Quite amazingly, the BMW X6 M weighs less than the latest M5. Although only by a whisker, the SUV coupe tipping the scales at 2370kg compared to 2435 for the new supersaloon. That's because in an age of electrified performance cars equipped with complex chassis systems to keep them firmly on the ground, the X6 M is actually quite simple and old school. Open the bonnet and you won't find a spaghetti of orange high-voltage wiring for electric motors, because a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 is the primary source of power. It's four-wheel drive of course, but suspension is by steel springs rather than air, there’s no rear-wheel steering, and it doesn't have the kind of clever roll-mitigating active dampers you get on a Range Rover Sport SV.
Does this more conventional approach make the X6 M more intuitive and rewarding to drive than its peers, or hurt its breadth as a do-it-all performance SUV? The answer is clear after just a few miles. The X6 M is brutal, uncompromising and often jarring in how it goes about its business. This is a fast SUV designed to perform in very specific circumstances (on smoothly-surfaced German roads, we imagine), and a demonstration of why forcing a car of this type to handle and perform like an M5 isn’t necessarily the best idea…
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