BMW X6 M – Cars and Facts

PRO’s: Outstanding performance, extreme all-weather versatility, spacious enough for a family of 5.

CON’s: Peculiar styling, high price tag.

FINAL THOUGHT: An amazing SUV/crossover that may well be one of the fastest and most versatile vehicles that BMW has ever produced.

If you’re not sure whether the BMW X6 M is a car, truck or crossover, don’t feel bad because you’re not alone. You see this things got an identity crises, a bad one, and because of that consumers have been perplex by the X6 since its debut in 2008. I just spent a week with BMW’s X6 M and I can tell you this, I still have no idea what the hell it is, but I fell in love with it, and hot damn if it isn’t a riot of a performance vehicle.

Right off the bat you’ll notice the X6 M is different. It looks like nothing else on the road, runs a massive wheel and tire combo (front 275/40/20 rear 315/35/20), has enough grunt to flat-out embarrass most performance cars and is equipped with huge 15.6-inch front brake rotors that would stop a 747 that’s coming in for a landing. It’s also got more technology than the space shuttle, does an equally good job of defying gravity, yet, is just as home at a track day as it is hauling groceries home from the market.

When I took possession of the X6 M the first thing I did was look at the monroney (window sticker). The price, as optioned, was a whopping $100,895.00. That’s a big number, but one that, after romping on this thing, is really not that crazy. Think about it like this.

Here’s a vehicle that packs a 4.4-liter Twin-Turbo V-8 under the hood that makes 550 hp and 500 lb-ft of torque. It runs to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds, is electronically limited to 155 mph and has a personality that’s part Vegas stripper and part housewife.

The Vegas stripper part will obviously excite and entertain you, while the housewife portion will let one lead a proper upstanding life. For instance, there’s comfortable seating for 5 adults (the front seats are OUTSTANDING), plenty of room for luggage, it’s all-weather capable thanks to BMW’s all-wheel drive system and with every safety feature known to man, is probably the best place to be if something were to go wrong. Now granted fuel economy sucks at 12 city/17 hwy, but thanks to a large 22.4 gallon fuel tank, you’re still able to run around 300 miles between fill-ups.

Here’s some additional food for thought. Last year I ran a BMW X5 M in the One Lap of America. A vehicle that from a mechanical standpoint, is essentially identical. The race itself is a 3500 mile run around the United States that includes running on 8 racetracks in 7 days. It’s without a doubt the most grueling rally style event held in the U.S., and if you and your car make it, then be proud, very proud.

I drove that thing as hard as I would any performance car, and not only did it do well, but it exceeded my wildest expectations. I ran 152 mph down the back straight at Road America, was lifting two wheels off the ground at Hallet Raceway and hauling luggage for four adults over the 400-600 mile transit legs. In short, I was astonished at how good it was.

That experience also helped me justify the $100k price tag, the same one that’s on this X6 M. And while the majority of owners will never partake in an event like One Lap with their X6 M, the fact you can in a vehicle like this is mind-boggling.

I still can’t help but wonder though – why did BMW produce this thing when they already had such a great SUV with the X5 M? It just doesn’t make much sense to me. However, they do say that variety is the spice of life, and if that’s truly the case than rest assured that this 2013 BMW X6 M is hot enough to satisfy every one of your automotive needs.