The SUV coupe has never made much sense to me. Still, I found the 2024 BMW X6 pleasant to drive.
An extremely dubious story claims that an actress (often Marilyn Monroe) once proposed to Albert Einstein (sometimes it’s Winston Churchill) that the two should have a child together. Combining her beauty with his intelligence, she said, would give them the perfect baby. Winbert Churchstein is said to have answered, “Ah, but what if it had my looks and your brains?”
That’s the risk in the SUV coupe concept.
Automakers advertise SUV coupes as having the beauty of a coupe but the off-road capability and high seating positioning of an SUV. But combining those things also results in a coupe with sluggish SUV manners or an SUV with little cargo space.
All the same, millions of buyers find an SUV coupe the right choice for them every year. And the BMW X6 is one of the best. A week in it showed me a little of the charm, even if I’m never likely to buy a chimera myself.
The X6 is a more stylish take on BMW’s X5 midsize SUV, with a rakish roofline that undoubtedly does look more appealing.
My tester was the base model X6 xDrive40i, with the Driving Assistance Pro Package adding some automation, the Executive Package adding an upgraded sound system and panoramic roof, and the M Sport Professional Package giving it an illuminated grille in all black. All in all, the sticker read $87,845, including a mandatory $995 delivery fee. BMW has since increased its delivery charge to $1,175 — a reasonable delivery cost by 2024 standards.
Undetectable Hybrid Transitions
BMW takes a unique approach to hybrid propulsion. It builds the small electric motor directly into the 8-speed automatic transmission.
This is a mild hybrid. The electric motor adds just 12 horsepower to the total of 375. The rest come from a 3.0-liter turbocharged inline-6-cylinder engine. Every X6 is all-wheel drive (AWD). The combination is good for 24 mpg in combined city/highway driving.
If making the most of your gas dollar is your goal, you’d be happier with the BMW X5. BMW builds a plug-in hybrid version of the X5 capable of traveling up to 40 miles on electric power alone.
BMW’s unique approach has one significant benefit — it’s impossible to detect when the X6 switches between gas and electric power.
Easygoing for Its Size
BMW builds some of the world’s most agile cars. This isn’t one of them; however, it’s not cumbersome.
The X6 is one of the longer midsize luxury SUVs — it shares a platform with the 3-row X7 — but it rarely feels its size outside of parking lots.
Those looking for a true athlete might prefer to step up to the X6 M60i. It gets you access to more engine power. More importantly, its available adaptive suspension tightens up the handling.
A Shocking Price Gap
That gutsier engine, though, will cost you. My X6 xDrive40i had a base price of $74,675 without the options. A similar X6 M60i, with not a single extra box checked, starts at $94,475.
Excellent Tech Interface
A pair of screens sit mounted together as if they were one wide interface with a gentle curve. The driver faces a 12.3-inch screen in place of the traditional instrument cluster. A larger 14.9-inch touchscreen sits in the center, taking over entertainment and information functions.
You can control it as a touchscreen or through BMW’s traditional iDrive puck controller. Either way, it offers a clean, easy-to-use interface. A vertical menu that never goes away on the left side of the screen lets you toggle quickly between navigation, music, and vehicle functions.
It’s there even when running Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. Some manufacturers make it surprisingly hard to back out one of those phone interfaces if you need to interact with something they don’t do. BMW doesn’t.
High Style, Known Compromises
The X6 is not a do-it-all solution combining the best aspects of a sports car and a sport utility vehicle.
It’s compromised. It offers just 59.6 cubic feet of cargo space with the rear seats folded, compared to 72.3 for the almost identical X5. Its handling doesn’t quite cash the check its stylish look writes.
But, if it appeals to you, you’ve made peace with that trade-off. Once you have, it’s an attractive 5-seater that gives you an SUV’s commanding view of traffic and more style than the other SUVs in the parking lot. There’s a lot to like in that.
