2012 BMW 650i Convertible Review by Car and Driver

Car and Driver, a US publications, releases a review for the all-new 2012 BMW 650i  Convertible. This newly designed luxury cabriolet’s base price is USD91,375, including Destination & Handling. Wider, longer, and with more room, this vehicle promises both performance and comfort. What did Car and Driver think about the vehicle? Learn more in this excerpt:

We cried foul after the company fitted the 5-series with a new electric power-steering system, as it deprives the driver of any feel through that most important of automotive interfaces. Now BMW has fitted the 6er with this system. It’s like there’s a rogue faction within Bayerische Motoren Werke that is trying to scuttle the mothership. We’re particularly disappointed because the setup otherwise has everything we want in really good steering: immediacy and satisfying weight. The steering effort is variable via the 6’s standard Driving Dynamics Control system, but none of the settings (Comfort, Normal, Sport or Sport+) results in any communication.

Fortunately, although Driving Dynamics Control adjusts the damping, too, the Bavarians have yet to make an electric power chassis. Even if you can’t feel what the front tires are doing, this 4569-pound convertible’s balance will widen eyes and restore some of the confidence sapped by the lifeless tiller. At the ragged edge, though, this ragtop loses its poise a bit, getting a little squirrelly. After the skidpad test—in which the 650i scored an impressive 0.89 g—our test driver called it a “drift machine.” A 167-foot stop from 70 mph also nurses courage, as does the brake pedal’s firm, predictable feel. Its travel might be long for some, but it’s hard to fault BMW for making the brakes easy to modulate.

Read full review here