A beautiful BMW - three words that wouldn't have won consensus over recent years. While we've been ardent fans even the 7-series, we've often felt we were ploughing a rather lonely furrow.
With the new 6-series we can at last return to mainstream society. Certainly, the 5-Series is a big hit and the Z4 put the marque at the top of the roadster market.
But, as a premium brand, BMW needed a €100,000-plus car that could cause mature men with responsible jobs to oogle and cat whistle. The 6-series fits the bill. It now offers a counterpart to its stunning Z8 in terms of high-price design.
In gun-metal grey, it evokes hints of everthing from Porsche's 911 at the rear, to even the new Bentley GT Continental in the middle roofline, with a touch of the Z4 in its long tapering shark-like snout. It all comes together to give you the best-looking four-seater coupé from the Munich-based firm since it built the 503 in the late 1950s.
Admittedly the designers went a bit askew with the weird lip on the boot lid that looks like a badly set spoiler, but the LED lighting and sweeping back window give the car a rear of which Jennifer Lopez would be envious.
As with its most recent predecessors - the memorable 1980s 6-series and the forgettable 1990s 8-series - this car is no shrinking violet, measuring nearly five metres in length. It's imposing even when encountered alongside opponents such as the 'king of bling' Mercedes SL, and that's no mean feat.
We tried both coupé and convertible and found a world of difference. The convertible may win over the growing population of soft-top fans keen to let the wind lick their toupés, but the hard-top coupé is much sharper in appearance and on the road.
The convertible's lined canvas roof flips back at the touch of a button, without the need for even a clip to be pulled or a handle turned. The thick lining means noise levels and comfort are on a par with expectations from a car in its price bracket. When the sun deigns to appear, the roof is in the boot in seconds and the silver iDrive knob is glinting happily.
Yet the small rear window is more like that in the old Jaguar XJS and, for all BMW's superb engineering, the handling is not equal to its hard-topped sibling with its sweeping back window.
Behind the wheel of the hard-top, it's as if you're running on rails. The car sweeps into corners, firm, confident and surprisingly well poised for its size. It's only when you push hard on the exit that it dials in a little oversteer, the back flipping out slightly in true rear-wheel-drive style, but quickly coming back to form courtesy of the stability system. The only hint in the cabin is that little yellow symbol flickering in the dash.
When you eventually fall for that deep rumble from the twin exhausts - and you will - you'll notice more and more that little yellow flicker, trying to maintain contact with the road when the modern motoring equivalent of 333 horses spins the back tyres after you prod the accelerator to the floor from a standing start.
But coupés are not just about power. They need refinement. The 6-series manages it with the usual German precision. While under the long tapering bonnet lies a 4.4-litre V8, inside the cabin the experience is more akin to the luxury 7-series than the sporty Z4.
With leather seats as standard, the clean modern look still features the revised iDrive system, with its turn and click control of everything from air-conditioning to optional TV. But the power is with the driver, whether they want to cruise along cocooned in comfort, or push along with the engine hoarsely echoing in the cabin.
Along with the sport mode on the six-speed sequential auto gearbox, there is one other telltale sign that this is a car made for racier moments than the flagship 7-series - the ride. This is partly due to the Bridgestone runflat tyres, which are uncomfortable on rough back roads. But take away the tyre issue and the car is remarkably well balanced, sitting flat in even the most troublesome corners. Our thinking would be that a set of normal tyres would solve any ride problems at a stroke.
Then, of course, there's the fuel consumption. On average, the hard-top offered us 20.4 mpg, not exactly frugal in this time of rising fuel prices, but admirable given the size of the engine.
However, we did have our stressful moments. Cruising around Sally Gap in Co Wicklow, the fuel light came on, the on-board computer estimating 30 miles until we had to get out and push. Easily within range of a petrol station, we thought. Several minutes later however and we were down to the low 20s.
We headed for Enniskerry with air-con off, windows up and all the electronics unplugged to the best of our ability. No petrol station there. On we went, our now-single digits dropping. We finally made it to an unleaded oasis at the Scalp two miles north.
Lesson one: Don't dice with fuel digits in the Wicklow mountains, especially with a thirsty V8 under you. Lesson two: BMW should consider a bigger tank in a car that's built for cruising.
The normal owner of a 6-series wouldn't make these sort of miscalculations. They know about figures, or at least know someone who does. After all they have come up with the €108,400 for the coupé, or €119,900 for the convertible. If it were our decision we'd quickly pocket the €11,500 difference and plan a luxury holiday.
So how does it match up with its competitors? It certainly sees off the XK8 in all its guises, and though the supercharged XKR may have it beaten for performance, the sporting Jaguar is increasingly looking long in the tooth and its interior is in need of a complete makeover.
As for the others, several are seen off thanks to its 2+2 seating in the 645Ci that's unmatched by competitors, and a large boot in the coupé that's superior to most in its class.
In fact the boot is only 10 per cent smaller than a 7-series at 450 litres, and rear seat space is better than Jaguar or Maserati Coupé, previously best in class. These can take adults for short journeys and will kids on longer ones.
Overall, it's a solid performer, with good looks and a confident feel. Its only problem may be that it feels too close to a snappily dressed 7-series than some of its raw and racier competitors.
The Porsche 911 may still be the darling of the coupé set, but at roughly €20,000 more, BMW may pip it to the post with its pricing policy.
