First drive: BMW X6
A decade ago there were questions being asked about what motivated BMW to build the X5 SUV.
BMW X6 footage courtesy of BMW.
A luxury offroader for the well-heeled that was only in danger of getting dirty when it glided by a mucky roadworks site did not seem like a master strategy from Munich.
Now into its second generation the X5 selling up a storm globally not to mention buoyant Australian business with 500 sold last month.
So 10 years down the track BMW finds itself facing similar trepidation with the arrival of the X6 that takes the SUV concept to an extreme.
BMW labels the X6 as an SAC (Sports Activity Coupe).
In a sense it is no different to Mazda which insists on calling its RX-8 sports car a four-door coupe.
The X6 is a four-door, four-seat vehicle that is trying to find a middle ground between a full-blown SUV and a high-powered sports coupe.
It arrives for sale from August 11 with 300 secured for the remainder of the year with initial launch cars – the xDrive 35i 3-litre petrol starting from $114,705 while the xDrive 35d 3-litre diesel from $120,530.
A stinging 4.4-litre V8 will be ready to join the bunch in time for New Year’s celebrations in January, which like the 3-litre inline six cylinder units will be twin-turbocharged.
The X6 is a step into unchartered territory in trying to offer a car which does not quite know what it wants to be in the motoring world – an SUV or a sports car.
Some see this polarising car to be either an unmitigated disaster or a stroke of genius.
The ultimate compromise between mum’s taxi and dad’s sports coupe could be the answer to keeping the peace in some families.
Whether the X6 fizzes or flies is a question being asked by a lot of battle hardened pundits.
The real story of the X6 is in the underskin technology with Dynamic Performance Control making its production debut.
Developed and tuned at BMW’s elaborate winter testing facility at Arjeplog in the Arctic Circle, DPC is essentially the latest and greatest form of electronic stability systems.
It works independently of stability control and only works via the rear wheels where it increases directional stability under acceleration out of corners by feeding the outside rear wheel with more torque.
The basic principle is that it works to pull a car around a corner.
DPC uses a mechanical planetary gear set and an electronically controlled multi-plate clutch for each rear wheel.
Sensors process yaw rates, wheel speeds, steering angle and engine torque.
One of the objectives was to avoid any connection with the X5 even though the X6 shares the same floorpan.
Differences between the X6 and X5 are – rear track, differential, electronics, roof line, exterior panel and longer overall length although they share the same wheelbase.
Similarly there are dimensional differences – X6 is 50mm wider at 1983mm and 23mm longer at 4877mm.
The cargo room is a sizeable 570 litres although it remains 50litres shy of the X5 while the same area with the rear seats folded down is 300litres short of the X5 at 1450litres.
“We wanted to make a halo model that was unique in this new category that is basically going to be the flagship in the xDrive range,” BMW Australia product manager Paul Ryan said.
Who is going to buy the X6?
There will be a degree of cannibilisation from the X5 but BMW has nominated possible conquests from unlikely competitors such as Maserati and the timeless Porsche 911 along with Porsche Cayennes, Audi Q7s and Range Rover Sport.
“They are customers who need the functionality but want a car that is essentially a sports car,” Ryan said.
What the X6 is lavished with above the X5 is 19-inch wheels, sports steering wheel, sports seats, bi-xenon headlights, adaptive headlights and high beam assist.
It also gains the head-up display, a feature in the 6-series coupe, which also faces being peppered with friendly fire with some owners tempted to flee the low-slung two-door in favour of the X6.
BMW say that 911 and 6-series owners are the buyers they want because they have had the sports car experience but they need a bit more space.
“So what the X6 is doing is capturing those buyers who have had that kind of car,” BMW Australia corporate affairs manager Toni Andreevski said.
BMW says 100 orders – one-third of Australia’s initial allocation – have been placed before the car has been unveiled domestically.
DRIVING
BMW’S X6 can be accused of many crimes but it is certainly no blunder bus.
The wild disproportionate styling, a confusing mix of an SUV and a sports coupe, gives it unmistakable identity on the road.
It can’t quite make out what it wants to be and for that it slices opinion down the middle.
What it does deliver in spades is driveability.
For such a big, buxom 2000kg-plus chariot the X6 corners with purpose, giving a modicum of credibility to its genre creating acroynm – Sports Activity Coupe.
The two twin-turbo inline six cylinder engines available at launch offer completely different driving experiences.
The 3-litre petrol is a little dozy when left to its own devices in drive.
However when you use the steering wheel-mounted button shifters, it becomes more responsive.
The diesel supplies good doses of torque from low in the rev range and is altogether a whole lot more flexible than the petrol.
On dodgy surfaces on billiard-top tarmac that is glistening from melting snow and on dirt roads polished to a slippery sheen because of the wet, the X6 is no understeering muel.
That is the biggest revelation.
In these conditions the Dynamic Performance Control electronics feed more torque to the outside rear wheel which essentially pulls the car around the corner.
The best way of describing it is that it is stability control on steroids.
You can feel the forces being applied to the outside wheel when it senses that the car wants to plough-on and under steer into a corner.
On the highway the X6 is whisper quiet but the serenity is only broken by the wind noise coming off the oversized wing mirrors.
A bit of headroom is lost in the rear with the over-accentuated sloping roofline.
The rear glass area is narrow and high which puts many objects and people at risk when reversing, so BMW include a reversing camera as standard in all X6 models.
This is one vehicle where a rear view camera is absolutely mandatory.
In terms of a balanced, stable affair the X6 is an excellent execution even if it can’t quite make out whether it wants to be a large SUV or a sportster.
The undeniable story of this car is the DPC which is a massive advancement in stability control.
It allows you to maintain rhythm and power through a corner rather than kill torque and stop progress if there is any trace that traction is lost.
Fuel consumption in the petrol rose to around 19litres/100km on a spirited launch drive while the diesel was maintaining around a more than respectable 11litres/100km.
Clever electronics notwithstanding, why you would have one remains the big question.
There’s no third row, no provision for even a middle seat for the second row so its strictly a four-seater.
In many ways the X6 defies common logic but since when has motoring been a logical exercise in the 21st century.
BMW X6 xDrive 35d and 35i
Engines: 3-litre inline twin turbo six cylinder diesel (35d) and petrol (35i).
Power: 210kW@4400rpm (35d), 225kW@5800-6250(35i).
Torque: 580Nm@1750-2250rpm (35d), .
Transmission: 6-speed automatic with steering wheel-mounted shifters.
Driving wheels: infinitely variable all-wheel-drive.
Fuel capacity: 85litres.
Fuel consumption: 9litres/100km(35d), 12.1litres/100km (35i), combined city/highway cycle.
Kerb weight: 2110kg (35d), 2070kg (35i).
Emissions: 237g/km(35d), 286g/km(35i).
Dimensions(mm): 4877(l), 1983(width), 1690(h), 2933(wheelbase).
Prices: $120,530(35d), $114,705(35i).
On Sale: August 11.
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