With 555bhp in the new BMW X6 ‘M’, the mad looking car is now even more fun to drive!
I took to the racetrack in the latest top of the range version and can honestly say it was truly a fantastic machine to drive quickly. Powered by a petrol V8 which pushes out 680nm of torque, the four wheel drive SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) is an indulgent treat. You can go from 0-100km/h in 4.7 seconds, which is insane in a car that weighs over 2.3 tonnes! Aerodynamics come in to play with top speed, but let’s just say it is still very healthy.
The already controversial exterior styling of the four-seat machine has been given the boy racer treatment. The X6M looks menacing... just the way a performance beast should.
Four huge exhaust pipes dominate the squat rear end. There are massive air intakes at the front to help braking (just like with other BMW M cars). Massive 20 inch wheels with 275/40 front and 315/35 rear section rubber helps keep the car going in the right direction (most of the time in my case).
Huge racing brakes with four-pot callipers at the front wheels can be seen through the massive alloys and these help scrub off high-speed nicely. The suspension set up at the front features double track control arms; small, negative steering roll radius; dive reduction and at the rear an integral axle; multi-dimensional set up with anti-squat and anti-dive - in other words the car handles very well.
The gearbox is a six-speed automatic with paddle shifts on the steering wheel. The X6M features twin-scroll twin-turbo technology and boy does the engine sing when the revs are piled on. This car makes a wonderful roar.
Should your driving ability be better in your head than in practice (that’s most of us!), BMW has been very responsible and fitted as standard an abundance electronic driver aids such as DSC III (HDC, DBC, ABS, ASC-X, ADB-X, DTC, Trailer Stability Control) - please don’t ask me to explain them all. But seriously, BMW hasn’t just made them up: they all do a job. It all means the X6M will help the average driver be safer. The car is so quick yet forgiving of driver error it could be said to be the modern equivalent of say a 1990s Subaru Impreza Turbo. The X6M will flatter any driver and reward the skillful even more. You will, however, need to read the manual to get the hang of the M-Drive menu, in which you can set up the speed of gear changes, suspension settings and the likes to suit your tastes.
The X6M’s high driving position was a little strange at first on the racetrack but after a while I was hooked and found myself reading three or four corners ahead. On corners where I would usually struggle to keep a rear wheel drive 507bhp M5 from spinning the X6M just dug in thanks to four-wheel drive. In the real world traction is everything.
The X6M’s is built on next to identical parts as the slightly more sensible X5M, with the X5 having a bigger boot and a fifth seat.
The downside of the 4.4 litre X6M is dire fuel consumption and catastrophic CO2 (325g/km), not to mention the massive depreciation on the high retail price.
These few things should put any right thinking person off buying one, right?
Where’s my cheque book?!
Michael Sheridan
