Five-Point Inspection: 2013 BMW M6

It has power, style and surprisingly good fuel economy. If you haven’t guessed it, the subject of AutoGuide.com’s Five-Point Inspection is the 2013 BMW M6.

In case you didn’t already know, the BMW M6 has one hell of a powerful engine to play with. Its twin-turbo 4.4-liter V8 makes 560 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque, all while singing up to a 7,200 rpm redline.

That is, if it ever gets there. Maxing first gear out on anything other than a highway on-ramp is grounds for jail time.

On the slower side of daily driving, you’re going to deal with BMW’s engine start-stop technology. Yes, it saves fuel. But it also means that jumping from a foot on the brake to the gas yields disappointing results.

The system is pretty good at starting the engine quickly, but there’s still a little lag time. It’s fun for the first day when the engine roars after every stop sign. Then it gets old faster than the M6 hits 60 mph…. which, by the way, takes just 4.1 seconds.

What doesn’t get old, on the other hand, is how efficient the car is. Remember those output figures? It wasn’t long ago that such ferocious performance meant suffering through mpgs in the low teens – if not the single digits. Not so anymore.

After a week of driving with occasionally spirited takeoffs, the car reported an average 19 mpg, which is just below the EPA’s highway figure. Impressive to say the least.

BMW’s swoopy sport coupe might carry a little too much panache on the outside for some, but spend a minute sitting in it and you’ll be sold. Carbon fiber sets off a cabin otherwise characterized by aluminum, rich leather and Alcantara. It smells of wealth in the same way a wood paneled room perfumed with pipe smoke and plenty of books does. There is no substitute in either the Audi or Mercedes portfolio.

Surging to the speed limit is so much more fun when you know where you’re going and how fast the car is traveling.

It’s sort of a sick and twisted juggling act in some high-powered cars, but BMW doesn’t ask you to glance between the speedometer and street. Instead, the heads up display shows everything from speed to rpm and even the current speed limit.

Most remarkably, it updates within seconds of passing a new speed sign, which is helpful when you’re busy taking in the car’s sensory overload of luxury amenities.

BMW offers an almost silly number of possible driving modes in its M models. Throttle, suspension and steering feel can be individually customized to three levels ranging from being comfort-oriented to hardcore.

You can also find your favorite configuration and assign it to one of two preset buttons on the steering wheel.

And of course, you can also defeat traction control to deliver 500 lb-ft of uncensored torque to the rear wheels. The truth is, that’s just as excessive as it sounds. But if you’re careful with all that power, a feather-light touch will deliver just a hint of oversteer.

Thinking about buying a new car? Interested in the M6?

Visit AutoGuide’s new car buying section here. If you want, you can skip to BMW.