EVO's review of the X6M

[blue2fire]

Know this wont be put on the Home Page anytime soon but good to know EVO's thoughts on this car.

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evoc...4/bmw_x6m.html

Rating: 2.5/5 Stars

Let’s get the bad news over with first. This will leave plenty of space for the good news that must inevitably follow when you’re talking about a new BMW powered by a twin-turbo 4.4-litre V8 with 547bhp and 502lb ft of torque and which accelerates to 62mph in 4.7sec and has a top speed of 171mph.

The bad news is that the above stats belong to the X6M, on paper the most wrong-headed idea BMW’s Motorsport division has had in its mostly glorious 37-year history. Indeed, it appears to be a flat contradiction of the thing that, at one time, it vowed it would never do: an SUV. (In fact it’s done two – there’s an X5M as well.) From this flows the other supposed M-badge no-nos: turbocharging, automatic transmission and four-wheel drive.

Then there’s the timing. Could there be a less opportune moment, as the world attempts to extricate itself from the worst recession for 50 years, to launch a monstrously powerful 2.4-ton leviathan clearly aimed at sticking one on the Cayenne Turbo S and Mercedes ML63 AMG? M Division boss Kay Segler says they aren’t rivals (for the coupe-themed X6M at least) but on price and performance they clearly are.

At the press conference for the launch of the new M-cars in Atlanta, just over the state border from the factory that will make them in Spartenburg, North Carolina, Segler shares some other remarkable insights: that they’ve wanted to do a high-performance SUV for ten years but until now haven’t had the technology to carry it off; that people had huge doubts about the first M5 25 years ago before recognising its greatness and the same will be true of the X6M; that the M Division these days seeks innovation, new technologies and niches within niches as part of the means to provide pure driver involvement; that the X6M is the only true sports car among SUVs; and that if it says ‘M’ on the back, it truly is an ‘M’.

As if to ram the point home, we’re left to ponder the claim that the X6M has lapped the Nordschleife faster than the previous generation (E46) M3 as we’re ushered out into the humid warmth of an overcast Georgian afternoon to do our worst over half a dozen or so laps of the famous Road Atlanta circuit. It’s a tasty little track that climbs, swoops and wriggles its way through 2.54 miles, with two decent straights, and it has been home to some epic superbike battles over the years.

There’s an air of expectation that some kind of miracle is about to unfold. After all, the regular X6 handles brilliantly for such a bulky vehicle, a fact that did much to puncture the doubts of a sceptical media. Certainly, the X6M looks like it means business. Sitting on 20-inch rims and with a nose remodelled to incorporate gaping air ducts to cool the engine and larger brakes, it’s a suitably immense and intimidating sight in any rear-view mirror. And you’d have to be driving something genuinely nippy to make the image shrink. On the rare opportunities to open it up on the way to the circuit, the X6M’s twin-turbo V8 and tweaked six-speed ZF auto made mincemeat of the 2380kg kerb weight, the big car surging ahead with an effortless, torquey brutality. A glimpse of greatness?

No. On the circuit, its weight (115kg more than the next most potent X6, the xDrive50i) is immediately apparent, not as a damper on the way it demolishes the straights or the speed it can carry through the turns, but the strain its speed and weight put on the sense of poise, balance and agility so impressive in lesser X6s. Braking hard from 140mph on a downhill straight that feeds into a tight left-right combination, the X6M feels as if it’s standing on its nose and unsettled at the rear, making it hard to judge the correct amount of trail braking into the first part of the turn – a necessary technique if you’re going to have any hope of quelling the understeer that dominates the chassis balance, even with the electronic traction regimes switched off. Good as the clever Dynamic Performance control system is at shifting torque between all four wheels to maximise grip and traction, it restricts the range of expression for the driver to a small band of throttle-induced neutrality to ever-increasing amounts of tyre-squealing understeer. In the dry at least, using the power to push the tail wide even by a few degrees simply isn’t possible.

Which rather removes the fun. As does an engine note that, at full tilt, somehow manages to make the big V8 sound like a curiously dull four-cylinder. Thankfully, on light throttle openings it’s whisperingly quiet. The excellent body control, supple ride and comfortable (if far from spacious) cabin add to the X6M’s undoubted ability to mix serious ground-covering pace with excellent refinement and habitability. But then much the same could be said for the £20K cheaper xDrive50i, which isn’t that much slower and sounds like a proper V8. If you want a quick X6, that remains our recommendation. The
X6M may be fast, but it’s an even worse idea than we feared.

[teagueAMX]

I think a link to this was posted before.

Some people like this ezine can't handle "different" and they act like rabid dogs.

The bottom line: if consumers like it, buy it, different will be the norm and the sniveling will fade into the background. If there aren't enough people that buy it, then BMW will do something else.

I for one am tired of formula driven designs and appreciate the fact that there are some companies willing to try something different and let the public decide.

Regardless of what happens, I just want one to tuck away in my garage - FTW.

[SandmanTR]

The role of a critic is an easy one since the judement is always one sided and very rarely unbiased. I think you'll find that most critics have failed at most other endevours and find they can gravitate to a profession with no accountabily.

The Internet has certainly made this profession a lot worse since now anyone can be a critic.

I certainly respect someones opionion but most crtics really have nothing constructive to say except their POV on the matter.

People work hard for their money and should be able to buy what excites them. I could care less what everyone else thinks about these new vehicles. If these cars don't excite you, express your opionion then move on to complain about something else.

[teagueAMX]

Originally Posted by SandmanTR

The role of a critic is an easy one since the judgment is always one sided and very rarely unbiased. I think you'll find that most critics have failed at most other endeavors and find they can gravitate to a profession with no accountability.

The Internet has certainly made this profession a lot worse since now anyone can be a critic.

I certainly respect someones opinion but most critics really have nothing constructive to say except their POV on the matter.

People work hard for their money and should be able to buy what excites them. I could care less what everyone else thinks about these new vehicles. If these cars don't excite you, express your opionion then move on to complain about something else.

+1

BTW, I really like it in white like yours, but this combo got me really stirred up.

.

[727jbh]

I love the X6M, it's a fantastic ride and looks amazing. I want one!!!

[WAY]

Guys, EVO is one of the highest respected performance car mag in the world! In fact, I can't think of an English language performance car mag more highly regarded. But the review is just ridiculous, and it shows their bias for traditional M cars. I mean, who in their right mind buy these for the track? I love all my cars to have a certain level of power and handling, so when I am looking for a family wagon, the X5M meets the criteria. What is wrong with that?

[teagueAMX]

Originally Posted by WAY

Guys, EVO is one of the highest respected performance car mag in the world! In fact, I can't think of an English language performance car mag more highly regarded. But the review is just ridiculous, and it shows their bias for traditional M cars. I mean, who in their right mind buy these for the track? I love all my cars to have a certain level of power and handling, so when I am looking for a family wagon, the X5M meets the criteria. What is wrong with that?

Ok, I'm curious who respects them if that's the type of journalism they practice? No doubt it’s a bunch of elitists, and if that’s the case, they need to get out of their snobby little high tek Merc AMG Black’s, Bugatti Veyron, or Porsche GT2, and climb into some “pure” sports cars like vintage MG’s, a Triumph, Jag’s or Lotus, etc., and go hang out with their cronies at Pebble Beach Concourse d’ Elegance and leave the everyday driving to us little people.

As a purest sports car, the X6 M it ain't. But who's suggesting it is? It’s a niche vehicle plain and simple, and vary narrow niche at that.

For that matter, as much as I love the M5 and M6, you have to admit they aren't you're garden variety purest sports cars, either. Sure they got gobs of horsepower, but they’re both relatively heavy and large – hell, one of them’s a 4 door for blasted sake. I really don’t hear too many people crapping their pants about those M’s.

It's a lack of objectivity in the automotive or any other kind of journalism that I disdain. As I stated in my previous post in this thread, they acted like rabid dogs with regard to the X6 M. Why should respect I them! The X6 M has its following and that’s all that counts. I’m perfectly happy to let history tell the real story, and to Hades for those jokers.

[blue2fire]

Originally Posted by teagueAMX

Ok, I'm curious who respects them if that's the type of journalism they practice? No doubt it’s a bunch of elitists, and if that’s the case, they need to get out of their snobby little high tek Merc AMG Black’s, Bugatti Veyron, or Porsche GT2, and climb into some “pure” sports cars like vintage MG’s, a Triumph, Jag’s or Lotus, etc., and go hang out with their cronies at Pebble Beach Concourse d’ Elegance and leave the everyday driving to us little people.

Those who know EVO well will tell you that they actually rate the DC2 Type R as a better drive than any BMW in their 100 best cars to drive cars list. EVO isn't going to write about how the X5 and X6 can be forgiven because they weigh too much or make excuses like Edmunds, they tell things like they are as they damn well should.

[WAY]

Originally Posted by blue2fire

Those who know EVO well will tell you that they actually rate the DC2 Type R as a better drive than any BMW in their 100 best cars to drive cars list. EVO isn't going to write about how the X5 and X6 can be forgiven because they weigh too much or make excuses like Edmunds, they tell things like they are as they damn well should.

But their make no excuse approach imo is flawed in this case. Most of us buying these cars know that we are not buying a track car, or something comparable to a M3. We are buying it because we want something like this: Comanding view, space, AWD and lots of power and a decent handling. The alternatives would be ML63, Cayenne Turbo or possibly a RS6. So why review it as if it is a M3? It's just as insane as trying to review a Cayenne Turbo and comparing it to a 911, or a ML63 comparing it to a C63 etc etc. Totally irrelevant.

[x838nwy]

IMHO, everybody likes people who share their opinions and the reverse also holds. So, yes, it is to be expected that a slightly negative review of an X6M won't go down well in this forum. I must admit that being a fan of the X6M, I didn't enjoy reading it.

However, I think we can all accept it as a point of view and just move on. Some magazines/critics will like it, some won't. That's just the way the world works.

A few additional points specific to the case of the X6M, however. The X6M is, for lack of a better word, 'different' and to that end it poses a risk to anyone who says they actually like it. To say so would put you in a place where there's little agreement with the world in general so for someone who has no strong opinion either way, the most likely reaction would be negative. Like in most cases, a negative reaction to anything that is new or different is only to be expected.

I have also lately noticed some kind of 'purist' high horsery going on. It seems that if one sings praises about something without any weather protection, zero ground clearance, no technology, and a six-point belt one becomes some kind of hero. "I love it, even though it has no roof and it scrapes itself to pieces every time I turn into my driveway. My God, I am such a purist...."

It's as if the more raw a car is, the more 'correct' it is for journalists to love it and when something like an X6M comes along, it's a chance for each and everyone of them to show the world just how much of a purist they really, really, really are. That they find so little to bash shows that BMW has done an incredible job.

I truly admire cars like the GT3 RS for what they are and if I have the money to spend, I'd buy an Elise/Exige to play with. My obsession/love of cars does not prohibit me from seeing cars like the Cayenne Turbo or the X6M as equally remarkable pieces of engineering and practical and desirable interpretations of the motorcar. Right now, and in a few years to come, I'd like lots of power, ground clearance, a hi-fi system I can actually hear over engine/wind noise, an ability to carry luggage for long trips and reliability. May be that means I'm not enough of a hero, but then again, I'd be dry, happy and relaxed by the time I get to where I'm going.