X6 Motor Trend - 2009 BMW X6: Perfectly pointless

[klier]

.

Seriously, why would anyone buy a less practical X6 with less space for more money than an X5? Even when the extra driving dynamics are taken into account, it all works out absurdly useless on paper. Same goes for the MB CLS.

And why would one buy an X5 if you can buy a Land Rover that's twice as cheap and does the same????
Or a SSangyong...cheap car with good Mercedes engine??? Or a Chinese SUV that you can get for €15k

 

[Zafiro]

LOL, because you say so???

yes

Hehehehe, funny indeed. You will one day realise that X1 is probably less pointless than a 2500 kg truck. But every single car in BMWs lineup is completely and utterly pointless if you say X1 is pointless.

eh, no!

 

[PC Valkyrie]

The following quote from the article sums up the X6 very well:

"Despite all the clever engineering, it still manages to artfully combine all the disadvantages of a tight-fitting coupe with all the downsides of a big SUV. The result is a vehicle that can't go off-road or carry as much stuff as a regular SUV and doesn't quite go around corners as well -- or use fuel as efficiently -- as any comparable BMW car.

I guess the point the X6 proves is the auto business has long ceased to be about transportation. The auto business is really a fashion business. The X6 exists only because BMW's marketing mavens are convinced there are enough of you out there who want an SUV that thinks it's a coupe."

I went to the BMW dealer yesterday and saw/sat in the X6. The rear feels tight and the trunk is a joke because of the sloping roofline (much like the CLS). I personally think the X5 looks SO MUCH BETTER externally (just my point of view) in real life. In fact, the X6 borders on being ugly (especially from the rear and rear 3/4 view). The side profile is also awkward because of that super sloping roofline. I think the press pictures really made it look better than it really is.

It is basically an SUV that has lost all of its practical features (rear passenger room/luggage space) for the sake of style (if you actually like the external styling).

 

[Sayyaaf]

i dont have the breath to keep arguing in this thread but let say my thoughts at least ... when i purchased my 7er i knew it won't last up to my needs ... I travel daily 50 KM to work ... i have a hobby of off roading using a dirt bike (Yamaha banshee 350) and I needed the space of saloon car + a car that can tow ... I needed it to be of a sporty character .. My 7er was perfect until winter came and the season of off roading started .. I needed to tow my bike + the car that get into a place where I can use my bike. We don't go deep in the desert ... we just park where the asphalt road ends. Now, according to my needs, I would purchase the X5 or the cayyenne. The cayyanne was good enough but I hated the car looks + it is really expensive to maintain here in UAE. The X5 sounded the perfect choice but it doesn't have the wow factor. In addition, the X5 would make me look like a family guy although currently i have no children. On paper i needed 2 cars, one for daily driving and one for my hobbies. A saloon and an SUV. I decent saloon say the 5er or a MB E class are out of the question, both are practical but are dated somehow ... I need something fresh. When I first saw the X6, i thought that this would be the perfect setup for my next ride. It has everything I need. I can go off roading, I can carry 4 ppl and still can go fast enough as daily driver with a hint of comfort. The X5/|Cayyenne were nice enough untill the X6 came and made both redundant in my book. I found the X6 to be the perfect answer to my needs.

 

[klier]

yes



eh, no!

Having 15,000 posts doesn't make you better here, son.
What you say is utter nonsense.

 

[Zafiro]

Having 15,000 posts doesn't make you better here, son.
What you say is utter nonsense.

Son? Klier, Im your father. May the force be with you son.

 

[klier]

lol ok nice

 

[LaArtist]

Is the X6 pointless imo..YES
but in this world the pointless things very often tend to be beautiful and emotion creating..

 

[RBP]

I'll tell you why it's pointless. BMW is introducing this as a US manufactured and targeted vehicle with the least fuel efficient engines in the least practical body configuration at an incredibly high price right when there is a huge run-up in fuel costs, a rather significant downturn in the economy and a HUGE decrease in SUV and gas guzzling vehicle purchases. That makes it pointless...as in it won't be a profit generator. This beast launched just after BMW had to lay off 8% of its workforce and is currently taking HUGE write-downs in losses due to re-sale values of its off-lease vehicles. Needless to say this will probably be the worst timed decision BMW has made in a very long time.

Pretty vehicle? sure. Pointless? yep.

 

[CorpusCallosum]

Tell me, please. Are cigerretes pointless? Yes. Is alcohol pointless? Yes. Is make-up pointless? Yes. Is having the biggest TV on the street pointless? Yes. Is having not one, but two or three computers in one house pointless? Yes.

The point is that most things are pointless in the big picture. But as individuals we all have different wants, needs and desires so things that are pointless to some are important to us.

Most things in the modern world are based on a fashion statement. Clothes, phones and cars just to name a few. The X6 is a massive fashion statement for some and subsequently not considered pointless. Some of you people are very narrow minded when it comes to pitting your thoughts against everyone else...

 

[EnI]

^ Thank you!

 

[coolraoul]

IMO, the X6 would be pointless if buying a car was a perfectly rational and objective decision. But emotion is extremely important in the process of choosing a car, and in that respect the X6 is quite far from being pointless. It does appeal to some people, it is different from many other SUVs.

Today the look is extremely important, the Wow-factor too, and people want a car that "reflects thjeir personality". People don't want to have the same car as the neighbour, hence the various colours, wheels, accessories, sport-package, options you have on today's cars...and the increasing number of bodies and styles you have on the same platform.

The X6 is perfectly in that move, it's a stylish way of having something different.
It's a Coupe on a SUV platform, even if it has 4 doors, it is not more pointless than Audi giving the A3 and the A3 Sportback, MB giving the E and the CLS, BMW the 1-Series with 2 or 5 doors or in Coupe...

Everybody does not appreciate and choose his car with a meter in the hand to see which one has the bigger boot and the best rear headroom.

 

[Bruce]

Well that is called "emotional shopping" when u value aesthetics over practility,and everyone does it in his own way.

Right yoy are Tarek. Honestly, If I were to label myself as anything, it'd be an 'emotional car buyer'. Aesthetics are my #1 priority. If I can't love the exterior, it's a no-go.

Or a SSangyong...cheap car with good Mercedes engine??? Or a Chinese SUV that you can get for €15k

Because a SSanyyong is a piece of garbage compared to an X6. We're not talking about comparing a cheap Chinese car to an expensive well built BMW. We're talking about two BMW's, both of which feature near identical technical equipment and both of which features near identical build quality...but, one of which is more expensive and less practical.

That's all I'm say here. I don't see why some people are so defensive on the matter. As I clearly stated, I'd still buy an X6. I want an X6, but that doesn't mean I don't think it isn't pointless.

CorpusCallosum makes a fine and rather obvious point too. Naturally, some things are more pointless to select individuals than they are to others, so we'll leave it at that. The X6 - as much as I like it - in my opinion is useless. There are so many other cars I could say that about.

But hey, I'm so old school when it comes to cars I guess my opinion's not really surprising.

 

[Centurion]

The number one reason to buy a big car, especially one which weigh over 2 tons is for comfortable seating and generous luggage space. That's where the X6 fails from a rational point of view, it's heavy as a bus but yet only accomodates 4 people and has compromised bootspace.

Similar to how the Cayenne hybrid fails in the purpose of offering low fuel consumption.

At the end of the day the X6 is for the irrational people who cares more about style than practicality.

 

[EnI]

Guys, car reached beyond rational at the very beginning of the invention of an automobile.

Do you think we all here debate practicability of specific cars?
Yeah, I thought so.

And you guys should know best - you, whose wildest dreams are supercars - the least practical cars ever made.

 

[Centurion]

And you guys should know best - you, whose wildest dreams are supercars - the least practical cars ever made.

The difference is that supercars are developed to use a little material as possible, while the X6 was designed to use as much material as possible while offering the minimum amount of seating and boot space possible.

 

[bmer]

The number one reason to buy a big car, especially one which weigh over 2 tons is for comfortable seating and generous luggage space. That's where the X6 fails from a rational point of view, it's heavy as a bus but yet only accomodates 4 people and has compromised bootspace.

Similar to how the Cayenne hybrid fails in the purpose of offering low fuel consumption.

And how is this any different from, let's say, CLS? From that point of view the X6 makes as little sense as the CLS. You get a sedan for comfortable seating for 4 persons (only very few can seat 5 persons comfortably). The CLS is not as sporty as a real coupe and neither as practical as a sedan.

At the end of the day the X6 is for the irrational people who cares more about style than practicality.

Again an analogy to CLS.


It's just the current trend that car makers present these new cross-overs and other types of new vehicles that don't seem very logical on paper but which in their final form cause very high interest among car buyers.

I am by no means very excited by some of BMW's future models like the F-series or whatever it will be called but I would say that the reason for the existence of these new vehicles must be judged from an economical aspect. If they can be sold profitably, they sure do make sense.

 

[Sunny]

The number one reason to buy a big car, especially one which weigh over 2 tons is for comfortable seating and generous luggage space. That's where the CLS fails from a rational point of view, it's heavy as a bus but yet only accomodates 4 people and has compromised bootspace.

Fixed!

Seriously wonder where all this rational thinking was when the CLS was released.

 

[bum-man]

Fixed!

Seriously wonder where all this rational thinking was when the CLS was released.

Everybody was too busy feeling insulted by the "4-door-coupe" moniker that they forgot about anything else.

 

[RBP]

Guys, car reached beyond rational at the very beginning of the invention of an automobile.

Do you think we all here debate practicability of specific cars?
Yeah, I thought so.

And you guys should know best - you, whose wildest dreams are supercars - the least practical cars ever made.

The original Motor Trend point wasn't just a matter of simply practicality...but one of whether it had a sufficient niche in which to fit. Those who want a coupe or sports car will probably get just that. Those who want the cargo capacity of an SUV will probably get one of those. It is quite possibly the case that very few people will want this odd combination of an SUV without the cargo space or will want a sporty car that is so huge and consumes so much fuel.

It will prove to be pointless if very few buy it and BMW loses money on it.

Only time will tell.