X6 is the Big Daddy of Beemers
By: Henrie Geyser
The new BMW X6 looks like a steroidal love-child spawned after a passionate encounter between a broad-shouldered SUV and a racy coupe - to some it it's pug ugly, to others it's jaw-droppingly handsome.
But whether you hate it or love it, you cannot ignore it.
It's big, bold and strikingly different from anything else on the road. Not for the introverted and definitely not something to be used as a get-away car in a bank robbery.
Described by BMW as a Sports Activity Vehicle, it certainly is light years ahead of anything other set of fancy wheels.
It has the height, broad shoulders and weight of an SUV and the sleek sloping lines and scorching performance of a classy coupe.
A number of car manufacturers have produced saloon-like SUV's, but nothing else out there is quite in the same league as the X6.
Besides its imposing presence and carved good looks, it's the power-factory under the bonnet and a whole range of mind-boggling wizardry that makes the X6 quite special.
The muscle flows from a 3.0-litre V6 which, thanks to twin turbo technology, is the most powerful six-cylinder engine in the BMW stable. It produces 225kW and 400Nm (from as low as 1,300rpm) which bullets the two-tonner from 0-100km/h in just 6.7 seconds and on to a top speed of close to 240km/h
This rapid progress is smoothed out via a rapid change six-speed automatic transmission which has several driving options: you can leave it in automatic; change gears with the electronic gear selector or flick the paddles on the steering wheel.
And if progress in standard mode is not fast enough for you, there is a Sport button to add a further burst of after-burn to the proceedings. Either way, fun with a capital F starts from the minute you floor the pleasure pedal and the big Beemer flies out of the starting stalls.
The X6's straight-line acceleration is already enough to put a smile on any petrol-head's face, but the pleasure increases ten-fold once you hit the twisties and those huge 19-inch high-performance rubbers start earning their keep.
Because when it comes to cornering and cling, the X6 does it better than most hot hatches and swanky saloons. Phenomenal is the only way to describe the way this huge chunk of metal sticks to the tar.
Much of the credit for its unbelievable roadholding goes to BMW's intelligent xDrive all-wheel drive technology with Dynamic Performance Control which, simply put, distributes power between the font and rear axle and also between the rear wheels.
This system works so well that it can even turn a blue rinse lady bowler into a Schumacher although one should never lose track of the fact that even a system as sophisticated as this cannot win against oil on tar, loose or flooded surfaces, stupidity or foolish bravery.
But one really has to be extremely incompetent to come unstuck in an X6, even when pushing quite hard.
I pushed as hard as I dared - and enjoyed it every inch of the way.
Driving the X6 enthusiastically early on a Sunday morning was wonderful, marred only by the speed paparazzi hiding under a bridge when he should still have been in bed reading the Sunday newspapers.
Driving dynamics and looks aside, the X6 has, typically BMW, enough fancy kit to write a book about and includes enough airbags to start a second Parliament, anti-lock brake system (ABS), ASC Automatic Stability Control, Trailer Stability Control, HDC Hill Descent Control, DBC Dynamic Brake Control, CBC Cornering Brake Control, Automatic Cruise Control, Park Distance Control (PDC), Rear View Camera, a great sound system, electric seats, windows, mirrors, aircon and a long (and expensive!) list of optional extras to personalise your chariot - so even if those outsize 19-inchers are still not good enough you can bling them up further to 20- or 21-inchers.
People will buy the X6 for different reasons: Its outstanding presence and looks; its leather-finished classy and spacious interior, its flexible luggage space; its good looks; its safety high ride or because of its thrilling performance - or simply because they can afford the R654,000 to be different.
And I tell you what, it might well be as controversial as a Zapiro cartoon, but it's so much fun it will even make Zuma smile...
More by Henrie Geyser
More...ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Henrie Geyser has worked as a journalist in Cape Town, London and Windhoek for the Argus Company (now Independent Newspapers) and spent 12 years at The Cape Argus in Cape Town. He then owned and ran a public relations consultancy for 13 years. He joined the online publishing industry through iafrica.com, where he worked for five years as News Editor and Editor. He now freelances for a variety of print and online publications, on the subjects of cars, food and travel, among others; and is a member of the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists.
Connected by: Uninet
muti
del.icio.us
stumbleupon
yahoo
google
facebook
newsvine
Digg
Reddit
GoGuide
