My take on the X6

[ravenheart]

Hey all

I thought I'd post a small review of our X6 once I got some decent pictures. Its been 3 weeks and still haven't gotten around to taking said pictures, so its probably not going to happen However, it is a run of the mill X6 so not much imagination is required. Also - take what you read with a grain of salt - its just personal opinion which may vary from yours and/or the truth.

We got a Vermillion Red X6 50i, with black interior and ash grain wood. It has sport, premium, cold weather, ventilated seats, premium sound and rear climate. As for options we got comfort access, HUD, leather dash, running boards, soft close doors, HD radio and rear view camera. Basicly we got everything except active steering, spare tire, smartphone intergration and satelite radio.

Now - as far as practicality ... well - the boot is very spacious - easily fitting the same luggage as our E53 would. However the rear seat headroom is lacking. If I sit in the back, my head is resting against the roof when I lean against the head rest. Also rear leg room is not good either - sitting behind a short person my knees still rub against the front seat. I am 6'3 - so some of this is to be expected I guess - but I've never had those problems in an X5.

In the front there are more issues - while I fit perfectly well and is comfortable, the seats are a little harder than the comfort seats was in our old E53. Also the active driver's seat is pointless - it may help back aches like it says in the brochure, but it is most certainly not 'imperceptibly'. It feels like someone is shoving a fist through your butt cheek.

Interior build quality is also a bit off - some trim pieces doesn't quite line up and pushing the dash in certain places will make it give quite a bit - not as bad as in a caddilac, but still - it has hints of cheapness. Also some of the plastics are a bit too hard and chinzy. Having said all that, the interior is nicely laid out and up to BMW standards - I just wish it was better put together.

Sound from the premium sound package is also a little disapointing - while it certainly works, I doubt I would have missed it had we gotten the standard system - which we probably would have if it wasn't for the USB/iPod option. And oh my ... the iDrive - that thing drives me crazy - how they made it as un-intuative as they did is beyond me.

At this point you are probably thinking that I am being down on the X6 and that it might have been a mistake getting it - but no - I am getting to the point

The engine is good - it has lots of power and sounds fantastic when on the throttle. Sometimes it does sound a bit like a turbo-diesel van engine - but I can forgive that because of the power. The power delivery is not as urgent as it was in our Z4M, but it is much easier to use.

Now I am getting to the part where it all begins to come together - the handling. This thing, this big 4x4, takes corners like no car I have ever driven. A sharp 90 degree turn with a suggested speed of ... let's say ... 15 mph - can be taken at much higher speeds ... like ... let's say 40+ mph, and you never feel like you are about to loose control. In the Z4M that corner was ... I mean ... let's say it would have been scary. In the E53 it would have been slower. All of the sudden it makes sense why there are 11 inch rubbers in the back And the adaptive drive and DPC really shines.

Furthermore - I think its beautiful. Pictures really do not do this car justice. It plays tricks on your mind. The X6 is about as wide as a Navigator, but looking at it from a distance, it looks small. I could go on trying to explain it, but really - it is just a very nice looking car It looks nicely proportioned. If anyone still think it looks like an Aztec, they have their eyes stuck so far up their own ass that all they see is shit, and nothing I say can change that.

So here is the point - it is an expensive, gas guzzling (we get 16 mpg) SUV that barely seats 4 people and it is not well put together. It is big and ungainly and it polutes like few other cars ... but I love it. It is not a car that needs to be rationalised. I can imagine no better car for us at this point (and we looked at a lot of options).

A few things worth noting BTW:
- rear visibility is somewhat poor. Parking without PDC or the rear view camera is nearly impossible. Blind spots however are not bad - also the side mirrors are quite big which helps a lot.
- heads up display is really nice.
- the amount of brakedust is amazing - it looks like we have black rims in the front and normal alloys in the back. Much worse than in the E53. Of course I don't wash our car often - so I guess if it really bothered me I could just wash it
- Active steering alters/spoils the feel of the steering - if looking to get an X6 (or any BMW I guess) be sure to try both options to see what you prefer. For us it was an easy choice.
- Soft close doors are a cool gadget - but not that useful.

Oh - the one picture I have is from a cell phone - hopefully the general shape of the car is visible