Hooked on horsepower and intrigued by its capabilities, we add an X6 to our long-term test fleet.
BY JARED GALL, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JARED GALL AND JORDAN BROWN
Current Mileage/Months in Fleet: 3502 miles/1 month
Average Fuel Economy/Range: 14 mpg/320 miles
Service: $0
Normal Wear: $0
Repair: $0
If you’re a showroom rookie looking for an appointment to Car and Driver’s long-term roster, here are some pointers: Be an important model for your parent company. It helps to win a comparo. If you aren’t important or eligible for any comparos, we’ll at least like you more if you’re fast. If all else fails, just intrigue us. We’re curious creatures.
A second full-size SUV likely wasn’t necessary for the brand that mints world-standard sports sedans, nor has BMW’s new X6 triumphed in any comparos, although that’s mostly because natural competitors are so few. But our first encounter proved very interesting, and we learned that the X6 is fast. Very fast. We figured that 40,000 miles of market research might help us to ascertain the X6’s purpose.
Critical Shortage of Twin-Turbo V-8s Relieved
Base X6s are fitted with the familiar and much-lauded twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six, an engine whose 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque have already made it many friends in the 1-, 3-, and 5-series BMWs. Lagging behind our Recommended Daily Allowance of turbocharged V-8, however, we ordered the biggest engine—a newly developed twin-huffed 4.4-liter bristling with 400 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of twist that adds $10,500 to the base price, bumping it to $63,825. The only available transmission on the X6 is a six-speed automatic; steering-wheel-mounted paddles are standard.
From there, our X6 added almost $17,000 in options. Highlights include the Premium package ($2000, includes a universal garage-door opener, an auto-dimming digital-compass rearview mirror, and auto-dimming side mirrors), the Premium Sound package ($2000, includes an iPod and a USB adapter, better speakers, and a six-DVD changer in the glove box), the Sport package ($3200 for adaptive-drive active roll control and variable damping), another $950 for 20-inch wheels and high-performance Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tires, rear-seat entertainment ($1700), and a head-up display ($1200). Sprinkle in bits such as running boards, a rearview camera (the most essential of all X6 options, given the sheetmetal incision it offers as a rear window, and a bargain at just $400), and automatic soft-close doors that shut themselves the last fraction of an inch (perfect for teenagers sneaking out of the house late at night) and—shazzam!—$80,270.
Not cheap, but if the X6 would be facing an uphill battle for our love, might as well make that hill as steep as possible, right? The only options we didn’t include were active steering, the rear climate-control package, and heated rear seats (if we put someone in the back seat, it’s because we like them less).
We took delivery of our X6 at the BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina, just days after the last bolt had been torqued, via the company’s factory delivery program. This was for a couple of reasons. First, the program is fun and includes a factory tour, some familiarization laps in a similar vehicle—lapping your own car with three miles on the odometer is not advised—and some just-for-fun off-roading in a fleet of X5s. Second, the performance center is far away, and we wanted to rack up the break-in miles ASAP. Plus, there are some entertaining roads between Ann Arbor and Spartanburg, some of them with names you have perhaps heard before: Tail of the Dragon, anyone?
X6 Stays Right Side Up, World Is Inverted
Following our first drive, we were eager to test the X6 on real-world roads, and what better place to test a vehicle’s capability than easily the most-well-known driving/motorcycling road east of the Mississippi? According to devotees, the Dragon boasts 318 curves in its 11-mile length. We lost count at 305 (or was it 306?) and weren’t going to turn around to start over. It was late.
Not that we weren’t having way more fun than we’d ever expect in something weighing 5200 pounds; the X6’s handling is a minor miracle. Close your eyes—not recommended on a stretch of road averaging one curve every 183 feet—and you’d be sure you were driving a much smaller BMW, one without the X in its name and perhaps a 5 or even a 3. It’s worth repeating here that a V-8 X6 lapped the Nürburgring nearly as quickly as a previous-generation M3. We expected weighty steering in an SUV carrying nearly 2800 pounds over 275mm-wide front tires; what we didn’t expect was feedback as clear as a starry Wyoming night. Our one major gripe so far about the ride is that, with all the rubber under the vehicle, the X6 tramlines and follows surface imperfections at speed, making for an occasionally meandering freeway persona.
Also helping the X6 achieve small-car dynamics are the standard xDrive all-wheel drive and BMW’s “dynamic performance control,” a torque-vectoring active rear differential that sends more power to the outside rear wheel under hard cornering to improve turn-in and reduce understeer. To say it works well is an understatement on the order of saying Machu Picchu is a quaint old village. The X6 barreled through the Tail of the Dragon like a 5000-pound Kawasaki Ninja, seeming to track truer as cornering speeds increased. When we’d returned home and finished our break-in miles, our X6 recorded 0.89 g on the skidpad, a figure that matches that of the last 335i sedan we tested and is quite atypical in the world of two-and-a-half-ton SUVs. Equally shocking is the X6’s 163-foot stopping distance from 70 mph, just six feet longer than the 335i’s.
Mass No Object
To the X6’s surprising agility the V-8 adds sports-sedan speed: 0 to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, 13.8 in the quarter at 107 mph. The only time you’ll notice any turbo lag is from a dead stop. Otherwise, the engine pulls hard at any speed—all 450 pound-feet of torque are available from 1750 rpm to 4500—and sounds decent doing it, although we wish for a more raucous exhaust note. Then again, we probably don’t need further encouragement to romp any harder on the gas pedal, as we’re currently averaging just 14 miles per premium gallon. Top speed is limited to 157 mph, but we’re averaging much lower.
So far in our hands, the X6 has presented precisely zero practical arguments for its existence, but it’s fast, it’s capable, and we like driving it more than any other 5000-pounder we’ve driven. We’ve already concluded that this drivetrain in a 5-series would make for the ultimate executive Evo. And although our ranks still shelter a few dissidents, most of us have been sold on the styling, at least from some angles. We won’t claim yet to understand the X6, but we’ll see if the next 40,000 miles can convince us not to care.
BY JARED GALL, PHOTOGRAPHY BY JARED GALL AND JORDAN BROWN
Current Mileage/Months in Fleet: 3502 miles/1 month
Average Fuel Economy/Range: 14 mpg/320 miles
Service: $0
Normal Wear: $0
Repair: $0
If you’re a showroom rookie looking for an appointment to Car and Driver’s long-term roster, here are some pointers: Be an important model for your parent company. It helps to win a comparo. If you aren’t important or eligible for any comparos, we’ll at least like you more if you’re fast. If all else fails, just intrigue us. We’re curious creatures.
A second full-size SUV likely wasn’t necessary for the brand that mints world-standard sports sedans, nor has BMW’s new X6 triumphed in any comparos, although that’s mostly because natural competitors are so few. But our first encounter proved very interesting, and we learned that the X6 is fast. Very fast. We figured that 40,000 miles of market research might help us to ascertain the X6’s purpose.
Critical Shortage of Twin-Turbo V-8s Relieved
Base X6s are fitted with the familiar and much-lauded twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six, an engine whose 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque have already made it many friends in the 1-, 3-, and 5-series BMWs. Lagging behind our Recommended Daily Allowance of turbocharged V-8, however, we ordered the biggest engine—a newly developed twin-huffed 4.4-liter bristling with 400 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of twist that adds $10,500 to the base price, bumping it to $63,825. The only available transmission on the X6 is a six-speed automatic; steering-wheel-mounted paddles are standard.
From there, our X6 added almost $17,000 in options. Highlights include the Premium package ($2000, includes a universal garage-door opener, an auto-dimming digital-compass rearview mirror, and auto-dimming side mirrors), the Premium Sound package ($2000, includes an iPod and a USB adapter, better speakers, and a six-DVD changer in the glove box), the Sport package ($3200 for adaptive-drive active roll control and variable damping), another $950 for 20-inch wheels and high-performance Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tires, rear-seat entertainment ($1700), and a head-up display ($1200). Sprinkle in bits such as running boards, a rearview camera (the most essential of all X6 options, given the sheetmetal incision it offers as a rear window, and a bargain at just $400), and automatic soft-close doors that shut themselves the last fraction of an inch (perfect for teenagers sneaking out of the house late at night) and—shazzam!—$80,270.
Not cheap, but if the X6 would be facing an uphill battle for our love, might as well make that hill as steep as possible, right? The only options we didn’t include were active steering, the rear climate-control package, and heated rear seats (if we put someone in the back seat, it’s because we like them less).
We took delivery of our X6 at the BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina, just days after the last bolt had been torqued, via the company’s factory delivery program. This was for a couple of reasons. First, the program is fun and includes a factory tour, some familiarization laps in a similar vehicle—lapping your own car with three miles on the odometer is not advised—and some just-for-fun off-roading in a fleet of X5s. Second, the performance center is far away, and we wanted to rack up the break-in miles ASAP. Plus, there are some entertaining roads between Ann Arbor and Spartanburg, some of them with names you have perhaps heard before: Tail of the Dragon, anyone?
X6 Stays Right Side Up, World Is Inverted
Following our first drive, we were eager to test the X6 on real-world roads, and what better place to test a vehicle’s capability than easily the most-well-known driving/motorcycling road east of the Mississippi? According to devotees, the Dragon boasts 318 curves in its 11-mile length. We lost count at 305 (or was it 306?) and weren’t going to turn around to start over. It was late.
Not that we weren’t having way more fun than we’d ever expect in something weighing 5200 pounds; the X6’s handling is a minor miracle. Close your eyes—not recommended on a stretch of road averaging one curve every 183 feet—and you’d be sure you were driving a much smaller BMW, one without the X in its name and perhaps a 5 or even a 3. It’s worth repeating here that a V-8 X6 lapped the Nürburgring nearly as quickly as a previous-generation M3. We expected weighty steering in an SUV carrying nearly 2800 pounds over 275mm-wide front tires; what we didn’t expect was feedback as clear as a starry Wyoming night. Our one major gripe so far about the ride is that, with all the rubber under the vehicle, the X6 tramlines and follows surface imperfections at speed, making for an occasionally meandering freeway persona.
Also helping the X6 achieve small-car dynamics are the standard xDrive all-wheel drive and BMW’s “dynamic performance control,” a torque-vectoring active rear differential that sends more power to the outside rear wheel under hard cornering to improve turn-in and reduce understeer. To say it works well is an understatement on the order of saying Machu Picchu is a quaint old village. The X6 barreled through the Tail of the Dragon like a 5000-pound Kawasaki Ninja, seeming to track truer as cornering speeds increased. When we’d returned home and finished our break-in miles, our X6 recorded 0.89 g on the skidpad, a figure that matches that of the last 335i sedan we tested and is quite atypical in the world of two-and-a-half-ton SUVs. Equally shocking is the X6’s 163-foot stopping distance from 70 mph, just six feet longer than the 335i’s.
Mass No Object
To the X6’s surprising agility the V-8 adds sports-sedan speed: 0 to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, 13.8 in the quarter at 107 mph. The only time you’ll notice any turbo lag is from a dead stop. Otherwise, the engine pulls hard at any speed—all 450 pound-feet of torque are available from 1750 rpm to 4500—and sounds decent doing it, although we wish for a more raucous exhaust note. Then again, we probably don’t need further encouragement to romp any harder on the gas pedal, as we’re currently averaging just 14 miles per premium gallon. Top speed is limited to 157 mph, but we’re averaging much lower.
So far in our hands, the X6 has presented precisely zero practical arguments for its existence, but it’s fast, it’s capable, and we like driving it more than any other 5000-pounder we’ve driven. We’ve already concluded that this drivetrain in a 5-series would make for the ultimate executive Evo. And although our ranks still shelter a few dissidents, most of us have been sold on the styling, at least from some angles. We won’t claim yet to understand the X6, but we’ll see if the next 40,000 miles can convince us not to care.
