BMW X6 ActiveHybrid Review

Hybrid. One of the words with the deepest meanings in the auto industry and probably the term that made carmakers around the world go crazy and scratch their heads looking for ways to implement hybrid technology into their product ranges. Ever since the global recession started terrifying car companies in every single country on the planet, most of them turned their eyes towards alternative and more efficient ways of propulsion, including here hybrids and electric cars, each of them supposed to bring the respective carmaker back in the game.

So here it is, BMW's very own hybrid or, in other words, the German company's first ever hybrid bearing the name X6 ActiveHybrid. BMW says it is more of a Sports Activity Coupe, meaning that it's able to offer great driving dynamics while keeping fuel consumption to a low level at the same time.

The first time we heard about BMW's enthusiastic plans to step into the hybrid world was at the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2007, while two years later, at the same German venue, the public got the chance to see the final production model.

The X6 ActiveHybrid is by no means a regular hybrid and the fastest way you can see that is by having a look on the specification list. A 407 hp twin-turbocharged V8 gasoline engine and two electric synchronous motors delivering 91 hp and 86 hp, respectively, are hidden underneath a muscular and imposing body, pretty much similar, with a few exceptions of course, to the one of the regular X6.

If you're going to listen to what the people working in BMW's marketing department have to say, you won't need more than a minute to understand that X6 ActiveHybrid is one of most, if not the most, advanced and efficient hybrids to date, despite its two and a half ton body. In reality however, things might be different a little bit, so we decided to take the car for a ride and see what the X6 hybrid is up to. Continue reading to take a glimpse into our findings on the car.

Judging strictly by the exterior look, the X6 ActiveHybrid is nothing more than a huge spaceship that has nothing in common with the term hybrid. Huge and aggressive, BMW's hybrid brought a different idea in the hybrid sector: a large and sporty model that's supposed to burn almost as less fuel as a compact. Usually, car companies concentrated on building hybrids focused more on the green technology they developed, while neglecting, more or less, the look of the final product. BMW tried to kill two birds with one stone: use the X6 design that was pretty well received on the market and build an efficient but powerful hybrid.

The differences between the regular X6 and the ActiveHybrid are only a few but enough to set the latter apart. Besides the ActiveHybrid badge placed on both the side and the rear, the car comes with a so-called "powerdome" hood, which is actually a bump on the hood created to accommodate the electric powertrain.

In addition, BMW has equipped the hybrid with 20-inch light-alloy Aero wheels, especially designed to contribute to the overall aerodynamics and exclusively built for the X6 ActiveHybrid. In addition, 19-inch light-alloy wheels with all-season tires are available as an option.

Other than that, the greener X6 is very similar to the regular model, so it features the same DNA as many BMWs out there. The aggressive front accompanied by a curving roof line that brings a unique touch to sportiness form the so-called Sport Activity Coupe, as it is called by the German carmaker, despite the fact that it has a total of four doors and not two, as a regular coupe. The twin kidney grille and the black mouldings around the grille are still there, just like on the base X6. Only that the hybrid is painted in Bluewater Metallic finish offered for the first time on a BMW X6, as the company says.

If you believed we were kidding when we called the X6 ActiveHybrid a spaceship, we did not, and the exterior dimensions are the living proof to this statement. The car measures 4877 / 1983 / 1697 mm – 192 / 78 / 66.8 inches (LxWxH) and has a wheelbase of 2934 mm (115.5 inches). Ground clearance? No less than 218 mm (8.6 inches)!

Step inside and the joy begins. Just like on any other BMW, you're surrounded by lots of buttons, but nothing too different from a regular model designed by the Germans. The only new things are the hybrid goodies, obviously having the role to keep the driver up to date with everything that happens with the electric powertrain.

And speaking of the driver, whoever gets behind the wheel will have all functions at the touch of a finger. Starting from the dashboard, with all the adjacent buttons and levers, and ending with the iDrive knob, the center armrest and the cup holders, everything seems to be in the right place. We're not too big fans of the iDrive system, so we won't go into many details right know, but we'll talk about it a little bit later in the Gadgets chapter.

Both front seats are electrically adjustable, so finding the best driving position is actually a matter of seconds. Covered in Nappa leather, just like the rear bench, the front seats come with three heating modes, while the height-adjustable steering wheel has "only" one heating level.

There's nothing wrong when talking about the interior quality and there's no surprise here given the fact that you have to pay more than 100,000 Euros to buy one of these hybrids. The only plastic parts are probably the cup holders covers, while everything else is either covered in leather, as it's the case of seats, or in other type of materials that feel great to the touch.

The biggest problem remains visibility. The rear window, which by the way comes with no wiper (special thanks to our mate who thought that it would be great to let us check the dashboard twice looking for the rear wiper lever during hard rain), is almost useless. One of the ways BMW's engineers tried to deal with this issue was the installation of large exterior rear mirrors but even so, you shouldn't have too high expectations when jumping behind the wheel of an X6 ActiveHybrid.

Once again, the hybrid stuff makes this model special. The dashboard now comes with a blue indicator that shows precious data regarding the battery status and informs the driver every time the battery is about to get drained or when the electric motor is the one that sends power to the wheels. Plus the iDrive display which shows a special graph representing the hybrid assembly and the way it works.

Another thing worth mentioning is the interior room. Although you might be tempted to believe that the X6 is a spacious vehicle, it is and it is not. The front passengers won't be too bothered regardless if we're discussing about urban or highway environments, while the rear passengers might find the Sport Activity Coupe architecture a bit unpleasant. There are only two seats at the back, with reduced headroom, mostly due to the coupe style we were talking about.

The trunk is pretty spacious, but not as much as what you'd expect from such a large vehicle. It has a volume of 470 liters (16.6 cuFT), but keep in mind that there's no spare wheel, as BMW used the space to install the battery pack and the other related things needed to make the electric motors work.

Driving the X6 ActiveHybrid in a crowded city is like getting inside a lion's cage with roast beef on your back. It's incredibly difficult to squeeze through the other cars and even if the exterior dimensions don't seem too exaggerate, you'll feel different while driving.

First, practicality. X6 ActiveHybrid is far from being a practical car, despite the hybrid designation that might recommend it as a cheap way to deal with everyday traffic. Just try to park one and you'll see what we mean. OK, BMW offers several parking assistance solutions, such as rear view camera and front parking sensors, but the biggest problem nowadays is actually finding an empty parking space and then squeeze into it without bumping into the other cars. The X6 ActiveHybrid comes with one rear view camera plus with two side cameras, each mounted in the exterior mirrors. After collecting image data from all three, the parking assistance system creates a bird's eye view real time video displayed on the center console screen.

It sounds useful, but it's not. While in reverse mode, the rear camera provides close to zero helpful images, mostly because the recording angle is too wide and surrounding objects are only shown on the display only when getting very, very close to the obstacle. The parking sensors might not be properly synchronized with the camera, as they scream like hell every time the car has less than 2 meters away from the other parked cars.

OK, so we all agreed that parking is not X6 ActiveHybrid's ace up its sleeve. On a much more positive note, we were impressed with the handling the hybrid has to offer. The electronic power steering is almost perfectly responsive and you won't even notice that you're driving such a large vehicle.

Things are totally opposite when talking about the turning radius. The first time we were ready to trade the X6 ActiveHybrid for a Russian tank was the moment when we've tried to make a tight turn with the car and it took more than 20, maybe 30 seconds because multiple forwards-backward movements were absolutely necessary. The official turning radius indicated by BMW is 12.8 meters (503 inches), when equipped with 20-inch wheels.

Fuel consumption is far, very far from what you'd expect from a hybrid. BMW says the car shouldn't burn more than 10.8 liters of gasoline per 100 km (21.7 mpg) in the city, but we couldn't go lower than 15 l/100km (15.6 mpg) after hours of feathering the pedal. A sportier driver would go up to 20 l/100 km (11.7 mpg), especially if he's the type that loves to let the other drivers at the traffic light enjoy the burned tire smell. A start-stop system that automatically turns off the engine when not in motion, leaving the battery take care of the working functions, is also available but, as you can see, it doesn't have a too significant impact on the final fuel consumption figures.

Visibility is once again an issue, even if you swear to check the interior mirror only when trying to park. The lack of a rear wiper makes things ever worse, so you'll have to rely only on the exterior mirrors and on your very own parking skills.

Leave the city and you'll release the beast. Once you step outside the city with the X6 ActiveHybrid, you understand in a minute the reason why BMW chose to develop such a powerful hybrid.

Probably the ace up its sleeve at this chapter is the comfort every passenger enjoys when leaving on a longer journey on board of an X6 Active Hybrid. Regardless if we're referring to the comfortable seats we talked about earlier or to the numerous entertaining systems which we'll detail a little bit later, the X6 ActiveHybrid is an excellent companion for longer trips.

The car feels great and the two synchronous electric motors play a key role here. Every second of hard acceleration proves that BMW actually focused more on engine power and the feeling the driver gets rather than on fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. And speaking on fuel consumption, don't expect to see real figures drop closer to the official ones, as compared to what happened in the urban environment. Judging by BMW's official papers, the X6 ActiveHybrid should achieve a fuel consumption rating of 9.4 l/100km (25 mpg) outside the city, but once again, we beg to differ. And not only because we're not used to the old man's driving style, but because the 485 horsepower engine burns pretty much fuel every time the combustion engine comes into play.

And yes, we managed to drive exclusively on electric power for around 2 kilometers, but the maximum speed hasn't exceeded 58 km/h (36 mph), after which the gasoline engine was turned on. Still, it was around 2 km and a few minutes of zero emissions and zero fuel consumption...

Obviously, the Germans equipped the Bimmer with all the necessary technologies supposed to help the driver outside the side, so you got them all, including ESP and cruise control.

So, all the necessary technologies are there but, in order to justify the 100,000+ Euros price tag, BMW decided to offer a few other functions as well, most of them related to on-board entertainment.

In case you're a family guy, and no, we're not talking about the famous TV series, the BMW X6 ActiveHybrid might deserve a chance. It comes with four-zone climate control, an advanced audio solution plus navigation features, Bluetooth and voice recognition. Sure, there are no LCD displays for the rear passengers but, in case you're the kind who'd like to turn a car into a living room on wheels, you'd better look into the 7 Series.

The suspension setup seems just right, so you won't feel too many shakes when driving on an uneven roads or passing over small potholes. The xDrive system is also present, just to be sure you'll make it to your destination safely.

Once again, rear visibility is an important issue. We had to deal with hard rain for almost an entire day during our test drive and the only way to see what happens behind our German Goliath was to keep the defogging function turned on all the time. A good thing though is that the car was equipped with electrochromic mirrors, so the driver shouldn't experience any trouble caused by the other cars' headlights during night.