RE: Driven: BMW X6M

Wednesday 23rd December 2009

Driven: BMW X6M

The PH team tries out the most controversial BMW of the year



You would have thought that anything with a twin-turbo V8 and four-wheel drive would be a hit in the PH office. On the other hand, a four-seat SUV with the hallowed BMW M badge on its rump is likely to prove more than a little controversial.

So when a bright red BMW X6M was dropped off in our car park the other week we realised that this really was not a car that we could review in the normal way - everyone wanted a say. So here, in shamelessly subjective words, is what we thought of it...

 


Garlick
Although my colleagues will not agree I have always enjoyed driving the X6, and have been fortunate enough to cover 1000 miles in the 35d and a few hundred in the 50i too. It offers decent interior space and fantastic (for what it is) handling. It's never been a subtle car though, and its looks divides opinion like no other. And that's before you add in the bright red paint and 'M' body kit fitted to the X6M. First impressions tell you that this car, while not lacking in aggression, seems to be trying a little too hard to look fast and the M badge stuck on the boot looks embarrassingly like you have stuck one on yourself after a visit to the parts counter.

Oddly, the car lacks any aural aggression to back up the visuals and sounds a little disappointing from both inside and out after the initial start up rumble disappears. It feels fast, but not as fast as the figures suggest and the beefed-up chassis translates to a hard ride (though you can't deny that it does sharpen up the handling too). The gearbox is beautiful, as is the case with most 'M' cars, offering perfect shifts in manual mode and working intuitively when in auto, but it just seems to lack the involving feel of a true M car. I still like the X6, I'd still buy one, too, were I in the market for a car like this, but it wouldn't be the M version. The 50i sounds better, goes almost as hard, has more subtle looks, handles well enough and is cheaper too. Less is more in this case.

 


Riggers
Unlike Mr Garlick, I have never been, in any measure, an X6 lover. While I appreciate how it handles fantastically, if you want a sporty off-roader an X5 will provide 90 per cent of the X6's dynamic ability and 200 per cent of the X6's practicality. Conversely, if you want the nth degree of handling in a BMW, buy a 3-series.

With that in mind, you'll probably understand when I say that I don't really like the X6M. I'm not particularly bothered about the flatulence-in-a-bathtub engine note or even the ludicrous £77k basic list price. The 547bhp twin-turbo monster is also sensationally fast and handles superbly, for what it is. And that's the problem. What it is.

The BMW X6M is a 2.3-ton 4x4 with only four seats a ridiculously lairy body kit. From a company that once described itself as a maker of 'the ultimate driving machine' it grates. And from the motorsport arm of the same company - the division that gave us the M1, the original M635 CSi and a series of stunning M3s and M5s, it really feels wrong.

 


RacingPete
Pointlessness. The lack of meaning. The X6M. Perhaps that's a little unfair, but when you look at the other cars being produced by the Munich manufacturer you do have to question why it even exists. The whole X6 concept seems a little strange in the first place: a car with only four seats, not much more boot space than a 3-series and so huge that the parking sensors have their own postcodes. Now stick in a massive twin-turbo V8 and you have the ultimate waste of money.

Personally, the idea of twin turbos and a big block sounds like the type of specification I would dream to put in my road car, but that car would be much smaller and wouldn't have a tendency to roll off at a corner. The X6M is just a little too wallowy, even on the super M button settings (blimey, you are a glutton for punishment, Pete - Riggers) and, being twice the height of the public around you, you don't get the same speed sensation of something lower and more, well, discreet.

For me, sharp handling is key to a car, and it isn't just the X6 that will get me moaning, but most SUVs. If you are towing a race car then you will be forgiven, but for thinking it will protect your little darlings as you block the road and make school crossings even more dangerous, you won't. But in a way you have to applaud BMW for creating something so against the eco-mould.

If manufacturers stopped producing this type of car then the drive to work would be far duller.

So maybe the point of this car is that it is pointless, which is a conundrum in itself - and one I kind of like.



   
   
Author
Discussion

appletonn

Original Poster:

699 posts

259 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
Two words, Fugly and Pointless sum this car up rolleyes

alexpa

644 posts

171 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
The X6 is everything a car shouldn't be. A totally pointless waste of ALOT of space and now BMW has added very sickly icing on a really bad tasting cake. Yuk!

Edited by alexpa on Wednesday 23 December 09:10

Puk

125 posts

176 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
BMW should be ashamed of producing such a stupid car ...

CypherP

4,387 posts

191 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
And the award for the most boring M engine bay goes to....

g3org3y

20,606 posts

190 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
I've always hated the X6, never understood the point behind it.

I hate the fact they've made an M Version (and not of the Z4)

However...

Racing Pete said:
But in a way you have to applaud BMW for creating something so against the eco-mould.
yes

If it annoys one hemp eating, long haired, work shy hippy (pious driving) bag - I love it. smile

toppstuff

13,698 posts

246 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
I love it.

I love the fact that they can build it. I love the fact that it exists.

We should respect everyones freedom to have one of these if they want one, without criticism IMO.

With over-regulation and the nanny state seemingly just around the corner, this car is a definitive "up yours" to the government and the eco-fascists.

For that reason alone I think it should be welcomed.

NismoGT

1,634 posts

189 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
What an awful looking tractor. Pointless. If anyone goes to a BMW dealership and buys one without looking at an M3 or M5 , They need a good hard slap.

Justayellowbadge

37,057 posts

241 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
BMW said:
Thanks Guys. No, really, thanks. You'll be right at the top of the list for a press car when we release the next gen M5. Oh, and you can forget about holding any more events at our HQ. Ingrates. Don't know why ve ezen bother. Englander schweinhunds.

Buzzkill

786 posts

183 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
I'm sitting higher than you in a big car and can still go faster...

A complete monstrosity although they always seem to look marginally better in the flesh. The front end looks like WIP.

Edited by Buzzkill on Wednesday 23 December 09:25

CarlT

3,423 posts

246 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
I would love one of these - Black with Black wheels please driving

yellowxpack.

40 posts

176 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
I never understand the point of these cars, what is wrong with an estate if you need more space?

Why do you need to drive a car this big, other than increasing the probability of killing someone in a conventional size car in a crash? Hence why I have half a building site's worth of roll cage in my car, incase I get 2.4tonnes worth of metal coming at their grill height through my b pillar towards my head.

And who is gods name is going to spend £75k on this?

Yes BM, you can make this car, but I hope nobody buys it. Not exactly 'efficient dynamics', as the strap line goes.

PPPPPP

1,140 posts

230 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
"so huge that the parking sensors have their own postcodes" laugh

I like that quote, and I am sure the Yanks and Arabs and the Chinese will like the vehicle.

I have to confess I do like the luxury etc, and would be quite happy if my local mini-cab had one of these for my trips to the airport etc.

Edited by PPPPPP on Wednesday 23 December 09:42

DrTre

12,955 posts

231 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
At last!! The Suzuki X90 has a rival for ugliest and most pointless vehicle in existence!!

I quite agree people are free to purchase whatever they wish, and by the same token I am free to point and laugh at them. If you no like that, boo hoo.

(oh, and yes, yes I'm jealous, I admit it up front. Jealous as anything...just thought I'd get that in before the accusation flies)

King Fisher

739 posts

178 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
2.3 Tonnes? 574 bhp??

What a criminal waste of the Earth's natural resources. I'm all for good performance, but sensible bhp and light weight is the way to go, yet the big manufacturers seem to be vying to produce ever more ridiculously massive and powerful "off roaders". And worst of all, you know it'll get stuck fast on a wet lawn, like all BMW/Merc/Porsche "off roaders".

If you want an "off roader", buy a Land/Range Rover turbodiesel, which at least will go anywhere you want in supreme comfort. This abomination will only be bought by the ostentatious rich in Surbiton so mum can take her little darlings on the school run and show their wealth off to all and sundry.

Torch it!

Roberty

1,179 posts

171 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
WHY?

Justayellowbadge

37,057 posts

241 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
King Fisher said:
the ostentatious rich in Surbiton
hehe

I'm guessing from that statement you've never been there.

z3n0mal4

13 posts

202 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
It's not like M could say to mother BMW : "No , sorry , i won't make this car" . They had to make it . Why ? Because it sells , it sells more than a CSL version of the M3 or a Z4 . Why ? Because people like to show off more and go to track less ( or at all ) . It's a good move , and think that BMW needs to sell so they can stay independent . And they are selling . I'd go for a M5 instead of this without even blinking , but that's just me smile

Tin Hat

1,370 posts

208 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
Probably depreciate heavily enough to be next years Christmas SOTW

DrTre

12,955 posts

231 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
z3n0mal4 said:
It's not like M could say to mother BMW : "No , sorry , i won't make this car" . They had to make it . Why ? Because it sells , it sells more than a CSL version of the M3 or a Z4 . Why ? Because people like to show off more and go to track less ( or at all ) . It's a good move , and think that BMW needs to sell so they can stay independent . And they are selling . I'd go for a M5 instead of this without even blinking , but that's just me smile
Westlife sell. It's still st.

ETA but yes, you're right. That's the point of the company, to make money so I can't argue with that.

Edited by DrTre on Wednesday 23 December 09:42

norby1

472 posts

172 months

Wednesday 23rd December 2009
quotequote all
It is me, or are BMW (and Audi to an extent) trying to out niche Mercedes? Merc started out trying to have a model range that covered the whole alphabet IMO, with weirdness such as the R class, ML and GL as well as the G-wagen, now BMW are coming out with the 5 Series GT, X1 and this monstrosity. Audi with such delights as the A5 Sporthatch.... and the Q5 thingumyeek

Edited by norby1 on Wednesday 23 December 09:51