bmw x6

we are discussing about bmw x6

  







Launched on the 31st May 2008 - The BMW X6 Sports Activity Coupe shares the platform and many components of the very successful BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle.

It was in 1999 that we first saw the BMW X5 which quickly set the benchmark for four-wheel drive performance and handling. BMW even introduced the acronym of SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) rather than SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) as used by other manufacturers.

Since 1999 the BMW X5 has built up a loyal fan base of driver's who are looking for all the practicalities of a four-wheel drive with the handling of a 'sports car'. BMW currently sells around 7,000 X5s a year and expects to sell 2,300 X6s a year. We think that this seems optimistic and the economic turndown might have an impact on those figures.

Prices start at £41,965 for the BMW X6 xDrive30d and rise to just over £53,000 for the BMW X6 XDrive50i. Currently there is a choice of two petrol and two diesel engines (all turbocharged) and there is just one trim level. We drove the BMW X6 xDrive35d which had an on the road price of £44,590 plus our test car had an extra £6,555 worth of thoughtful optional extras.

There are two petrol engines - the BMW X6 xDrive35i is powered by a 2,979cc twin-turbocharged engine that produces 306hp with a 0 to 62mph time of 6.7 seconds and a top speed of 149mph. The BMW X6 xDrive50i features the other twin-turbocharged petrol engine a 4.4-litre V8 unit producing 408hp - which can achieve 0 to 62 mph in 5.4 seconds and an electronically-limited top speed of 155mph.

There are also two diesel engines - the BMW X6 xDrive30d has a turbocharged 235hp diesel engine which is capable of 0 to 62 mph in 8 seconds with a top speed of 137 mph. The BMW X6 xDrive35d features the same engine as the xDrive30d except there are two turbochargers which allows the X6 xDrive35d to complete the 0 to 62 mph sprint in 6.9 seconds before going on to a top speed of 147mph.

We drove the BMW X6 xDrive35d with the 2993 cc twin-turbocharged diesel engine. The 3.0-litre engine is currently the most powerful six-cylinder production diesel engine in the world. To remove any lag from the turbochargers which is common with turbocharged cars the xDrive35d features two - one to take care of the low down speeds and one to take over when the revs have increased. There can be a fractional delay when pulling off but otherwise it feels quite potent.

The result is that the BMW X6 xDrive35d produces 286hp at 4,400rpm, while peak torque of 580Nm is available from 1,750rpm to 2,250rpm which is enough to propel it from is 0-62 mph in 6.9 seconds and a top speed of 147 mph which is quite impressive.

Until the engine warms up you will notice some diesel chatter but it does quieten down.

You cannot specify a manual gearbox and all BMW X6s come with six-speed automatic transmission with has been tuned to give sporting gear change characteristics.

You can shift gear manually should you wish to via the tunnel mounted gear lever selector or via the two paddles on the back of the steering wheel. You simply knock the gear lever forwards to change down or back to change up - simple and quick. Personally the novelty does wear off and you tend to leave the transmission in the fully automatic mode but if you get the revs right and change down at the right moment you have a very powerful vehicle when overtaking (not that it is that bad in its auto mode).

Amazingly, the BMW X6 xDrive35d only records a Co2 figure of 220g/km which is less than the Volkswagen Beetle 2.0 (automatic), it also returns more to the gallon than the Beetle.

What is most surprising about the BMW X6 is how well it handles considering its proportions and ride height and in our opinion it borders on the sublime.

Our test car was fitted with sports suspension, riding on 19" alloys and 255/50 R19) tyres on the front and on the rear the track is wider at 285/45 R19). The ride is good on smooth road surfaces but it can feel a little unsettled on poorer surfaces and over pot holes.

The steering as one would expect from BMW is well weighted and responsive. It always feels sure footed but it can feel a little flustered when changing direction at speed. Only once did the BMW X6 drift off course when cornering a little too hard, a quick kick from the Dynamic Stability Control put it straight back into line.

The BMW xDrive system takes care of the four-wheel drive system, xDrive works by ensuring that drive is instantly delivered to the axle that needs the most power. The xDrive comprise a centrally mounted, electronically activated, multi-plate clutch to distribute drive between axles.

The electronically controlled clutch in the BMW X6 is considered better than conventional four-wheel drive systems working on hydraulic pressure to change drive distribution, simply because it is able to respond more quickly. The xDrive system being controlled by the DSC+ system which constantly monitors individual wheel speed, steering angle, lateral acceleration, throttle input and yaw rate angles, and feeds this back to enable xDrive’s multi-plate clutch to switch power between axles.

We did not take the BMW X6 too far off-road choosing to stick local farm tracks and green lanes. It is not really designed to venture truly off road as it lacks a low ratio gearbox and locking differentials which are essential when tackling the rough stuff.

Amusingly, the on board computer can show you exactly what the drive train is doing through a torque gauge which shows the power distribution between the four wheels.

To be honest we would not take the BMW X6 off road as it is far too good on-road.

Being a coupe, the BMW X6 only sits four people and has been designed to comfortably accommodate four adults. If you need to carry more people, then the BMW X5 can accommodate five or seven depending on the seating options.

Getting in and out of the BMW X6 can be awkward for people with short legs or mobility problems. It is a long way up or down without a side step and surprisingly the swooping roof lines means you have to lower your head on entry.

The driver's seat is electrically powered for adjustment and our test car was fitted with the dynamic package which was fully adjustable with two memory positions. The steering wheel can be adjusted electrically for rake and reach. The sports seats fitted to our test car were very comfortable and supportive.

Front and side vision is fairly good but rear vision is hampered by the high rear end. Fortunately, when parking there are front and rear parking sensors as standard and you can specify a rear video camera to aid parking and we would recommend this option at £355.00.

The rear seats of the BMW X6 can only accommodate four people and that includes children as there is central rear seat console. Rear legroom and headroom is quite good considering the rear swooping roof line and only the tallest of passengers might complain. There are two isoFix child seat fixings in the rear with top tether hooks on the rear of the seats.

The BMW X6's boot offers an accommodating 570 litres which compares to 620 litres for the X5 or 505 litres for a coupe Mercedes Benz CLS. Shorter drivers might find the high backed BMW X6's boot a little difficult to reach into as you do have to lift your luggage quite high to get it in or out. As you can imagine, the tailgate is also hard to reach but it does have a two-stage function to avoid the risk of damage, for example when opening the hatch in an indoor car park with a low ceiling.

Your cargo is protected by a concertina cover which can be removed and it can be folded flat and stored if needed. To increase luggage capacity even further, the two rear seats both individually fold down to offer of 1,450 litres of cargo space. There is also some useful storage under the boot floor.

The BMW X6 has not to date been tested by Euro NCAP but the old X5 was awarded five stars for adult occupant protections so we should expect better overall results.

The BMW X6 features the usual array of airbags - driver and front passenger and front and side ITS head airbags for the first and second seat rows.

It also features an array of other safety equipment including Dynamic Stability Control + (DSC+) including Automatic Differential Brake (ADB-X), Automatic Stability Control (ASC-X), Brake fade compensation, Brake pre-tensioning, Cornering Brake Control (CBC), Dynamic Brake Control (DBC), Dynamic Traction Control (DTC), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Hill Descent Control (HDC) and Hill-start assistance.

And to protect your BMW X6 from theft there is a Thatcham 1 approved alarm system and an immobiliser.

If you have owned or driven the new BMW X5 then you will be familiar with the layout and controls of the BMW X6.

Most of the creature comforts are standard such as dual climate control but strangely you do not get heated seats or power fold in mirrors which are both optional extras.

There are auto-on headlights which automatically come on at dusk or when entering an underground car park or tunnel. The windscreen wipers are rain sensitive, adjusting their speed to the amount of rain.

The internal rear view mirror automatically dips but the side mirrors are left to their own devices. You can opt for the power fold in and auto dip package for an extra £235.

You do have to watch out for the extras, our test car was fitted with over £6,500 worth of extras that are fast becoming standard on other cars such as the Range Rover Sport.

Our test car was fitted with the optional Media Package (£2,070) which comprises Professional Navigation System, BMW Assist (includes six month subscription to services), Bluetooth telephone preparation with telematics and a 6 disc CD changer. Plus we had the benefit of a DAB radio tuner for an extra £280 and a USB/Interface for £205 which allows you to connect certain USB music devices to the car.

The DAB radio worked very well, even in rural Devon, the system can be set to flip back to the corresponding Analogue FM signal should the DAB one be lost.

The telematics are controlled through BMW's 'i-drive' interface, which personally we found easy to use. It is intuitive, but perhaps not as easy/quick as the touch screen interface seen on the Range Rover model line up.

Initially we had difficult connecting our XDA Mobile Phone and iPhone via the Bluetooth telephone connection but we did eventually get it to work so perhaps that was down to user incompetence.

We did not like the fact that the Professional Navigation System did not seem to allow you to enter full post codes which is not very helpful when you need to quickly pin-point your destination.

1 comments:

The new 2009 BMW X5 is an attractive, and best selling, mid size, luxurious SUV vehicle. It has many features like high tech gadgetry, remote operating one-touch power windows, dual-zone automatic climate control and AM/FM/CD/MP3 12-speaker audio with auxiliary input etc.

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