BRIDAL coach, matric farewell limousine, school-supplies delivery vehicle, camera tracking-car, grand tourer and daily commuter…
For a vehicle that its critics have derided for being an ostentatious and otherwise pointless fashion statement, the BMW xDrive40d performed a variety of tasks with relish during its tenure at CAR. No other vehicle to join our long-term test fleet has ever donned ribbons, made beelines for chapels and delivered as many soon-to-be-brides to their husbands in waiting as the X6 pictured here. No test unit has graced the reception areas of formal dances and glitzy social soirees with such regularity either. Love it or loathe it, this BMW makes a bold statement wherever it goes.
But, then, that’s entirely understandable. As long ago as the March 2009 Awards issue, CAR lauded the X6 as our Design of the Year because “there is simply nothing out there like it and its head-turning ability is nearly off the scale”.
Finished in Space Grey metallic, with satin-chrome accents, aluminium running boards and eye-catching 20-inch alloys, the X6 looked at its sportiest and best. Some road users’ attitudes have at times been less than courteous when driving in close proximity to the X6, but then others seem to be intimidated by the sheer size of the SAV, replete with its gleaming corona-ring headlamp clusters, as it drew closer in their rear-view mirrors. Most observers liked the X6’s raised haunches and plunging shoulder line in combination with the elevated ride height.
Aesthetic prowess does come at a practical cost, however. For one, a driver cannot simply seat him- or herself behind the wheel of the X6, even though comfort access will retract the steering column to free up kneeroom, because it requires a hop on one leg followed by a posterior landing because of the vehicle’s raised ride height. Thanks to that serenely plunging roofline, there are only two individual seats at the rear, and practical luggage capacity extends no higher than the leading edge of the seatbacks. The hatch is long and, although it is electronically activated and can be opened via the key fob, care needs to be taken when opening the rear when the X6 is parked in garages with low ceilings.
Having said that, the interior feels solidly built, snug and eminently sporty, especially by virtue of the supportive front sports seats that offer a variety of adjustment. The professional navigation system, which can be viewed in split-screen mode via a setting in the iDrive interface, made executing long trips to new destinations (and communicating ETAs to loved ones as per their demands) a cinch and, of course, the directions relayed by the head-up display made voice guidance largely unnecessary.
Speaking of the iDrive buttons, there’s a still a toggle marked CD on the X6’s console, which will probably be replaced by one marked Media soon (as is the case with the new 3 Series); it was a trifle laborious to navigate to the auxiliary audio submenu each time you wanted to change MP3 folders on a USB.
Meanwhile, the first major outing for the X6 took BMW’s sports-activity vehicle completely out of its comfort zone. As a patron of the Rally to Read initiative, RamsayMedia, the company that publishes CAR, participated in the Western Cape leg of the literacy drive last year and the xDrive40d was called into action to tackle the gravel and mud of the rural roads in the Overberg district.
Despite concerns over the X6’s suitability for uneven and rutted dirt roads by virtue of its 20-inch road tyres, the BMW exhibited admirable stability and grip thanks to its dynamic xDrive four-wheel-drive system.
On looser gravel, it was a boon to have a meaty, direct feel to the steering. When rain began to fall en route to Malgas, where the BMW crossed the river on a pontoon, and the De Hoop Nature Reserve, the dirt roads became slick and muddy. Nevertheless, it was easy to negotiate the slippery roads despite the fact that the entire X6 was caked in mud.
The BMW was really in its element when journeying from Cape Town to the Eastern Cape and back, where it proved itself a long-distance kilometre eater. With 600 N.m on tap from its 3,0-litre straight-six motor, which is superbly mated with the eight-speed automatic transmission, the X6 offers more than ample overtaking ability matched with sure-footed handling that belies the vehicle’s bulk, as well as commendable high-speed stability. However, the majority of testers remarked that the xDrive40d’s ride quality was a bit too firm for their liking.
The head-up display (HUD) system proved its worth on winding, sweeping country roads. Because the X6’s elevated driving position can distort a driver’s perception of road speed, it’s beneficial to have a speed readout in the direct line of sight when approaching a bend in a bit of a hurry. The only negative aspect about the HUD is that it’s invisible to a driver when wearing polarised sunglasses.
Similarly, the active cruise control was simple to operate via a stalk, even though it took a while to trust that the car would automatically adjust the distance between itself and the vehicles ahead of it without the driver needing to touch the brake pedal.
All the cruise-control settings, including following distance, were clearly displayed on the HUD, too, and the only ergonomic criticism is that, apart from the fact that the steering-wheel boss obscures the shorter cruise-control stalk, the latter is also located in close proximity to the indicator stalk, so at times you could accidentally alter the cruise-control settings when attempting to indicate a lane change and vice versa.
On the final return trip, an amber service indicator illuminated on the instrument binnacle and we duly booked the X6 in at BMW’s Auto Atlantic franchise. Apart from the standard service that was carried out, we also asked the service staff to investigate the sporadic iDrive display blackouts that occurred while playing MP3s from a USB on the trip to PE and back. After performing an electronic diagnostic test overnight, the X6 was collected the next day and given a clean bill of health. The culprit, revealed to be an errant USB flash drive, was relieved of its musical contents and discarded.
TEST SUMMARY
This xDrive40d was lavishly equipped to showcase the levels of luxury and sophistication to which an X6 can be specified. We came to appreciate the necessity of a surround-camera system on a sizeable vehicle that seems magically drawn to the edges of wheel-fouling kerbs. The adaptive headlights, high-beam assist and cruise control were called into action regularly and comfort access was a boon even though the key fob could inadvertedly lower the X6’s windows if it shifted around in a driver’s trouser pocket when the X6 had been parked.
We cannot promote the X6 as a practical purchase, because it isn’t, but the vehicle proved itself a solidly built, eminently capable machine that was satisfying to drive. In xDrive40d guise, this BMW is arguably the pick of its range, offering a good balance of performance and economy.
Would we still have liked the X6 if it didn’t have all those optional toys? Yes, because once you embrace the concept of this BMW, nothing else will quite do. The other motorists will just be blissful in their ignorance.
*Including registration and licence, but excluding depreciation and insurance costs – at time of test.
**As recommended by manufacturer; incl. VAT – at time of test.
