BMW X6 M50d

Everything has its place. Panel gaps are bible paper thin. Layered with quality materials, dashboard switchgear resists digit prods with implicit solidity and the displays exhibit information with clarity.

Technically, the interior of the new BMW X6 is brilliant, and that fact fully embodies the spirit of this car.

It does share that dashboard with the X5, a pair of new knee pads either side of the transmission tunnel the only obvious differentiation. The roof is a little lower too, though there’s still no danger of biffing baseball cap against headlining.

In the X6 M50d the front seats gain deeper bolsters and are trimmed somewhat dubiously in Alcantara while the rear bench provides ample rather than generous room for three passengers. The boot will swallow 580 litres of luggage too.

but BMW doesn't want you to pay too much attention to such practicalities, as this new X6 slips from the same Sports Activity Coupe mould as the first. It stands out against conventional rivals easily, but we wouldn't call the bMW particularly sleek or stylish in isolation. We will concede the X-motif on the nose and exaggerated rear haunches lend presence though, but so does a bearing down bullmastiff.

This M50d model has its fair share of bling too, with 20-inch double spoke alloy wheels, black chrome exhaust finishers, grey wing mirror caps and M-specific bodystyling for the sills and bumpers. Plus special X6 M50d badging on its rump. Finished in the Carmine red of our test example, it looks a little like a grown man wearing a velour tracksuit.

Questionable image aside, the X6 M50d is far better enjoyed in motion. The familiar 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel is boosted to within an inch of block implosion, developing 376 bhp and 546 lb ft of torque. An excellent eight speed automatic gearbox, shifting quickly and smoothly, comes as standard.

Despite weighing 2.2 tonnes with standard four wheel drive, this tracksuit wearing SAC hits 62 mph from rest in 5.2 seconds. This straight-line speed is something short of remarkable though, the X6 50i SE uses its 4.4 litre turbocharged V8 petrol to complete the same almost half a second faster.

but the X6 M50d gains stiffer Adaptive M suspension, and a different steering layout to the rest of the range. Alongside Active roll Stabilisation (ArS), this adds up to the cliched package of a car that shrinks around you.

More SAC than SUV indeed. On the track yes really it'll understeer safely beyond its considerable limits, but on unfamiliar South Carolina back roads you’ll reach yours first. Completely imbued with confidence and stability, this X6 also displays some genuine agility.

It appears ArS really works too, and where an X5 would fall over its tyre sidewall and Fosbury Flop into the bushes, the X6 M50d simply doesn't. It corners flatter than Kansas, shuffling power to whatever wheel can make the best use of it. There’s not a deluge of steering feel, but it’s accurate enough and the brakes never wilt into submission despite the power and weight.

Despite all that prowess though and there’s no doubting this car’s technically gifted on the move there’s something missing. Fit and finish is superb, performance impressive, handling extraordinary and even the running costs are reasonable. but it fails to tug at those strings inside, and if cars like the
X6 M50d don't engage emotionally, you should buy an X5 instead.

Price - £66,920
engine - 2993cc 24v tripleturbocharged sixcylinder, 376bhp @ 4000rpm, 546lb ft @ 2000-3000rpm
gearbox - Eight-speed automatic, fourwheel drive
Performance - 5.2sec 0-62mph, 155mph, 42.8mpg, 174g/km CO2
Weight - 2185kg

LOVE - Performance, dynamics, tech
HATE - Design, tracksuited image, clinical feel