New BMW X6 review
BMW X6 styling may divide, but driving is indisputably impressive
Author: David Miles
Published: 20 May 2008
A high performance sports coupe wrapped up in a SUV body with a lower roof and all the aggressive styling looks of a Raid Rally competition car, perhaps now isn’t the politically correct time for the BMW X6 to be making an appearance.
But tell that to real customers as 1,200 of the 1,600 X6s available in the UK this year are already sold.
Anti 4x4 lobbyists, traffic congestion, high fuel prices, demand for lower CO2 vehicles and ever higher personal taxation levels are all having an effect on new and used car sales.
However customers with plenty of money and those not worried by increasing costs and who really want to stamp their independence on the type of car they wish to buy, the more outrageous the better, will love the BMW X6.
Priced from £41,965, plus lots more if you add in all the must have options, the X6 is big, it’s bold and it’s brash and very fast and capable.
Styling and dimensions
It might be a high-off-the-ground 4x4 but forget the X6 being an off-roader. Although it will cope with muddy tracks, snow, ice and flooded roads better than any sports car, the X6 is all about having a high profile very fast and capable sports machine.
The BMW X5’s imposing front end styling plus wide stance and five door layout has been joined with what looks similar to the upper section of the 6-Series coupe. The X6 is 1,983mm wide, more than the X5 and it is 23mm longer as well at 4,877mm. The overall height is 1,690mm.
The X6, depending on engine size, weighs in the region of 2.2-tonnes and for the record for the sporting lifestyle owners the maximum braked towing weight is in the region of 2.7-tonnes, again depending on which engine option is chosen.
Practicality
The X6 carries just four passengers in luxury, not five or seven as with the X5. It has a large tailgate leading to a reasonably large load area, marginally less than the X5 at 570-litres which can be increased up to 1,450-litres with the 60/40 split rear seats folded, plenty large enough for the golf bags and trolleys.
The steeply raked rear roof section gives the X6 a dramatic sports side profile but it does limit headroom for rear seat passengers who are six feet tall. Headroom getting in and out of the rear passenger doors is also limited. The steep angle of the tailgate and high waistline also limits rear visibility. However the interior is exceptionally well equipped and of high class.
Engines
The engine line-up has four units, all turbocharged, with two petrol and two diesel options. BMW estimates 85 per cent of customers will choose diesel power, the 30d 235hp or 35d 286hp because of the better fuel economy and low CO2 emissions. But 12 per cent of customers will forget about such trivialities for the well off and go for the 50i, 4.4-litre, V8 408hp turbo petrol unit to be launched in November.
At launch the 35i, 306hp petrol twin turbocharged 2007 and 2008 International Engine of the Year is available. All diesel units fall into the Band F £210 for road tax and both petrol units into Band G at £400.
All four X6 models utilise elements of BMW’s much publicised and highly rated EfficientDynamics programme. Brake Energy Regeneration is standard across the range and combines with active aerodynamics and low viscosity fluids in the steering and transmission systems.
Third-generation common-rail technology diesel-engined cars and high-precision direct injection on the petrol models both serve to optimise the combustion process.
Driving
In addition to BMW’s well known xDrive all wheel drive system and other handling programmes the power of the BMW X6 is harnessed by an advanced chassis that incorporates Dynamic Performance Control for the first time on a BMW.
BMW says their new Dynamic Performance Control offers drivers optimum cornering ability courtesy of a complex multi-clutch differential that, effectively, helps drive the vehicle around a bend. This feature is fitted as standard to all X6 models.
A conventional differential wastes power through wheelslip during cornering. A limited-slip differential locks out an unloaded wheel to transfer drive to the wheel with most grip – but the locked wheel can act as a drag on performance. However, Dynamic Performance Control improves on the traditional, performance oriented limited-slip differential.
It allows an inside wheel to still deliver power and provide drive, while at the same time sending more drive to the outside wheel that has more grip. The result, combined with one of the most advanced stability control systems available, is a vehicle that out performs the current benchmark BMW X5 and some sports cars in terms of dynamic capability.
In real life this technology works. Driven back-to-back on a test circuit against the latest X5, considered to be a handling class leader for SUVs, the new X6 fitted with all the standard and optional handling packages literally leaves it standing. The agility and control of the X6 for such a large and heavy vehicle at high speeds is outstanding and the grip totally predictable.
On the open road the big alloy wheels and huge wide tyres can give an unsettled ride over poorer surfaces but in general the ride is comfortable, quiet and with little body roll even when the X6 is hustled along. Huge mileages over normal A and B roads, traffic conditions permitting, can be covered by this vehicle in a short time. You can travel very quickly, very easily with no sensation as to the true speed of the vehicle – eerie!
Unique and distinctive
The result of all this technology is a unique Sports Activity Vehicle or 4x4 Coupe, call it what you will but it has great engines and industry leading array of drivetrain technologies. The styling people will like or loathe, the fact it only has four seats will be an advantage for some and a disadvantage for others and for many people the X6 will be a pointless exercise.
The fact that it is so different and so distinctive will appeal to many users and be sure that the technology under the skin of the X6 will be used in more and more 4x4 and sports models as it does set new standards in handling for big and heavy machines.
MILESTONES
BMW X6 xDrive 35d (Best selling model)
Price: £44,145 (+£11,820 of options)
Engine/transmission: 3.0-litre, V6 twin-turbocharged third generation diesel, 286hp, 580Nm of torque from 1,750rpm, 6-speed automatic gearbox, xDrive all wheel drive with Dynamic Performance Control and Dynamic Stability Control
Performance: 147mph, 0-62mph 6.9 seconds, 34mpg (22mpg actual), CO2 220g/km, VED Band F £210. BIK tax 35%.
For: Road presence and extreme styling, great agility for such a large vehicle, power and performance, driving position, well equipped and premium class interior
Against: Limited rear headroom, styling a step too far for some people, will upset the anti 4x4 brigade
Comprehensive list of SUV reviews, pictures and stats
New AC Schnitzer BMW X6 Sports Activity Coupe rubs MT up wrong way, simply by existing. Tuners that gave us unneutered BMW M3s and M5s has grabbed X6 by dog’s bobbins. So, is the trick X6 the canine’s two things or a dinner?
SUVs need to be tall, high-roofed glass houses. Not anymore because BMW is just about to introduce their new X6 Sports Activity Coupe which goes on sale in the UK from 31 May.
All-new BMW X6 SUV coupe crossover with UK dealers by May 31.
Is it a coupe? Is it an SUV? Who knows. All we know is it´s called the BMW X6.
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