Comments on: 2009 BMW X6 xDrive50i Car Review Video

By: philgrimm

philgrimm — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:24:58 +0000

This is the fifth BMW I’ve purchased. I did not expect to buy it–talk about poor impulse control–it was black with blacked out windows and triple black interior. It looked nasty and I wasn’t into nasty. But I made the mistake of asking for a test drive. Wow.

I don’t care that it looks like a Pontiac Azteca that went to designer school. I don’t care that it doesn’t make sense. I don’t care that the rear camera is vital for successfully backing up. There is a viseral responce that makes thinking receed into the distant background.

I traded a 335xi for this. I live on a remote wilderness country road, driving 20 miles each way on it, every day. It is the kind of road the motorcycle clubs cruise on the weekend, one with more deer than cars; winter time is constant rain, it snows 5-6 inches 5-6 times each winter, and this road is the last one in the county to get plowed… so I wanted an all wheel drive vehicle.

I drove this road yesterday (it’s summer); on one curve with a posted 35mph sign, I traveled through the curve with only moderate awareness and no concerns, then as I started to accelerate out of the corner, I looked down at the gages, and realized I was already going 68 mph! I had truly expected to see 35-40 mph on the speedo. This is not a trivial miscalculation. You could get hurt by mistakes like that.

5000 pounds at 90 mph leaving the roadway and plunging 50 feet into a cold mountain stream is not a mistake that I want to make. I don’t know where the limits are on this vehicle, and I don’t know that I really want to find out. I’ve never driven something this big, this hard before.

By: LGgeek

LGgeek — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 22:56:47 +0000

Well at this time I think it’s safe to say as a BMW shareholder you will be very happy. All the 2008’s sold out, some folks had to wait months to get them. I think the market got it.

By: LGgeek

LGgeek — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 23:05:19 +0000

I’m sure when the X5 came out all the 5 series wagon owners said the same thing.

By: used toyota pickup trucks

used toyota pickup trucks — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:08:42 +0000

used toyota pickup trucks…

Sounds interesting but not for every one….

By: robertplatbell

robertplatbell — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:12:36 +0000

Am I the only one to wonder what exactly is the point of this vehicle?

I own four BMWs, including an X5. The X5 is a “sport activity vehicle” in that it can tow a camper trailer (up to 6500 lbs) take kayaks on the roof, and haul a dog in the back.

And yes, I do all those things with my X5.

But the X6…. Well, you can’t get the dog in the back for starters (at least not a retired greyhound). Kayaks on the roof? I suppose so, but where is the luggage rack? I suppose the towing capacity is the same as the X5, so it is useful there.

But other than that, I just don’t get it. They took a useful vehicle and took its greatest use (the large cargo area) OUT – leaving us with a gas-hungry SUV (13 mpg?) introduced at an inopportune time. I mean, this thing will be as popular as a Hummer! People will be thowing rocks at it!

And BMW and Mercedes have to STOP calling four-door cars (or trucks) “coupes”. This thing is about as “coupe” as my Ford Pickup (at least THAT has two doors!).

If want something sporty that hauls four people in comfort, the BMW 5-series or M5 fits the bill nicely. This thing gives you the gas consumption and handling of the X5 with the interior room of a 5-series sedan.

I just don’t get it. And I suspect the market won’t get it either. I don’t see this as a big seller for BMW. But I guess time will tell.

As a BMW shareholder, I am disappointed that the company wasted valuable engineering time on this project.