The BMW’s steering is hefty but responds proportionally to inputs, and although it feels a mite too stiff-necked on-center and gives no sense of road texture, it at least allows precise control for the demanding driver. On the road, this all equates to a heavyweight that can get up on its toes and dance around the ring, but you’d best hope the opposite corner isn’t occupied by a Porsche Cayenne. LOWS: Strange outside, unlovable shift lever, poor rear visibility, tiny cargo hold. The X6 outcornered the 0.81 g we measured in the latest X5, though-both cars had 19-inch wheels, but this one ran Pirelli tires and the X5 had Goodyears, both all-season run-flat designs. Perhaps that was due to the smaller wheel and tire-skidpad grip ran out at 0.86 g whereas the ’08 managed 0.88. In braking, the new car stopped from 70 mph in 168 feet, improving on the X5’s 175-foot stop but not the previous model’s 163. We saw a real-world 21 mpg in this example, the same as we got in the 2014 X5 and fully 5 mpg better than in our ’08 testing.
The EPA ratings of 18/27 mpg city/highway represent improvements of 3 and 7 mpg. Where the eight-speed and the weight reduction really pay off big is in fuel economy. The X6’s advantage continued to 100 mph and in the quarter-mile, which this car did in 14.3 seconds at 97 mph (the ’08 X6 and the ’14 X5 ran 14.6 seconds at 95 and 96 mph). The square-backed model is heftier by a couple hundred pounds. In the sprint to 60 mph, the 2015 X6 did the job in 5.7 seconds, a 0.2-second improvement over the ’08 and 0.3 better than the X5 xDrive35i we tested just over a year ago.
BMW CROSSOVER 2015 SOFTWARE
BMW claims it invested heavily in weight reduction on the new platform and lists curb weights that average about 50 pounds less than before our 2015 test car was 298 pounds lighter than was the ’08 on our scales, but the older car had optional equipment that wasn’t primarily software based, including beefy 20-inch wheels rather than the 19-inchers on this example. The 300 horsepower and 300-lb-ft figures are the same, with mild differences in their delivery (today’s torque comes in a little earlier in the rev band while power peaks later) and the ’08 model used a six-speed automatic instead of today’s eight-cog ’box (the eight-speed was bestowed upon the X). Testing the all-wheel-drive model makes for a tidy comparison with the X6 xDrive35i we examined back in 2008. Also found in the top X4 and in many other Munich offerings, this sweetly responsive six is the base X5/X6 engine and, for the first time, is also offered with rear-wheel drive (sDrive in BMW nomenclature). The xDrive35i we tested employs the 300-hp straight six with a twin-scroll turbocharger. That it will tow, at least, is some justification for choosing an X6 rather than a more conventional vehicle. Maybe some of these folks are like us after all-if you don’t need the enormous capacity of modern pickups or full-size SUVs, the experience of driving an X6 is a far more entertaining way to spend your non-towing road miles.
BMW CROSSOVER 2015 FULL
Not compromised by the styling is the towing capacity of 6000 pounds (48 pounds more than the X5 for unknown reasons), and BMW fan-site message boards suggest that many owners actually use their X6s to pull a boat, camper, ATVs, or a trailer full of racing or collector cars. Remember when the cabin of a BMW was always a black hole with big daylight openings? That’s the old normal.
BMW CROSSOVER 2015 DRIVERS
It was a little more old-school than some of our drivers might prefer, but as with most BMWs, there are many other choices (such as metal rather than wood trim). This example was graced with a $1950 “Cognac Interior Design” package that blended brownish-red accents, black leather, and “Fineline Striped” wood trim into a plush cabin ambience. It’s coupled to the latest version of iDrive, which has evolved from its initial status as a horrific burden right on through manageable to a genuinely useful system.
The redesigned interior departs more dramatically from the past but not at all from recent BMW practice, with a prominent 10.2-inch screen taking center stage on the dash. The fastback design has been updated with exterior character lines forecast by last year’s X4, but these look better-proportioned when stretched over the longer X6, which has gained 1.8 inches in overall length. Like the third-gen BMW X5 introduced for 2014, the new X6 rides the same 115.5-inch wheelbase as before.
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