2005 BMW 645 Ci Road Test

I played around with the car's innovative iDrive infotainment system, which is much improved over the system I initially tested

Active steering combined with BMW's dynamic drive technology is really impressive new technology. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

in the 7, and once again found it easy to operate after spending a little time getting acclimatized. For those who don't like knobs and buttons, all you have to do is tell it what to do verbally after pressing the voice command button on the steering wheel. It follows orders well, and simplifies operating the car's various systems so that you can get onto the job at hand, driving.

Now that we're talking both driving and technical innovations, the 6 is offers a plethora of engineering firsts to enhance time spent behind the wheel. One of my favourite new duos is active steering combined with BMW's dynamic drive technology. Essentially active

The 645 Ci's ride is not only smoother than rival sport coupe's, but its handling is also much improved. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

steering adapts the steering ratio to vehicle speed, but its electric motor assisted, planetary gear motivated rack-and-pinion system is much more sophisticated than conventional speed sensitive steering systems, common to most luxury cars. When parking, steering response to input is much quicker, at about 1.7 turns lock to lock. At high speed, that ratio relaxes significantly to allow incredible stability.

Dynamic drive effectually flattens out curves, adjusting to road surface imperfections before the actual bumps and dips occur. The 645 Ci's ride is not only smoother than rival sport coupe's, but its handling is also much improved.