My turn for a X6M review!

[WAY]

Here is a drive review of the X6M that I also posted on other forums. Happy to answer any questions if anyone has any:

So today I spend 3 hours driving the X6M on a mixture of freeway, city and country roads (twisties). The car is very impressive indeed! Let's just say that other than the dull exhaust note, I can't fault it for what it is. Where I make a comparison to what I know, I will mainly compare against my other family cars, and not my sports cars as it just wouldn't make sense.

The first thing I notice as I pull out of the parking spot is the soft rumble it makes at low revs. Not bad I thought, not excellent like the V8s in my C63 or AMV8, but not bad. Then the rev rises. As it rises higher and higher through the rev range, it started sounding more and more like a 4 cylinder turbo engine, Golf GTI specifically. Then I started playing with the gearchange at high revs at full throttle. Wait a minute, this also sounds like the Golf GTI (in DSG guise) where it "farts" on the fast gearchange. I didn't mind that at all and it's one of the things I miss since selling my GTI. But the exhaust note is VERY dissapointing especially given that it is a V8! Btw, pressing the M mode button increases the V8 rumble a bit, but it is still by no means nice sounding in anyway. I have read that the X5M sounds better due to the different body configuration so that remains to be seen.

At low speed, the steering is light, much lighter than my 135i but heavier than the C63. But like the C63, it firms up at speed and becomes quite meaty. The ratio is also much more direct than a standard X5 or X3, and gives you a much more precise steering. I later was told by the dealer that this is the same rack as the M5 and I am not surprised. I am so glad this rack is so much more direct than our X3 that will be replaced by the X5M.

The ride on this car is magnificent. Maybe this is less relevant to you guys in Germany, but we have crappy roads here and my two current family cars (the C63 and X3 M sport) bounce like a pogo stick. This car almost waft through the rough roads, or at least relative to the C63/X3 it does! Then as I headed out to the twisties, I got to really test the handling ability. Wait, this car weighs 2.4 tons? No way! It corners so flat and the electronics is so clever in pulling it in to give it a very high limit. I did a tight left-right-left at 100kmh and it just went through it with so little fuss that I thought I was going 60kmh!

And that brings me to speed, or rather the perception of speed. This car hides speed very well. You could easily travel at 100kmh thinking you are going 75. It's the low rpm and wind noise I think that hides the perception of speed. The engine is powerful, but not as sharp in throttle response as my C63. In fact, (once again) the power delivery reminds me very much of the Golf GTI. It has a slight turbo lag which isn't really perceptible but when you compare it against something like the C63 than it is there. The big torque gives you the shove in the back the way turbo cars are very good at doing, but again I find that the C63 is more "violent" in that respect. This car I think is desgined to be a bit more subtle in all areas.

Back to the gearchanges. The gear change is twin-clutch quick which surprised me. I don't know how the engineers do it but it works as well as the DSG/DCTs out there. Maybe the auto gearbox is not dead yet afterall.

The brakes on this thing is massive, and it shows when you stomp on the brake. I didn't drive on roads that required constant heavy braking, but I can tell you from a few high speed brake test that the car tracks absolutely straight stomping on the brakes and it stops in a short distant. It lacks feel the way the AP Racing brake with track pads feel on my 135i, nor is it super sensitive like on my C63. I think it is a good balance, but I did notice that it worked a lot better than the initial few application of the brake before there was any heat on them.

So all in all, a mighty impressive vehicle for my family use. I just get the feeling that I won't be using the C63 much as the family car as this is bigger, grippier and for more comfortable! I can't wait to get delivery of my X5M!!!