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Do luxury SUV buyers want high performance and menacing styling?
Here we have a new SUV done up like a swoopy, four-door pseudo-coupe á la Mercedes-Benz CLS. Who could have predicted this twist in the sport-ute world?
The styling is pretty much the point with the X6 because mechanically it’s mostly an X5 with more power and fewer seats.
Does the sloping roofline make it pretty? Not to many here, but it is bulgingly aggressive in a way that makes the sharp-looking X5 appear positively upright, bland, and boring. Even better, early reports from our crew indicate that the look is functional: Left-lane trolls tend to notice the curvaceous bod and skedaddle.
On sale now from $53,275—that’s $6600 more than a base X5—is the entry-level xDrive35i model, which gets the 300-hp, twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six that has recently turned the 335i and 135i into genuine rocket ships. Yours for an additional $10,500 and available in August is the xDrive50i, powered by a new 400-hp, twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8. With all the goodies, a 35i pushes $70,000, and a 50i is nearly $80,000.
First off, our sensible side is pleased BMW hasn’t sacrificed a habitable rear seat in the name of fashion. Compared with an X5, the X6’s back seat loses 0.7 inch of legroom, 1.8 inches of headroom, and accommodations for a middle occupant, but we found it surprisingly spacious and comfortable—perfect for four six-plus-footers, in fact, with plenty of stowage room in the long cargo area. Overall volume behind the front seats is reduced by just two cubic feet to 60. Plan to opt for the $400 rearview camera, though, since the short rear glass means entire cars behind you can nearly disappear.
The X6 didn’t disappoint in the performance department, either, with 60 mph arriving in 5.9 seconds and the quarter-mile in 14.6 at 95 mph. That’s a hair quicker than an X5 V-8, which brings up an interesting point: Based on its power-to-weight ratio, the X6 should not be quicker. Various sources claim that the twin-turbo six makes far more than 300 horsepower, and comparing the X6 with the identically geared and slightly heavier 350-hp X5 suggests our car was making about 340 horses.
Sure, it’s quick, but in normal use the X6’s mass reveals noticeable turbo lag in the sweet six. It’s working hard to rouse the 5016 pounds at hand, although the exceptionally smooth and quick-shifting six-speed automatic helps the cause.
Of course, the 400-hp, twin-turbo V-8 in the upscale X6 has tangibly more midrange grunt, and we expect it to hang with a 335i to a mid-13-second quarter-mile. This baby also laps the Nürburgring within a couple seconds of the previous-gen (E46) M3. SUVs running with M3s? What’s our ute-crazed automotive world come to?
Behind the wheel of either version of the X6 is typical BMW goodness, including supportive and comfortable seats that place the driver in a perfect position to work the fat leather steering wheel and appreciate its agreeable heft and feedback. Our X6 had the more aggressive $4550 Sport package (it includes 20-inch Dunlop SP Sport Maxx summer tires, 275/40 front and 315/35 rear), which enables heroic 0.88-g cornering and stops from 70 mph in 163 feet. Out on the road, it takes a few run-throughs before the driver realizes just how fast the X6 can be pitched into corners. The ride is firm but not prohibitively so, even over the most severe roads.
Enabling this dynamic grace are a number of technologies, including electronic damping control (EDC), active anti-roll bars, and the newest bit, an active rear differential called dynamic performance control (DPC), which is standard on all X6s and can shift torque from side to side. For example, DPC will apportion power to the outside wheel while cornering to improve turn-in response. It’s made up of a traditional differential, with an electronically controlled planetary gearset for each half-shaft, and adds 26 pounds. The X6 first employs DPC as a handling aid, whereas the stability control steps in as a last resort.
Possibly the most exciting thing about DPC, however, is its potential for use in future BMW cars. We’re already drooling at the prospect of the magnificent M3 so equipped.
We still don’t entirely understand the rationale of endowing an SUV with so much handling prowess. Is this what luxury-SUV buyers want? Is it likely they will push it hard enough to even notice? If not—and at this price—we certainly hope they like the new look.
VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 4-passenger, 5-door wagon
PRICE AS TESTED: $59,825 (base price: $53,275)
ENGINE TYPE: twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 24-valve inline-6, aluminum block and head, direct fuel injection
Displacement: 182 cu in, 2979cc
Power (SAE net): 300 bhp @ 5800 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 300 lb-ft @ 1400 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic with manumatic shifting
DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 115.5 in Length: 192.0 in Width: 78.1 in Height: 66.5 in
Curb weight: 5016 lb
C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 5.9 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 16.4 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 36.8 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 6.9 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.6 sec @ 95 mph
Top speed (drag limited): 147 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 163 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.88 g
FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 15/20 mpg
C/D observed: 16 mpg
Highs: Menacing styling, brilliant handling (for an SUV), runs with an X5 V-8.
Lows: Seats for only four, costly, compromised rear view.
2008 BMW X6 xDrive35i - Short Take Road Test/Crossovers/Car Shopping/Hot Lists/Reviews/Car and Driver - Car And Driver
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