2013 BMW X6
Its elegance will fascinate you, its agility will inspire you and its presence will impress you. The BMW X6 unites agility, performance and athletic design in a large BMW coupé with the versatility and raised seating position normally only found in an SAV. Once again BMW has defined a completely new vehicle concept. The standard X6, the xDrive35i, gets a 3.0-liter turbocharged in-line six-cylinder under the hood, rated at 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque. That's plenty of power, but not really enough to seem truly quick for a vehicle of this size. The X6 xDrive50i, however, gets a 400-horsepower, 400 pound-foot 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 engine that motivates the X6 with more than mere adequacy. Step up to the X6 M's 555-horsepower output from a similar twin-turbo V-8 engine.
The X6 has dramatically less rear-seat headroom than the X5, and total storage space behind the front seats is also down. There's still space enough to toss a bike back there without removing the front wheel, if you don't mind laying it on its side. But two bikes are out of the question. Combine that with the high load-in height and the awkward shape of the storage area and the X6 becomes the perfect SUV for people who don't want to help their friends move.
The X6 has dramatically less rear-seat headroom than the X5, and total storage space behind the front seats is also down. There's still space enough to toss a bike back there without removing the front wheel, if you don't mind laying it on its side. But two bikes are out of the question. Combine that with the high load-in height and the awkward shape of the storage area and the X6 becomes the perfect SUV for people who don't want to help their friends move.
Precisely modified details in the front view give the new BMW X6 an appearance characterised by exclusive athleticism and supremacy. The standard fog lights are now set in matt finish surrounds in the upper area of the outer air inlets. Their higher and more lateral position emphasises the width of the vehicle. The striking three-dimensional modelling of the frame and newly designed bars, angled in the lower section, make the BMW kidney grille stand out especially conspicuously within the vehicle front section. The angle of the grille bars is flush with the bottom of the headlamp units, thereby creating an additional horizontal line which likewise highlights.The BMW X6 is available in three trims: the six-cylinder xDrive35i, V8-powered xDrive50i and high-performance X6 M. The base model comes with standard features including 10-way power-adjustable heated leather front seats, push-button start, front and rear parking sensors and a power liftgate. Upper trims offer 20-way adjustable seats.More exciting, of course, is that BMW now will offer M Performance packages for both the turbocharged 3.0-liter six and the twin-turbo 4.4-liter V-8. Additional power comes as a result of cranking up the turbo boost; on the six, output rises from 300 hp and 300 lb-ft of torque to 315 hp and 330 lb-ft. (These are just a shade lower than the 320 hp and 332 lb-ft delivered by the Performance Edition package in the outgoing 335i, which featured the same engine; the difference is attributable to different intake and exhaust plumbing in the two vehicles.) The M Performance upgrade will increase output in the V-8–toting X6 xDrive50i by 40 hp and 30 lb-ft, for totals of 440 and 480.Every BMW X6 includes stability and traction control, antilock brakes, automatic brake drying, front side airbags, side curtain airbags and adaptive brake lights. The latter flashes the taillights under sudden extreme braking as a warning to trailing motorists. Also standard is the BMW Assist emergency communications system, which provides automatic crash notification, stolen vehicle recovery.Features, options, and equipment are abundant: standard 10-way power-adjustable driver's and front passenger's seats, wood trim, a wide range of interior colors and materials choices, a 10-speaker sound system, iPod/USB connectivity.
For $4,300 more, the Dynamic Handling package upgrades the already stiff suspension with Adaptive Drive, which allows the vehicle's dampers to adjust on the fly to counteract roll and give a more controlled ride. Active Steering is also added to the mix, which equips the X6 with a variable-ratio steering rack that offers a quicker steering ratio at low-to-medium speeds and slower, less twitchy, stabler steering for better high-speed stability. The Dynamic Handling package also adds a Sport button that firms up suspension and steering when you're ready to tackle the corners, but I was hard-pressed to tell any difference in the ride quality with Sport mode on or off.The petrol and diesel engines with BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology available for the BMW X6 deliver impressive pulling power and exemplary low fuel consumption figures. The V8 engine of the BMW X6 xDrive50i delivers 300 kW/407 bhp, while in the BMW X6 xDrive35i an in-line 6-cylinder petrol engine with 225 kW/306 bhp ensures supreme athletic performance. The in-line 6-cylinder diesel engines of the models BMW X6 xDrive40d and BMW X6 xDrive30d mobilise 225 kW/306 bhp and 180 kW/245 bhp respectively. Both offer not only impressively sporty power delivery but also emission figures based on the EU test cycle of 7.5 litres per 100 kilometres for the BMW X6 xDrive40d and 7.4 litres for the BMW X6 xDrive30d.
2013 BMW X6