2009 BMW X6 xDrive35i Review

 2009 BMW X6 xDrive35i Review

A powerful smooth engine, sporty handling and coupé like characteristics combined with a higher driving position and AWD capability wrapped in BMW skin, elegance and luxury. Excited?

Model Tested:

• 2009 BMW X6 xDrive35i Review – $114,705

Great engine, great idea, marvellous interior, superb dynamics, great package

Looks a little chunky, doesn’t make too much sense (at first)

CarAdvice Rating:

- words by Alborz Fallah – photography by Tristan Schoonens

The year is 2009 and we still haven’t taken to the air in flying-cars, I am somewhat disappointed. When I was a kid I fully expected to be flying around in my own hover-car by now. What ever happened to innovation and desire?

The idea of a flying car has been around for decades and working examples were built long ago, in fact the US Army actually built numerous hovering-platforms that could transport troops over terrain but it didn’t prove to be usable in combat situations.

The biggest stumbling block however, isn’t our ability to build flying cars, but more so that the idea of the general public flying around in hover-cars has scared the life out of governments all around the world, this has resulted in a halt in mass research as there is no business plan for commercialisation.

And rightly so! Can you imagine the equivalent of a Volvo driver in the air? They would be flying 100km/h below the speed limit and most likely stall and nose dive into your house, then you get the just-got-my-license hoons in their jet-powered cars exploding into kindergartens. Maybe not having flying cars is a good thing.

Nonetheless it really is 2009, the ‘free world’ has been blessed with a new President and car companies around the world are slowly but surely going out of business. In the midst of all this, one car company has decided, or should I say, dared, to create a whole new concept for an automobile, the BMW X6.

I suppose someone had to do it? BMW has long been the king of automobile development. From the earliest days, the German company has been involved in pioneering the ‘car’ as we know it today. From making planes and jet engines for the German army to building some of the world’s most desirable cars, BMW has enormous and extensive knowledge of the car.

These days manufacturers can no longer afford to simply sit around and wait for new trends to emerge, instead they are actively creating the trends and whilst doing so, creating the niche markets to go along with them.

If we go back in time nearly 10 years ago, BMW introduced the X5, nothing special about it now, but back then it was one of the first proper luxury 4WDs (it’s okay Land Rover fans, take a few deep breaths). The X5 was a purpose built German “off-roader” and although Mercedes-Benz came to the market first, Merc, along with Toyota’s luxury arm Lexus, are still following BMW’s innovations in the category.

So it’s no wonder then, that the Germans are once again trying to create a niche market. This time they’ve taken the X5 and the 6 series and put them together to form a Sport Activity Coupe (SAC), essentially a SUV mixed with a coupé. Will it work? Good question.

 

Firstly it’s important to clarify that BMW aren’t expecting the X6 to sell to the masses, the company says the car is made for the “discerning sector of the market that wants a specific product and won’t compromise” – So how many people do you know that want a four-seater “not-really-an-SUV-not-really-a-coupé”?

Only a few hundred have made it to Australia so far and only a few hundred more are expected by the end of this year.

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