Photo: Screenshot from Youtube
Ever since BMW took the virtual veils off the new X6 earlier this year, we’ve been waiting to properly test it and see how it was improved compared to its predecessor. Somehow, the guys from XCAR managed to get their hands on one and they just posted the first review of the car on Youtube, offering a glimpse into what the F16 platform brings.
As you probably guessed from the car’s codename, the new Sport Activity Coupe borrows its underpinnings from the X5 just like it was the case in the past as well. That being said, as we tested the F15 X5 when it came out, we have a clue of how the SAC will be on the road.
However, if experience is an indicator, there might be more to the new X6 apart from a different body, shaped like a coupe. The same similarities appear between the X3 LCI and X4 models and yet, we found them a bit different in more than one way.
Sure, the X3 offers a bit more space but the X4 is the more planted car on the road. It’s stiffer and more precise in movement, when fitted with the same suspension. At the same time, peculiar enough, we found the xDrive systems different, the X3 one being more engaging while the on the SAC being a more prone to understeer.
XCAR doesn’t go into such details to tell us if the new X6 does the same so we guess we’ll have to find out for ourselves. They do point out other pros and cons of the car.
For starters, the stigmata is still there, people still being prejudiced towards the X6 and considering it a blasphemy and an ‘ugly car’. That’s all in the eye of the beholder if you ask us and this particular editor considers the new model rather beautiful and looking exactly as it should: massive and aggressive.
After all, the smallest engine you can get in this car is a 3-liter diesel with 258 HP and that’s nothing to laugh about. However, that’s only going to count for a small part of the sales, as most customers will want to make a statement with this car and BMW wants to allow them.
Right now, you can also order an xDrive50i model fitted with a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 making 450 HP and the uber-torquey M50d that comes with a tri-turbo 3-liter inline 6-cylinder engine making 381 HP and 740 Nm (546 lb-ft) of torque.
That’s what XCAR tested and we can tell you that’s the one engine we’d go for until the xDrive40d comes out because it offers plenty of punch for a 2.3 ton car and it won’t be too hungry either. I know, most people spending in excess of 100k on a car won’t be too worried about fuel consumption but having to stop at a petrol station all the time becomes an inconvenience over time.
Until we get to test the car ourselves, let’s take a look at what they learned from the time spent with the new X6.
Until we get to test the car ourselves, let’s take a look at what they learned from the time spent with the new X6.
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