Who would be odd enough to come up with a performance SUV? Surprisingly, BMW - and here's their staggeringly out-of-this-world X6M.

Photos: Low Fai Ming

In the funny world of cars, sedans rule while SUVs, well, just drool. In fact, if you ever want something mean and fast, but at the same time useable on a daily basis, only a performance saloon gets into your list. But if you have always thought that SUVs are highly redundant and limited in performance, the X6M might make you think otherwise. A whole new order has arrived. BMW, all thanks to the boffins over at their respected M division, is now giving drivers who want so much out of their SUVs something new to think about... while still getting nods of approval from everyone.

 

Now let's begin with the exterior. Shy, retiring types who like to keep their feet firmly on the ground should look elsewhere, for what we have here is a soft-roader that is very big, very bold and very, very in your face. The X6M is deeply aggressive from the front, with its big air intakes and angry-looking headlamps. With those bumps on the bonnet, subtlety does not figure greatly in the overall design philosophy of this SUV. From the side, it looks rough and tumble and you can know that BMW's designers subdued themselves to not go overboard with the bodywork. Details are definitely well planned, with each and every crease functional in reducing drag at high speeds. You then get a set of 20-inch M alloys, wrapped in grippy-but-stiff Bridgestone Dueler HP Sport rubbers (275/40 R-20 front, 313/35 R-20 rear) to complete the package.

Compared to other luxury SUVs in the market, including its X5 sibling for that matter, the X6M is less suggestive of a people-carrier with that interesting coupe-like roof line that ends towards the C-pillar in a sleek manner. The rump, though, seem a tad busy with all those spoilers and what-not - but you cannot discount the fact that it looks really wholesome and nice, and definitely good enough to scare off tail-gaters.

Step inside and you will find a cabin in tune with Business Class air travel - it's interior feels premium and solid. However, those matt carbon-fiber inserts give off an opposing pure sporting intent, which is surprisingly good as it's something no one else ever thought of in this league. The driving position is equally good - although you sit lower than, say, a Mercedes-Benz ML or Porsche Cayenne, it's comfortable and you do get good vision all around. But it doesn't come as perfect as it seems - the control buttons and stalks were obviously taken off the lesser 3 Series, which somewhat brings the entire quality a notch lower than what it deserves. That aside, iDrive is standard here. If you're a tech-geek, this feature will give you an opportunity to set the car to your own preference, including the suspension set up and not forgetting the characteristic of both engine and gearbox. All of that besides the usual GPS, Bluetooth connectivity and storage drive (for your music files). And for what it's worth, there's an abundance of storage space in the cabin for odds and sorts. It also offers a generous amount of people space (only two can occupy the rear seat), both front and back.

There are folks around who still believe that man was never meant to go fast unless they're in a Ferrari or Lamborghini. Having said that, when you floor the accelerator of the X6M, you can't help but feel a sense of disbelief as you lunge forward and get pinned into the driving seat. Surely God never intended SUVs to travel this quickly? For a start, its 4.4-litre turbocharged V8 idles with a loud thump-thump. Flex the throttle and the X6M roars louder than you would expect, at the same time sending a large shudder through the body. Well, this is after all the new M TwinPower Turbo lump, which is to date, BMW's most powerful production engine. If you're still trying very hard to comprehend the definition of "powerful" here, just imagine this: 8-cylinders, 32-valves, twin-scroll turbocharger. Get it now?

Once it's let off the leash, the X6M really does deliver the goods. It's fast - not just soft-roader fast, but genuinely properly fast. It gets to 100km/h just 0.1 seconds slower than the Audi RS5 and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG for heaven's sake. On top of that, it is even capable of hitting 200km/h from standstill in 16.9 seconds. But then, the X6M does have 555bhp and a massive 680Nm of torque to call upon. The gearshifts are spot-on, and surprisingly smooth. No unnecessary, overly-exaggerated jerks even while down-shifting. While it does its job brilliantly when left on its own, it's undeniably more joyful to swap gears manually via the steering-mounted paddle shifters. Makes it a sensible reason to take it up to Sepang, doesn't it? Out on the road, the X6M never ever feels slow. It is easily refined too, thanks largely to its smooth-changing gearbox as I've mentioned earlier, and the good-feeling brakes. Happily, it stops commendably well despite the significant pace and bulk.

The expressway ride isn't quite as bad as those massive 20-inch ultra-thin tyres might hint at, but it isn't particularly settled on the expressway. True, you do feel every bump, rut and seam, but it's still easy to live with. It's easy to get the feeling that the X6M is an able-handler despite the size and height. All you have to do is try a fast corner, just one, and you have instant confirmation. Besides the positive steering, the combination of BMW's chassis control system, Adaptive Drive, that combines the Electronic Damper Control and Dynamic Drive (for controlled body roll) simply ensures that you do not end up as a Traffic Police's crash statistic. Interestingly, the X6M also gets for itself a less-conventional traction control system. Called Dynamic Stability Control, it allows the driver to exploit the car - even into over steers if you want - before it finally intervenes to stabilise the car. I find that - for no better word - cool.

Oh, and how can I not mention the Torque Distribution Display within the iDrive? Here, it shows where all the power from the engine is channelled to - a real time graphic view showing the driver which wheel gets the most power via the rather complicated xDrive all-wheel drive system.

In a nutshell, the X6M is a highly desirable performance-oriented SUV. If you've always wanted a car that combines more than the logic of a sedan, the pace of a sports car and command respect on the road (or the office carpark), the X6M is one you should consider. It is officially the first big soft-roader to bring outstanding on-road handling to this price sector of the market.