2009 BMW X6 xDrive50i

When BMW sent out invitations to the launch of its new X6, the Xdrive50i, I was a little sceptical about the particular drive route chosen for the vehicle in question. Nor was it the thought that we’d run out of brakes given this X6 features 358mm discs all round plus the full house of BMW’s latest braking technology. No, this didn’t faze me in the slightest. What was of just a slight concern to me was the fact that the roads chosen to highlight the xDrive50i’s potential were the exact ones I spend quiet weekdays riding my high-powered sports bike.

This is a place where quick changes in direction and altitude, fast runs through tight twisty turns, and breathtakingly sharp crests that fall away dramatically in to razor sharp turns are, well, let’s just say a challenge. Surely the X6 Sports Activity Coupe with its 2190kg tare weight, higher ground clearance and 1690mm body height couldn’t possibly handle roads like this, it’s clearly a case of marketing suicide. In a few short hours I’d eat my words, for as one of the other automotive writers on our drive day put it, “this thing handles like no SUV should”, and you know what? He’s right.

The xDrive50i sits atop the X6 tree with the six-cylinder diesel and petrol models below it respectively and is priced to rival Range Rover’s Supercharged Sport and Porsche’s Cayenne GTS in terms of bang for your buck. The xDrive50i is significantly quicker given the relative power similarities, it also uses less fuel than the two competitors mentioned. It’s fractionally more powerful, is lighter, and produces fewer emissions - and speaking from personal experience - also out handles the pair significantly.

The 0-100km/h run is dealt with in 5.4 seconds and if that doesn’t do it for you then perhaps the fact that the X6 will eat a kilometre from a standing start in under 25 seconds will. In fact it’d probably be quicker were it not speed limited to 250km/h. With that kind of performance you could swear fuel consumption would be a nightmare but the average is claimed at 13.8 litres per 100km when fuelled with 98RON petrol. Even at the hands of myself for a day the xDrive50i managed 14.4 litres on average. In theory this means a maximum cruising range of just over 600km from the 85-litre tank.

Suspension utilises a self-levelling pneumatic system with a dual traverse link set up in the front and a multi-link arrangement in the rear. The handling is incredible with sensational grip on hand through the 20-inch diameter rims (10-inch wide front/11-inch wide rear), with well weighted feedback from the steering. The best analogy – and the one provided to us – was to think of it like steering a canoe. You can do it two ways. Say for example you want to go left, either you place the left oar in the water to act as a brake (DSC) or you paddle harder on the right hand side of the canoe to make the turn (DPC). Great isn’t it?

2009 BMW X6 xDrive50i is priced from $145,000 (RRP) and is available now.

© Source: caradvice
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