I've met the car I want to marry. The BMW 650i. If you haven't been lucky enough to take this glorious beast for a spin then do so now - or spend the rest of your life regretting having missed out.
What a rush. Low slung, with a silhouette that sometimes reminded me of the predatory, shark-like profile of earlier Mustangs, it's the replacement for the 645 but with a far nicer tail. The two-door coupe, sisters, is as sexy as hell.
Press that start button. Put your foot on the loud pedal. Eish! That deep, V8 rumble gives me goosebumps. There's a convertible option, by the way, but it's way heavier than the coupe.
Sinking into the ultra-comfy seats in the cockpit is like coming home. With the steering automatically adjusting to suit your driving position, perfect visibility all round, I was ready to hit the longest road I could find.
The coupe is astonishingly swift, so quick and responsive on take-off I really thought I'd get whiplash. In case you were wondering, you can move from 0-100km/h in 5.4sec and you can give Mr Plod a run for his money at the electronically governed top speed of 250km/h.
It's the all-round comfort, the smoothness, the exceptional performance and road-holding, the luxury, the tone of that engine, the perfection in every detail, that made me want to own this car for ever - price notwithstanding (a piffling R751 000 - I'll take two!).
It's for the luxury-car buyer who truly understands cars, who appreciates them, who gets off on the exhilaration only a performance car such as a BMW 650i can provide. It's quiet, it's smooth, it has "active steering" and "dynamic drive" to reduce body roll through bends (hugely useful in KZN, where all roads seem to consist of bends, curves and corners). There's every safety mechanism you can think of and the car's steering is so responsive it's a pleasure to park, let alone just drive.
It's the perfect touring vehicle. Despite having only two doors, the back seat will accommodate two adults and, in my case, three kids even if the one in the middle had to straddle the transmission tunnel.
I was also able (had no option) to squeeze two littlies on to the front seat and strap them in fairly comfortably when the lift club expanded suddenly one afternoon. The boot? Ample for your designer luggage, or golf bag, or five large school bags and cricket bags and ballet bags and some shopping, with a laptop bag and camera bag added for good measure.
I would seriously take the BMW 650i to be my lawfully wedded companion for the rest of my life to have and to park, from this day forward.
Amen.