BMW X6 review - Engines, performance and drive
The best-driving X6 yet, with good ride and handling and ample performance whichever engine you opt for. X6M’s ride is punishing, however
It’s been a long time since SUVs as large and heavy as the X6 have been sluggards. BMW was among the first to give an SUV a true performance bent with the original X5 in the 1990s and today’s X6 is both quick and a surprisingly adept handler even in its humblest 3.0-litre diesel form. Inline six and V8 engines are the order of the day, as are eight-speed gearboxes and standard xDrive all-wheel drive. Whichever power unit you go for, there’s both performance and refinement in spades, along with smooth shifts from the auto ‘box.
It’s capable in the corners too. You’ll not notice a whole lot of difference between the X6 and its more practical X5 equivalent, despite the sportier styling - perhaps only a touch more precision to the steering of the X6 and marginally less roll, perhaps on account of there being less metal above your head. But in class terms the X6 drives well, and the ride is very good too. Well, with the exception of the X6M Competition - it might have mighty performance and physics-defying levels of grip and control, but the trade-off is a ride that crashes and thumps on British roads.
0-62mph acceleration and top speed
A pair of petrol and a pair of diesels power the mainstream X6 range. The xDrive40i, 30d and 40d models are all based around 3-litre inline six-cylinder units while the M50i uses a 4.4-litre V8. All move the car along with quite some conviction, with even the 282bhp 30d enough to motivate the X6 to 62mph in 6.1 seconds. The 40i petrol is a mite quicker, its 328bhp turbocharged six good for the same sprint in 5.7 seconds, while the 40d is even more potent on paper and on the road, with a 335bhp output and the ability to reach 62mph two tenths quicker than its petrol equivalent.
The X6 M50i sits top of the tree though (with one qualification, which we’ll come to in a second). Its 4.4-litre turbocharged V8 makes 523bhp, making it capable of 0-62mph in 4.3 seconds. All bar the 30d, meanwhile, will run up to a 155mph limiter given a long and legal enough stretch, while that entry-level diesel will still manage 143mph.
And that exception for the M50i being top of the pile? That’s the X6M Competition of course, whose own iteration of the 4.4-litre turbo V8 makes 616bhp, 750Nm of torque and will dispatch the 0-62mph measure in 3.8 seconds. Top speed is the same 155mph, but as ever with M Competition vehicles you can ask BMW nicely to raise that limit, which brings top speed up to 180mph.
