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BMW 650i provokes an attitude change

CNET Car Tech reviews the 2009 BMW 650i Convertible.

Wayne Cunningham Managing Editor / Roadshow
Wayne Cunningham reviews cars and writes about automotive technology for CNET's Roadshow. Prior to the automotive beat, he covered spyware, Web building technologies, and computer hardware. He began covering technology and the Web in 1994 as an editor of The Net magazine.
Wayne Cunningham


The hardest part of reviewing the 2009 BMW 650i Convertible was looking at it. Well, that and using the horrid iDrive interface to cue up music, make phone calls, and set destinations on the navigation system. In fact, when it showed up in the garage, we were prepared to be unimpressed. But that good old BMW magic took over once we got it on the road, where its efficient and powerful engine delivered an exciting exhaust note, and its active suspension countered all the lateral Gs we threw at it.

The advantage of sitting in the 650i Convertible was not being able to see the terrible rear fender and trunk lid design. Being able to put the top down on a warm and sunny day in the wine country didn't hurt either. The audio system delivers very nice sound, which can overcome road and wind noise, as well.

But even though the 650i changed our attitude, we still can't wait for a model update, which will at least mean the updated cabin tech and interface we saw in the BMW 335d.

Read our review of the 2009 BMW 650i Convertible.