2015 BMW X6 M | PH Review

New X6 M driven, those easily offended best look away now and all that

There are two ways to view the second-generation BMW X6 M.

The first, of course, is that it is a betrayal of everything that BMW M is supposed to stand for. A four-wheel drive SUV that weighs 2.3 tonnes and uses the massive output of its V8 engine to bludgeon the laws of physics into some sort of submission. And a chassis that delivers grip without any of the throttle-induced adjustability you rightly associate with M's more traditional offerings. In other words, a car about as far removed from the spirit of the E28 M5 or E30 M3 as it's possible to be.

Still no oil painting, that's for sure

The second viewpoint is more controversial. It's that the X6 M, and its X5 M sister, and the X4 M that will almost certainly follow, are exactly the sort of cars that M needs to be building right now. Customers want them, certainly to judge from the sales success of the previous X6 M. But they're also the type of cars BMW has to make to protect its performance credentials. M GmbH doesn't exist in isolation, but competes against rivals building their own high-performance SUVs. Not doing the X6 M - and its mechanically identical X5 M sister - would effectively mean both blowing a raspberry to the existing customer base and also running up a white flag to the competition.

OK, I'm playing Satan's barrister here. And after spending a day with the X6 M in Texas I'm still far more drawn to the first argument. But I can see the logic of the second. If M is going to prosper and carry on making those cars we want it to, like the forthcoming M2 and M4 GTS, then it needs to stay relevant by fighting for BMW on every part of the performance car battlefield. Even this one.

Nope, not much better from this side either

Same but slightly different
The fundamentals remain as before. Like the last X6 M this one uses the same twin-turbocharged 4.4-litre V8 as the M5 and M6, and which has been retuned slightly to deliver 567hp. Drive heads to all four wheels - although with a rearward bias - through an eight-speed torque converter autobox rather than a twin-clutch DCT. The M gets the usual battery of assistance systems and switchable driving modes, including fully switchable stability and even a launch control mode. It's more economical than the old X6 M and slightly lighter, but it still weighs 2,340kg. It's claimed to be 20 per cent more efficient than the last X6M, but CO2 emissions are still a chunky 258g/km.

Visually the new X6 is slightly less in-your-face than its predecessor. These things are relative, of course - it's still about as subtle as an artillery bombardment. But the looks are indeed more coupe-ish, the X6 being more like a raised saloon than a chopped-down SUV. Although BMW insists on calling it a Sports Activity Coupe. The M version is pumped up over the standard X6 with widened arches and an aggressive aero kit. 20-inch wheels are standard, 21s an almost-certain-to-be-ticked option. Inside the cabin there's some nice trim and the familiar M centre console with its stubby gear selector and battery of mode switching buttons, but otherwise it's just generic mid-sized Beemer. Does it feel £93K special from the driver's seat though? Not so sure.

Faster and fuglier than ever - what did you expect?

You're a big man...
The Teutonically organised launch event means that I have to drive the X6 M on track before sampling it on road. BMW has bought exclusive use of the Circuit of the Americas near Austin - the pit banners are still up from last year's US Grand Prix - and former F1 and DTM driver Timo Glock has been flown in to chaperone us around the track from an X6 M pace car. So my very first experience of the car is gunning it down the pitlane and towards the 120-degree Turn One trying to keep Glock in sight as he starts a laconic commentary over the radio.

The X6 M takes to the track like a fish to lemonade. It survives in the short term, but there's little evidence that it enjoys its unlikely environment. In straight lines it's undeniably impressive - the engine delivers serious thump, pulling hard to 7,000rpm and feeling barely slower than the M5 or M6, despite the extra mass. The car has no fewer than 10 radiators in its cooling system, and they definitely work - five laps of full-throttle abuse sees a quarter of a tank of fuel gone, but the temperature gauge stays rock-steady half way up the gauge.

X6 M puffs itself up for a track workout

The gearbox shifts quickly in manual mode, despite being a slusher. And the brakes are mighty, with steel discs doing an impressive job of scrubbing off big speeds at the end of the longer DRS optimised straights. Even at the end of the brief stint, and with Timo encouraging me to brake progressively later, the pedal stays firm.

...but you're out of shape
But corners bring another predicable truth, that while something this big and heavy can be built to tolerate life on track, it never really enjoys it. With the dampers switched to Sport Plus there's an impressive absence of roll, and grip levels are huge. But that can't disguise the inertia of asking so much mass to change direction quickly And the X6 M needs to be muscled around the circuit, especially in the slower turns. There's a reasonable amount of feedback from the electric power steering (which, as usual, is best left in one of its softer modes), but the information tends to be that the front is starting to run wide. And there's none of the adjustability or playfulness of a rear-driven M car. You can feel the rear-biased torque split and even- with the stability switched to sport or fully kennelled - use it to persuade the X6 M into oversteer. But compared to hooning an M4 it feels like drifting a supertanker.

It's good on the straight bits shocker

At last, a chance to drive on some real roads. It's soon obvious why we've never heard of this part of Texas described as a driving destination - most of the highways are wide and straight. But the X6 M makes a better fist of life out here than it does on the track. It's civilised at everyday speeds, more firmly suspended than a Cayenne Turbo even with the suspension in Comfort mode, but it's well insulated and both quiet and stable at speed. The V8's huge torque plateau gives instantaneous overtaking thrust, and the autobox works extremely well when left in Drive. Like most recent M cars it doesn't sound that great, with the engine only breaking into proper V8 song at higher revs.

Behave yourself
You're probably bored of the necessary evil argument, as used whenever Cayenne's existence is justified as bank-rolling continued existence of 'proper' Porsches like the GT3 RS.

Haters gonna hate; plenty love 'em

But that doesn't quite fit here. The whole focus of M Division has been shifting in recent years, towards cars that are geared more towards delivering speed and everyday usability above pure driving pleasure. The new X6 M is just the furthest point of that trend so far, and as such it really is an M car rather than an off-the-scale freak.

It's certainly an impressive bit of engineering, and one that delivers what it's been designed to do. M's new boss, Franciscus van Meel, reckons that although BMW doesn't release Nordschleife times, the X6 M is within a very few seconds of the Cayenne Turbo S's sub-eight minute time, however pointless that sounds. I leave Texas feeling plenty of respect for the team that created the X6 M, but absolutely no affection for the car itself.

SPECIFICATION | BMW X6 M

Engine: 4,395cc V8, twin-turbocharged
Transmission: 8-speed auto, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 567@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 554@2,200rpm-5,000rpm
0-62mph: 4.2sec
Top speed: 155mph (limited)
Weight: 2,340kg
MPG: 25.4mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 258g/km (standard car)
Price: £93,070