by ownership bias. (M6.)

SMG is fantastic - no, better than fantastic - for fully bored assaults and in those instances, it pees over all transmissions bar other paddle jobs. Ergo, I only drive the car as a man from Shorpe.

Other than that, it really is the car's profound weakness and whatever anyone else says, that is the truth of it, trust me.

Which is why the B6S is the more rounded offering.

[The GMan]

I have a 645ci and mine is auto and is a great car. Has plenty of poke and is a great cruiser. I have had an E46 M3 which I enjoyed, but swapped that for a Skyline, then to an Impresa STI PPP, now back to a BMW. I love it.

I drove from Newcastle to Chester yesterday over the A66 and mine was fine in the snow, even though I have the larger Aplina Alloy's on.

I did notice driving back on the M6 that when I put my foot flat coming out of roadworks from 50 to NSL the rears wanted to spin, but I did that on purpose.

Great car.

[mpaul0055]

derestrictor said:

Observe: user objectivity, unsullied by ownership bias. (M6.)

SMG is fantastic - no, better than fantastic - for fully bored assaults and in those instances, it pees over all transmissions bar other paddle jobs. Ergo, I only drive the car as a man from Shorpe.

Other than that, it really is the car's profound weakness and whatever anyone else says, that is the truth of it, trust me.

Which is why the B6S is the more rounded offering.

Sorry to be crap, but whats a B6S... The Slushbox?

[derestrictor]

Yup but you do get Alpina's 'Switchtronic' option as well which is about as useful as fitting wheels to a tomato...