BMW has a wide range of vehicles in their lineup, from luxury sedans and SUVs to performance sport vehicles and motorcycles. The company bets that if you have the money, they have the perfect car for you to meet your needs. However what if you are looking for a large and comfortable SUV that has the performance close to a sports car then you are in luck: enter the all-new 2015 BMW X6 M.
When BMW introduced the x6 back in 2007, it was certainly a head turner. This vehicle was very different than other cars, and it polarized many critics who either loved it or hated it. The X6 was marketed as a “Sports Activity Coupe”, a vehicle class that BMW came up with themselves. This class combined characteristics of SUVs ( it sits high off the ground, has large wheels, all-wheel drive, the ability to handle a variety of weather conditions) with stylistic features of coupes, most importantly the sloping roof. Over the course of the past few years they have made a variety of different versions of the X6 at different price points, however the coolest one is easily the X6 that is part of the M-series.
BMW’s M GmbH is a subsidiary of the company that specializes in making the already nicely performing BMW’s perform even better. BMW M CmbH was originally created to provide BMW with their race cars and to help expand and operate their racing division. Growing in popularity this division then went on to tune and modify existing BMW models to make them perform even better. They are often considered some of the best BMW models and the all-new X6 M is no exception.
BMW M-series are typically looked at as “in-your-face” vehicles that are loud, fast, and attention-seekers. The new X6 M is kind of the definition of that. First and foremost, this is a large vehicle. It is bigger than most cars and is easily the size of the SUV’s however it is not the largest. Second it has a very unique appearance. I remember the first time I saw one on a road and I was instantly thinking to myself “what is that”. Third, the car is heavy an weighs around 5,ooo pounds. This isn’t some carbon-fiber sports car, this is more of a sports-tank. Despite critics being skeptical of the car, the X6 series and the X6 M became very popular among consumers who wanted an alternative SUV crossover.
Since the M-series are all about performance lets take a look at the engine. The new X6 M has a large 4.4-litre twin-turbo charged V8 engine that packs into the car about 567 horse power and a crazy 553 pounds-feet of torque. This engine is massive and the vehicles needs something this large to be considered a true “M”, and is about 12 horses more and 53 pounds-feet more than the previous model. Additionally the car has an automatic 8-speed transmission and launch control. According to BMW this X6 can accelerate from 0-60 miles per hour in just 4 seconds, and has a top-speed of 155 miles per hour. That is not to bad considering this car weighs around 5,000 pounds. In fact its really good. BMW tests drives most of their cars on the legendary Nurburgring track in Germany and the X6 M is no exception. To BMW’s (and many others) surprise the all new X6 M matched the lap time of the extremely popular M3, a coupe stayed sports car designed to go fast around the track. Some BMW fans thought the X6 M was a disgrace to the M series, however in terms of performance it appears it can hold its own. In fact it is the quickest SUV to go around the Nurburing with a track time of 8:05, beating the Range Rover Sport SVR by around 9 seconds.
BMW also have improved the miles per gallon in this car, which were originally pretty dismal due to the weight and engine, now you should get around 18 miles per gallon in this car. Additionally they know what M owners want and have improved the exhaust and sound of the engine. This car sounds absolutely mean and will scare other SUV and car drivers alike; this car is loud. The interior is packed with all the goodies you would expect BMW to put in a car of this class, and it retains a very luxurious feel. Some people hate on this car, however I really like it and there really is no SUV or crossover that comes close to it. The X6 M starts at $103,050 dollars.
Photos from caranddriver.com
