Test Drive: 2011 BMW X6

By Kevin Harrison

I heard on the news today that there is a guy in the States who is looking to clone a mouse. A bit odd, but cloning has become a somewhat frequent practice these days. His goal, however, was to create a mouse that can sing. The hope is, according to him, to create an actual living breathing Mickey Mouse. You know, because having your house infested with mice that run about and make annoying noises in the wall isn’t quite annoying enough. We definitely need them to be signing the Mickey Mouse Club opening theme song while they’re at it. I can only imagine that eventually the mice would have to do a rendition of thriller on the kitchen floor before we head off to bed. And to show our gratitude the method of payment would be only the finest of cheeses.

Don’t you ever wonder about people like that? What makes them so completely mad that they decide to dedicate their lives to creating signing mice or creating a knife that can cut through a shoe or re-electing Stephen Harper? What goes through their head? Are they just insane, or do they possess some sort of underlying brilliance that is not immediately apparent to us normal folk?

I’ve sort of thought the same thing when BMW first introduced the X6. Clearly someone at BMW had decided that the X5 was too much like an SUV and that the 5-series was too much like a car. And the 5-series wagon was too much like a wagon. And that the 3-series coupe was too much like a coupe. So they must have thought, maybe if I breed those models together, I can create the best of every single world and everyone will be happy. But that’s kind of like saying, “I love pizza, ice cream, reading, and Tom Jones so I’m going to make a book made of pizza that’s ice cold with only Tom Jones lyrics inside”. Try pitching that idea to a publisher and see how it works out for you.

Or maybe this is indeed a piece of brilliance that you wouldn’t expect like putting Kanye West and Bon Iver on the same song or eating melted blue cheese with pear on a baguette (try it, it’s amazing).

I tried one to find out.

By now you’ve likely noticed the X6’s odd shape. Since it’s trying very hard to be four different types of body styles, the design is naturally quite eye catching. During my time with the X6, I got plenty of stares from passersby including one hell of a stare down from a police officer who drove past me in the lane next to me as I was yielding to oncoming traffic making a left turn. He came to a dead stop in the intersection, shifted into reverse and lined up his cruiser with the X6 and just sat there staring. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean the X6 was getting looks of affection. The cop might’ve done quite the double take because he couldn’t believe how ugly it was. But whatever the reason, you sure do get noticed in this car, especially by the cops.

My personal thought is that it’s a design that can and will grow on you. It also depends on which angle you’re looking from. The rear quarter view is nice, so is the direct head on angle, but view it from its profile and it’s not quite the same story.

Inside is very much typical BMW as it mimics almost identically the style of it’s brother the X5. As nice as it is, however, the design doesn’t seem to be aging well as I’ve already grown tired of the typical layout and predictable coulour schemes. However other than that, there’s nothing aesthetically wrong with the layout as there is a good dose of luxury everywhere. I’m more a fan of the BMW interiors that put a bit of a sporting touch inside like the 1-series, but to each their own. The iDrive system is much improved, but still unnecessarily complicated and definitely does a good job of keeping your eyes off the road. As expected, quality of the materials are superb. The seats are extremely comfortable with the boston leather and every person, no matter what their stature, should be able to find a comfortable seating position in the X6 as the seats fold and bend about a billion ways.

Naturally ingress is a bit difficult in the back thanks to that sloping roof line. However, once you are inside, the rear seats are a pleasant place to be. With separate climate controls for the back, a comfortable fold down armrest in the middle and sizable cup holders underneath, it really makes you feel like you’re in your own little pod. Rear leg room is good, but if you are taller, the roof line may impede a bit.

Cargo room is a bit limited, as you’d expect thanks to the exterior design. With the seats up a mere 25 cubic feet of space is available. With the rear seats folded down, you get a more generous 60 cubic feet. By comparison, the X5 will give you 75 cubic feet of cargo room.

New for 2011 is the addition of BMW’s N55 twin scrolled single turbo engine in the X6 Xdrive35i, which is what my tester had. It makes 300 horsepower and 300 pound feet of torque. Despite the fact that the X6 weighs in at just over 5 tonnes, the X6 certainly does not feel sluggish. 0-100 takes only 6.3 seconds. The engine is silky smooth and gear shifts are made at precisely the right moment. However, if you prefer to row the gears yourself, you can simply slip it into manual mode where the engine will happily redl ine in each gear if you hold it. While in manual mode, you’ll notice that there are now eight gears instead of six. This is also a new feature for 2011. BMW claims this adds performance all while providing better fuel efficiency. I used to think eight gears is a bit foolish and is too many. In order to actually get to that eighth gear you will surely be going well over the speed limit. However, when riding around in the city, the transmission does somehow manage to get to that eighth gear. The only problem is, when you wish to have a boost of power it needs to gear down several times to give you the umph you’re looking for, and as a result, you’re left in a bit of a stalled state until the transmission finds the right gear.

One thing the X6 should never ever loose are those sensors. I’m not the type that would ever require sensors to drive or park a car, I firmly believe that if you need that sort of help then you shouldn’t be driving, however they are so necessary in the X6. Because you can’t see out of it. Sure, you can see forwards, and even from side to side, but looking in that rear view mirror is like looking through a port hole on a cruise ship. And the pillars are huge, creating blind spots everywhere. Another case of style over substance.

The X6 handles exceptionally well. I’ve experienced very few vehicles of this size that can handle as well as the X6 does, usually I have to back off the throttle when entering a corner. But the X6 begs you, almost eggs you on in fact, you push it harder insisting it can handle it (excuse the pun). A big reason for its handling abilities is the standard 19 inch wheels. The downside is a fairly harsh ride, however, and the inability to actually take it off road.

And that’s the thing. It seems with a vehicle like this, there’s always some consequence of it being able to do something well. It can handle excellently, but you can’t take it off-road as a result. It looks fantastic from most angles, but you loose interior space and cargo room as a result. It’s the same size as seven seater X5, yet it can only seat four.

The X6 can do a lot of things adequately, but it just can’t replace the vehicles that do things exceptionally.

And yet I can’t help but like it. It doesn’t make any sense at all, but there’s some sort of attractive quality about it.

But in the end, common sense should always prevail. If I want a signing mouse, I’ll watch a mickey mouse movie. If I want an SUV, I’ll buy an SUV. If I want a coupe, I’ll buy a coupe. If I want a sedan/wagon… you get the idea. But putting them all together into one vehicle just creates way too many compromises to the point where I’m left scratching my head. What exactly is the point of a vehicle like this?

I’m afraid BMW hasn’t come up with something completely brilliant. They’ve come up with something that’s just insane. And at the end of the day, that is the X6’s ultimate appeal.

Base Price: $65,700

Pros: