2024 BMW X6: Still fun, even in less competitive form

2024 BMW X6 xDrive40i: Still riding in its own (fast) lane?

Price: $87,545 as tested. Options highlights: Driving assistance adds $2,100; parking assistance adds $800; red paint, $650. More noted throughout.

Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes the “smooth ride with sporty handling, impressive performance, attractive cabin,” but not that the “sleeker roofline costs cargo space” or the “overwhelming settings in infotainment menu.”

Marketer’s pitch: “An athletic, powerful BMW that leads with standout design and impressive performance.”

Reality: The fast lane or the fun lane, it saves some fuel along either way.

What’s new: BMW’s swoopy sports activity coupe — the “utility” portion of the vehicle was sawed off with the angular roof — gets an updated look, more tech, and a mild hybrid system.

It’s always been a super fun ride, though, so you’ll never miss the boxes you couldn’t fit at Ikea. Who needs all that stuff anyway? (Spoken like an old man carrying another basement box to the trash can.)

Competition: Audi Q7, Genesis GV70, Jaguar F-Pace, Mercedes-Benz GLE Class Coupe.

Up to speed: The model tested featured that base 3.0-liter twin-turbo six-cylinder engine that comes paired with a 48-volt mild hybrid system, and it makes 355 horsepower. The hybrid system adds 12 horses during acceleration, but over 100 pound-feet of torque, and it makes for smoother start-stops. It takes energy generated by the brakes and stores it in a 48-volt battery.

The acceleration is quick and BMW-like, as expected, getting to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds, according to Car and Driver.

If that’s too lethargic, spring for the X6 M Competition and its 617-horsepower twin-turbo V-8, and shave a second off that time. I’m going to have to turn in my gearhead card, but it seems kinda silly to pay another $20,000 for a second’s improvement, no?

Shifty: BMW has segued to a large toggle switch for Drive and Reverse, and steering-wheel paddles handle shifting through the eight gears, if you like. But the X6 takes care of shifting so nicely I never found the need to shift on my own.

On the road: I had the chance to take the X6 far and wide to the auto shows in Washington and Philadelphia. Highway manners and back-road fun are equally wonderful.

Driver’s Seat: Oooo, the $750 multi-contour seats seem like a great investment. Supple, soft, supportive, with a magic feel to the padding. I rode for a couple hours and never felt fatigued. And they’re heated — also the armrests — for $1,650.

Almost everything about the cockpit looks and feels like a BMW — the steering-wheel controls, the gauges, the console controls — and the supple surfaces are colored in black and silver.

One major flaw — the adaptive cruise control distance adjustment is hidden under driving settings inside the touchscreen, not easily controlled like in the olden days. It may not be a big deal in your own personal car, but it seems like something that could lead to crashes because if someone wants it changed, they have to search through a menu to find it.

Further, viewing around the outside of the X6 is challenging as well. The side-view mirrors are vanishingly small, as is the oddly angled rear window. This will only further cement the conventional wisdom that BMW drivers think they own the road.

Friends and stuff: The rear seat is not nearly up to the level of the front, for comfort, squishiness, and cuddles. It’s fine, but this is a lot of money for “fine,” even if it’s just for the dogs.

Space back there is not delightful. Headroom is OK, but legroom and foot room are tight.

Cargo space is fairly generous, though — 33.9 cubic feet behind the second row and 72.3 with the seat down.

Play some tunes: The Harman Kardon Surround Sound, which comes as part of the $3,450 Executive Package, which also adds remote start, glass controls, and gesture controls, provides interesting sound reproduction — interesting in that it’s strong and full, but it doesn’t provide the kind of perfect sound that my sound bar at home does. I’d call it an A-, maybe B+; it’ll be better for people who like bass, but disappointing for those who want something clearer.

Although I sat in another BMW since this review, and maybe I just missed the equalizer function. That would boost the score.

Operation of the system is all through the 14.9-inch touchscreen or the old dial, and either works fairly well. It’s a huge touchscreen, but very wide and short.

Keeping warm and cool: Like other BMW models — and vehicles across the industry — the HVAC controls have moved into the touchscreen. Press the little fan button to open the controls.

I’ve had clearer touchscreen HVAC controls, though, notably in a previous BMW model; I found the X6 to be a little confusing and hard to operate.

Fuel economy: All the stellar driving performance of the X6 is accompanied by an average of 26 mpg, which is a nice level of fuel consumption for a midsize performance SUV.

Where it’s built: Spartanburg, S.C.

How it’s built: Consumer Reports has no reliability data for the X6 for any model year. The close stablemate, the X5, received top ratings for 2024.

In the end: The X6 remains as nice as ever, even without all the M Competition speed gear.

The fuel economy is a nice bonus, and the reliability rating is, too. But I’d be conservative with my longevity plans, as BMWs are notoriously complex and delicate.

Still, it’s in a class of its own. The GLE is the only real competitor from the list above, and its handling is too weird to make it a contender.