Discussion
Theres a fair few posts on here regarding the F10 M5, but hardly any on the new M6. Probably because nobody appears to be buying this car...I considered one back in Nov/Dec when I was looking to swap out of my 5-month old Jaguar XKR-S but decided on a used SLS AMG instead. Fast forward a few months and, being unable to really use the SLS as a daily drive (not deemed as appropriate for work, which I can understand) I was back in the market and looking at M6's again. The same M6's I looked at a few months ago....just cheaper 
Anyway, I thought I'd post up some initial thoughts and pictures to see if we can get some feeling for the relatively 'unloved' M6! Apologies for the long post
Firstly, I actually purchased it totally blind because, other than a glimpse nice of a white M6 when I was in LA a few weeks ago, I've never actually seen one in real life. However, that brief sighting really made me sit up and notice as I'd been considering what to replace the SLS with for a few weeks and had narrowed the choice to.....erm......well, I didn't really know. A 991 maybe?
The SLS was a dream car for me so replacing it wasn't easy (even though it annoyed and occasionally disappointed me, as much as I wanted to really like it). The problem was that I expected it to be perfection in every way and whilst it delivered in many respects, I think my expectations of what was a low-volume and reasonably focussed sports car didn't reflect reality or in many respects, the XKR-S that I had previously. Also, I'm a big-GT kind of guy as I tend to like über-refined, tight and rattle free cars, especially ones with a feeling of proper 'thrust'. So, when I noticed the M6 looking so damn good, and significantly more muscular compared to the normal 6 series (mainly due to wider track, flared arches and huge arch-filling wheels), it brought back memories of how good my previous E63 M6 was in most of the areas that I rate as important. It went straight to the top of my list.
Collection and First Impressions
So, on the day of collection (only one day after I did the deal on the phone!), I pulled up at the dealer not really wanting the car I hadn't seen. I was pretty grumpy and the poor salesman could feel the sale slipping away, which he acknowledged and was very reasonable about. He took me to the car and just left me to it to work out what I wanted to do.
I've got to say, when I first set eyes on it (rear 3/4 view...it's best angle IMO) I was very pleasantly surprised. Indeed, I thought that in its San Marino Blue it looked sharp....sharper than the SLS. It's nicely proportioned, sleek and with the very wide tracks, it's got a nice square stance....the XKR-S was good at the rear, the SLS at the front but the M6 is the first car I've had where both front and rear wheels sit right out and level with the wheel arches, exaggerating the width and muscularity of the car. It could sit a few mm lower, but pictures I've seen of lowered examples on H&R's are too low - BMW have got it just right with the new Competition Pack coming out in the summer (-10mm), but then ruined that car with awful wheels.
On the whole, it's probably one of the best looking cars I've had. And this is the general feedback I've had from others, with an overwhelmingly positive response and a surprising preference to it over the SLS.
Interior
Of all the cars I've had, this is simply the best finished one I've had to date. It's got the full leather option with it's door to door leather and alcantara, and even the steering wheel airbag and spokes are covered in smooth leather! The SLS was similarly well appointed as you'd expect, but it's tendency to rattle you wouldn't - all in all, the M6 probably beats all my previous for a combination for quality and materials.
The design is modern and I love the cocooning dash which swoops in all directions. My favourite bit is the steering wheel, which is very much like an old-school M-car wheel - a really small round boss with thin round spokes. I don't know how, but they seem to have fitted an airbag into a boss no bigger than non-airbag steering wheels from the '80's! The rim is small in diameter and with a nice typical BMW M thickness that makes it so nice to use on every drive.
The seats are the standard 'sports' seats as opposed to the optional dynamic seats. With the somewhat integrated headrests, they actually look more stylish than the upgraded seat; they're also comfortable but they're not the most supportive, especially laterally in the backrest which has no functionality to adjust the width of the bolsters. Odd, as every other BMW I've had has had this functionality.
The head-up display is very effective - it's high definition and even shows detailed colour displays for sat nav and revs if you want it to. You never need to look away for directions when you've got a destination set in the nav.
The rear is bigger than the last M6 and huge compared to the XKR which couldn't fit an adult in the rear. I'm average height and can sit behind myself reasonably comfortably.
The 'Professional' stereo is unbranded but in sound and functionality is typical of the Harman Kardon systems (are BMW just not branding them anymore?) - it's pretty good if some way short of the Bowers and Wilkins in the Jaguars. At least it doesn't distort and the interior has better acoustics than the SLS. I'd have liked the B&O option but as I needed a car relatively quickly (so new was out of the question) and none of the AUC stock had this option, that wasn't going to happen....which is odd because you'd think that BMW would spec their launch demo cars to showcase the latest technology?
The driving position is OK and is the first car I've had where I can;t have the seat in its lowest position - I've never known a car to place you so low in it compared to the rest of the interior. On the whole though, it's a nice place to sit and feels expensive and luxurious. Theres no rattles and it feels extremely tight.
Performance
Its frankly ridiculous, if quite unremarkable at the same time.
Ridiculous because it is so fast, and the acceleration so relentless as it bangs through the gears, that I'd be surprised if anything else I've had would out-run it.....no small feat for a 1900kg car!
The gearchange really does show up the SLS's DCT, as in all 3 modes it's instant, no matter how many gear changes you select in one go. They key differences between the modes are very noticeable:
1. Is very smooth, yet still instant, but holds onto gears longer
2. Has a slightly perceptible gear change and kicks down more readily
3. Is very responsive and is programmed to give a kick on every gear change
I like them all in different circumstances but I'm not fond of it's inconsistency moving off the line in auto, where it'll choose 1st or 2nd with no apparent reason for it's random choice of gear. I wish it would just pick one or the other all the time.
All in all, you wouldn't believe how quick this car gets up to speed and just how well it revs, incredibly so in comparison to other turbo cars I've driven. Unlike most boosted cars, it pulls hardest above 6k, right up to the 7.2k cut-off which is a great asset when combined with solid and relentless thrust from about 2k rpm upwards. Imagine a faster e92 M3 at 8k+ rpm, but with twice the feeling of thrust up to that point!
Economy wise, it's doing about 18mpg in the stop-start commute (with a nice 'whump' when the stop start function fires it up). At motorway speeds I've had as high as 33mpg and on the whole its averaging 24mpg. Has to be some kind of miracle from a car of this weight and performance??
So, why is it also unremarkable? Well, it's extremely refined so hides wind noise and it's speed especially well - much like my previous-shape M6, you just don't notice the speed pile on.
The throttle response also doesn't help - it has three settings ranging from Efficient to Sport Plus. The Efficient setting is designed to do not a lot unless you use a lot of throttle and, as it defaults to this on every start-up, I'm getting used to it not 'feeling' that quick initially (made worse when it decides to pull off in 2nd!). In Sport it's much better and in Sport Plus it's very responsive, without being hyper, so it's ability to feel fast is often more about having the throttle map in the right setting than anything else. In all settings, I don't think I've driven a car that gives you such a perceptible extra shove from the final few mm of throttle travel, so it's clearly programmed to utilise all of its pedal travel.
All in all, and most noticeable when you want to pass a row of cars in a short space, I would describe the performance and very efficient - the thrust just shoots it down the road and the gearchange hammers home the next wave of performance very.....efficiently.
Sound
Deserves it's own section but not for the same reason as the SLS did! It's different, lets put it that way and my first experience of having a car with 'fake' sound pumped through the speakers.
As it's so refined you'd probably hear nothing without some kind of 'help'. Amazingly, I don't think the reproduced sound ever sounds like it's coming out of the speakers, which makes you think that all tis talk of piped sound is all a lie! However, when you open the window you notice two things....
1. that inside it sounds remarkably similar to the real sound you can hear outside and,
2. that the sound really is fake as theres the slightest of delays between real and piped sound which gives the game away
The actual sound isn't bad, but it's totally different to an AMG or my Jag! It's quite a bassy 'high-tech' (futuristic?) sound rather than old-school muscle car and as such, it has it's own (if less outwardly impressive or obvious) character.
Do I prefer it to the AMG's and Jag's? Probably not, but then it has a kind of novelty at present.
Headlights
My first experience of full LED headlights so deserve their own section. The whiteness of light is quite a step ahead of even xenons, which you can see clearly when you pull up next to a car with xenons.
I was a little concerned given my experience with LED's in the home which tend to look bright, but have poor range so don't light down to the floor very well.
On the contrary, these have a very broad and long range, the main beam is sensational and the dynamic workings noticeable and helpful - the motorway setting in particular (which it morphs into at about 75mph) gives an impressive range without a high beam. Apparently, they can even sense crests (to shorten the range) and dips (to lengthen the range), always give the best view ahead. They're the best headlights I've seen to date.
Dynamics
This car has so many settings across gearbox, throttle map, suspension stiffness, steering weight, and DSC that I'm sure it works out to be about 240-odd combinations you can have.
I've already touched on throttle and gearbox but the steering settings are a bit weird and unnecessary. I simply leave it in comfort (the lightest) as even that setting weights up when you're trying to push this weighty machine through a fast direction change. Sport is OK, with a heavy weight that's bearable but Sport Plus is frankly too heavy. The steering is pretty dead in feel and nowhere near as responsive as the SLS from the straight ahead, but that car was unusually sharp (almost go-kart like) off centre. It is still precise and able to be easily placed however I'm bothered at the minute by a 95mph+ wobble through the steering wheel that even a Hunter Roadforce balance hasn't fully cured.
The suspension has a hell of a job to do though, especially as the car gains momentum so quickly. The three settings aren't as immediately obvious as they are in an M3 but once you lean on the chassis a bit, the stiffness of Sport Plus is welcome when driving fast on smooth roads and the compliance of Comfort needed on more challenging surfaces.
I drive a heavily undulating B-road to get to work everyday and it's a little bit unhinged how well the M6 copes - both the Jag and Merc felt tighter to the road initially but, once above 60mph, their stiffness would generate a lot of vertical body movement and in the case of the Merc, even the feeling of air between tyre and road surface as it momentarily left the road. No such chance in the weighty M6, which remains pinned to the surface and, whilst it can still generate some big up and down body movement, I was astonished to find it was doing a good 15-20mph more than I felt comfortable in either of the other two cars over the same stretch.
It rides very well too (other than speed bumps - it doesn't much like short sharp bumps) and whilst I would hardly call it dynamic, overall I'd say it's a very 'effective' and, I'll use that word again, efficient ground coverer. Some of the press have likened it to a 2WD Nissan GT-R, which with my limited experience of the GT-R I'd concur with, except the M6 rides so much nicer.
So, that's my mini review after my first couple of weeks and, apart from losing the 'status' of the SLS , I am very happy with it. I wouldn't say I prefer it to the SLS or vice versa (or even compared to the XKR-S) as they're all just so different - each unique in their own way and with their own strengths. The overall ethos, ground covering ability and impressive build quality of the M6 means it's probably the ideal car for me and the best all-rounder I've had to date.
With a slightly lower stance, the promise of a better steering rack and some other detail niceties, I'm actually considering ordering a Competition Pack version for when they're released in a few months (which I can then spec with the only options I really want that are missing from my car; CCB's and B&O). However, I need to see whether the current offers will continue (of course they will otherwise they won't sell any of them!) as you'd be crazy to buy one of these without a considerable (15%+?) discount.
Anyway, I thought I'd post up some initial thoughts and pictures to see if we can get some feeling for the relatively 'unloved' M6! Apologies for the long post
Firstly, I actually purchased it totally blind because, other than a glimpse nice of a white M6 when I was in LA a few weeks ago, I've never actually seen one in real life. However, that brief sighting really made me sit up and notice as I'd been considering what to replace the SLS with for a few weeks and had narrowed the choice to.....erm......well, I didn't really know. A 991 maybe?
The SLS was a dream car for me so replacing it wasn't easy (even though it annoyed and occasionally disappointed me, as much as I wanted to really like it). The problem was that I expected it to be perfection in every way and whilst it delivered in many respects, I think my expectations of what was a low-volume and reasonably focussed sports car didn't reflect reality or in many respects, the XKR-S that I had previously. Also, I'm a big-GT kind of guy as I tend to like über-refined, tight and rattle free cars, especially ones with a feeling of proper 'thrust'. So, when I noticed the M6 looking so damn good, and significantly more muscular compared to the normal 6 series (mainly due to wider track, flared arches and huge arch-filling wheels), it brought back memories of how good my previous E63 M6 was in most of the areas that I rate as important. It went straight to the top of my list.
Collection and First Impressions
So, on the day of collection (only one day after I did the deal on the phone!), I pulled up at the dealer not really wanting the car I hadn't seen. I was pretty grumpy and the poor salesman could feel the sale slipping away, which he acknowledged and was very reasonable about. He took me to the car and just left me to it to work out what I wanted to do.
I've got to say, when I first set eyes on it (rear 3/4 view...it's best angle IMO) I was very pleasantly surprised. Indeed, I thought that in its San Marino Blue it looked sharp....sharper than the SLS. It's nicely proportioned, sleek and with the very wide tracks, it's got a nice square stance....the XKR-S was good at the rear, the SLS at the front but the M6 is the first car I've had where both front and rear wheels sit right out and level with the wheel arches, exaggerating the width and muscularity of the car. It could sit a few mm lower, but pictures I've seen of lowered examples on H&R's are too low - BMW have got it just right with the new Competition Pack coming out in the summer (-10mm), but then ruined that car with awful wheels.
On the whole, it's probably one of the best looking cars I've had. And this is the general feedback I've had from others, with an overwhelmingly positive response and a surprising preference to it over the SLS.
Interior
Of all the cars I've had, this is simply the best finished one I've had to date. It's got the full leather option with it's door to door leather and alcantara, and even the steering wheel airbag and spokes are covered in smooth leather! The SLS was similarly well appointed as you'd expect, but it's tendency to rattle you wouldn't - all in all, the M6 probably beats all my previous for a combination for quality and materials.
The design is modern and I love the cocooning dash which swoops in all directions. My favourite bit is the steering wheel, which is very much like an old-school M-car wheel - a really small round boss with thin round spokes. I don't know how, but they seem to have fitted an airbag into a boss no bigger than non-airbag steering wheels from the '80's! The rim is small in diameter and with a nice typical BMW M thickness that makes it so nice to use on every drive.
The seats are the standard 'sports' seats as opposed to the optional dynamic seats. With the somewhat integrated headrests, they actually look more stylish than the upgraded seat; they're also comfortable but they're not the most supportive, especially laterally in the backrest which has no functionality to adjust the width of the bolsters. Odd, as every other BMW I've had has had this functionality.
The head-up display is very effective - it's high definition and even shows detailed colour displays for sat nav and revs if you want it to. You never need to look away for directions when you've got a destination set in the nav.
The rear is bigger than the last M6 and huge compared to the XKR which couldn't fit an adult in the rear. I'm average height and can sit behind myself reasonably comfortably.
The 'Professional' stereo is unbranded but in sound and functionality is typical of the Harman Kardon systems (are BMW just not branding them anymore?) - it's pretty good if some way short of the Bowers and Wilkins in the Jaguars. At least it doesn't distort and the interior has better acoustics than the SLS. I'd have liked the B&O option but as I needed a car relatively quickly (so new was out of the question) and none of the AUC stock had this option, that wasn't going to happen....which is odd because you'd think that BMW would spec their launch demo cars to showcase the latest technology?
The driving position is OK and is the first car I've had where I can;t have the seat in its lowest position - I've never known a car to place you so low in it compared to the rest of the interior. On the whole though, it's a nice place to sit and feels expensive and luxurious. Theres no rattles and it feels extremely tight.
Performance
Its frankly ridiculous, if quite unremarkable at the same time.
Ridiculous because it is so fast, and the acceleration so relentless as it bangs through the gears, that I'd be surprised if anything else I've had would out-run it.....no small feat for a 1900kg car!
The gearchange really does show up the SLS's DCT, as in all 3 modes it's instant, no matter how many gear changes you select in one go. They key differences between the modes are very noticeable:
1. Is very smooth, yet still instant, but holds onto gears longer
2. Has a slightly perceptible gear change and kicks down more readily
3. Is very responsive and is programmed to give a kick on every gear change
I like them all in different circumstances but I'm not fond of it's inconsistency moving off the line in auto, where it'll choose 1st or 2nd with no apparent reason for it's random choice of gear. I wish it would just pick one or the other all the time.
All in all, you wouldn't believe how quick this car gets up to speed and just how well it revs, incredibly so in comparison to other turbo cars I've driven. Unlike most boosted cars, it pulls hardest above 6k, right up to the 7.2k cut-off which is a great asset when combined with solid and relentless thrust from about 2k rpm upwards. Imagine a faster e92 M3 at 8k+ rpm, but with twice the feeling of thrust up to that point!
Economy wise, it's doing about 18mpg in the stop-start commute (with a nice 'whump' when the stop start function fires it up). At motorway speeds I've had as high as 33mpg and on the whole its averaging 24mpg. Has to be some kind of miracle from a car of this weight and performance??
So, why is it also unremarkable? Well, it's extremely refined so hides wind noise and it's speed especially well - much like my previous-shape M6, you just don't notice the speed pile on.
The throttle response also doesn't help - it has three settings ranging from Efficient to Sport Plus. The Efficient setting is designed to do not a lot unless you use a lot of throttle and, as it defaults to this on every start-up, I'm getting used to it not 'feeling' that quick initially (made worse when it decides to pull off in 2nd!). In Sport it's much better and in Sport Plus it's very responsive, without being hyper, so it's ability to feel fast is often more about having the throttle map in the right setting than anything else. In all settings, I don't think I've driven a car that gives you such a perceptible extra shove from the final few mm of throttle travel, so it's clearly programmed to utilise all of its pedal travel.
All in all, and most noticeable when you want to pass a row of cars in a short space, I would describe the performance and very efficient - the thrust just shoots it down the road and the gearchange hammers home the next wave of performance very.....efficiently.
Sound
Deserves it's own section but not for the same reason as the SLS did! It's different, lets put it that way and my first experience of having a car with 'fake' sound pumped through the speakers.
As it's so refined you'd probably hear nothing without some kind of 'help'. Amazingly, I don't think the reproduced sound ever sounds like it's coming out of the speakers, which makes you think that all tis talk of piped sound is all a lie! However, when you open the window you notice two things....
1. that inside it sounds remarkably similar to the real sound you can hear outside and,
2. that the sound really is fake as theres the slightest of delays between real and piped sound which gives the game away
The actual sound isn't bad, but it's totally different to an AMG or my Jag! It's quite a bassy 'high-tech' (futuristic?) sound rather than old-school muscle car and as such, it has it's own (if less outwardly impressive or obvious) character.
Do I prefer it to the AMG's and Jag's? Probably not, but then it has a kind of novelty at present.
Headlights
My first experience of full LED headlights so deserve their own section. The whiteness of light is quite a step ahead of even xenons, which you can see clearly when you pull up next to a car with xenons.
I was a little concerned given my experience with LED's in the home which tend to look bright, but have poor range so don't light down to the floor very well.
On the contrary, these have a very broad and long range, the main beam is sensational and the dynamic workings noticeable and helpful - the motorway setting in particular (which it morphs into at about 75mph) gives an impressive range without a high beam. Apparently, they can even sense crests (to shorten the range) and dips (to lengthen the range), always give the best view ahead. They're the best headlights I've seen to date.
Dynamics
This car has so many settings across gearbox, throttle map, suspension stiffness, steering weight, and DSC that I'm sure it works out to be about 240-odd combinations you can have.
I've already touched on throttle and gearbox but the steering settings are a bit weird and unnecessary. I simply leave it in comfort (the lightest) as even that setting weights up when you're trying to push this weighty machine through a fast direction change. Sport is OK, with a heavy weight that's bearable but Sport Plus is frankly too heavy. The steering is pretty dead in feel and nowhere near as responsive as the SLS from the straight ahead, but that car was unusually sharp (almost go-kart like) off centre. It is still precise and able to be easily placed however I'm bothered at the minute by a 95mph+ wobble through the steering wheel that even a Hunter Roadforce balance hasn't fully cured.
The suspension has a hell of a job to do though, especially as the car gains momentum so quickly. The three settings aren't as immediately obvious as they are in an M3 but once you lean on the chassis a bit, the stiffness of Sport Plus is welcome when driving fast on smooth roads and the compliance of Comfort needed on more challenging surfaces.
I drive a heavily undulating B-road to get to work everyday and it's a little bit unhinged how well the M6 copes - both the Jag and Merc felt tighter to the road initially but, once above 60mph, their stiffness would generate a lot of vertical body movement and in the case of the Merc, even the feeling of air between tyre and road surface as it momentarily left the road. No such chance in the weighty M6, which remains pinned to the surface and, whilst it can still generate some big up and down body movement, I was astonished to find it was doing a good 15-20mph more than I felt comfortable in either of the other two cars over the same stretch.
It rides very well too (other than speed bumps - it doesn't much like short sharp bumps) and whilst I would hardly call it dynamic, overall I'd say it's a very 'effective' and, I'll use that word again, efficient ground coverer. Some of the press have likened it to a 2WD Nissan GT-R, which with my limited experience of the GT-R I'd concur with, except the M6 rides so much nicer.
So, that's my mini review after my first couple of weeks and, apart from losing the 'status' of the SLS , I am very happy with it. I wouldn't say I prefer it to the SLS or vice versa (or even compared to the XKR-S) as they're all just so different - each unique in their own way and with their own strengths. The overall ethos, ground covering ability and impressive build quality of the M6 means it's probably the ideal car for me and the best all-rounder I've had to date.
With a slightly lower stance, the promise of a better steering rack and some other detail niceties, I'm actually considering ordering a Competition Pack version for when they're released in a few months (which I can then spec with the only options I really want that are missing from my car; CCB's and B&O). However, I need to see whether the current offers will continue (of course they will otherwise they won't sell any of them!) as you'd be crazy to buy one of these without a considerable (15%+?) discount.
Edited by Palmball on Tuesday 4th June 00:59
Superb write-up.
The only thing that really annoys me about BMW is that I think they've really nailed the styling of these - and also the 5 series, new 3 and forthcoming 4. They look really good....... your car looks superb.
The annoyance then is that the only fly in the ointment is the bloody headlights on the 1-series, which is a complete pisser because I've got an M135i......!!
The only thing that really annoys me about BMW is that I think they've really nailed the styling of these - and also the 5 series, new 3 and forthcoming 4. They look really good....... your car looks superb.
The annoyance then is that the only fly in the ointment is the bloody headlights on the 1-series, which is a complete pisser because I've got an M135i......!!
I test drove a San Marino Blue M6 before buying my M5. I loved the colour and the car looked fantastic. Considering the weight of the car it handled well and was extremely fast, my 1M felt rather slow afterwards. The only negative for me was the rear leg room, considering the huge size of the car the room in the rear was pitiful.
Anyway, your car looks great, enjoy it!
Anyway, your car looks great, enjoy it!
Nice write up, very cool car.
Why was the sls not appropriate for work?
Why couldnt you keep the sls for an extra 6 months or so, till you could get a competition pack..... Just seems mental to me you just bought it, but going to change it in the near future for another one. Seems like throwing money away.
Maybe you got the cash and it doesnt matter, but im a tight scot! Ha!
Why was the sls not appropriate for work?
Why couldnt you keep the sls for an extra 6 months or so, till you could get a competition pack..... Just seems mental to me you just bought it, but going to change it in the near future for another one. Seems like throwing money away.
Maybe you got the cash and it doesnt matter, but im a tight scot! Ha!
Excellent write-up 
I didn't really like the look of the e63, but the f13 m6 looks great.
Re: the sound of the car, I've found that my f10 m5 has become louder over the past year and, when driven hard, it sounds more like a v10 than a v8. The AMG makes a lot more noise all of the time, but I like the fact that the m5 sounds fairly aggressive without being loud until the driver decides to make it loud.
Agree totally about the behaviour of the car at the upper end of the rev range: it's much closer to the N/A "M" power experience than many critics appreciate.
Also agree that the number of possible combinations of settings can be a little much, given that the car defaults to softest settings and is very sensitive to most of the changes. I also find the stiffer steering settings a bit of a waste of time.
I didn't really like the look of the e63, but the f13 m6 looks great.
Re: the sound of the car, I've found that my f10 m5 has become louder over the past year and, when driven hard, it sounds more like a v10 than a v8. The AMG makes a lot more noise all of the time, but I like the fact that the m5 sounds fairly aggressive without being loud until the driver decides to make it loud.
Agree totally about the behaviour of the car at the upper end of the rev range: it's much closer to the N/A "M" power experience than many critics appreciate.
Also agree that the number of possible combinations of settings can be a little much, given that the car defaults to softest settings and is very sensitive to most of the changes. I also find the stiffer steering settings a bit of a waste of time.
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