Car & Drive Review: 2012 BMW 640i Coupe
Car and Driver goes behind the wheel of the 2012 BMW 640i Coupe. The 6 Series entry-level model in the United States is powered by a six-cylinder 3.0 liter N55 twin-scroll turbocharged engine which outputs 315 horsepower and 332 lb-ft of torque.
The engine is mated to the 8-speed ZF transmission. The xDrive setup is not available for the 640i Coupe. BMW claims a 0-to-60 mph time of 5.4 seconds, just half-a-second slower than the 400-horsepower 650i with its 450 lb-ft of torque
Let’s see an excerpt from their review.
“And the 640i will be a very effective counter to the government’s move to ban horsepower and control fuel consumption. Thanks to the tall gear ratios at the top of its eight-speed automatic transmission, the 640 delivers an EPA-estimated 31 mpg on the highway. That gives this two-ton coupe the highest highway fuel economy of any BMW, aside from the 528i and Z4 sDrive28i, which use the firm’s new four-cylinder. Interestingly, 31 mpg is also 6 mpg better than that of the six-cylinder 740i. The 6’s city figure is 21, compared with 17 for the 7. Thank the 640’s two extra gear ratios—the 740i still has just six—and its newer, single-turbo engine.
When we first drove the conceptually similar (if more abundantly turbocharged) 740i, we came away with the impression that it was all the 7-series anybody needs. We’d say the same of the 640i, except that nobody needs a 6-series. Nobody exactly needs a 7-series, either, but as a sedan, it’s vastly more practical than a car with two fewer doors and an appendix of a rear seat.
As a big coupe, the 6 is a machine for broadcasting its owner’s greatness. Or at least that’s what we’d use it for. If you’re a bigger person than we are, though, and just want to look good, drive around surrounded by BMW’s best interior yet, and do so for as little money as possible, there’s no reason not to do it in a 640i. Except maybe—okay, we’ll say it again—the steering.”
Author: Horatiu Boeriu
Source: http://www.bmwblog.com/2011/11/06/car-d ... 40i-coupe/