New BMW X6 makes its public debut

BMW has shown off the facelifted second-generation BMW X6 coupe SUV. Order books opened in July after the official reveal but Frankfurt marks the car’s first outing in public. Prices start from £59,340, and the X6 will be a rival to the Mercedes GLE Coupe, the Audi Q8 and the Porsche Cayenne Coupe.

BMW has been careful not to alter the looks of the X6 too much from the outgoing model. Like the two previous generations, the roof and rear windscreen sweeps down sharply. The front and rear ends are still tall and blocky but there are new bumpers and lights all round. The tail-lights now stretch most of the way across the boot of the car, and the reshaped ‘kidney’ grilles at the front are illuminated. They light up when you unlock the car, and can be lit up when you are driving.

2019 Geneva Motor Show round-up

While the styling looks similar, the new car is bigger than the outgoing car in almost every way. It’s 26mm longer, 15mm wider and there’s an extra 44mm between the front wheels. BMW says this benefits handling, but it should be good news for passenger space too. Despite being larger, the boot size is exactly the same as before at 580 litres. Fold the 40:20:40 split-folding seats and there is a 1,525-litre space to fill.

The X6’s interior is shared with the BMW X5, which means the car has the seventh-generation iDrive system and a 12.3-inch infotainment screen. Leather upholstery, wireless phone charging, WiFi and gesture control are all included as standard, and all X6s also feature alloy wheels and adaptive suspension.

Opt for the high-performance M50d and M50i models, and you’ll get large yet lightweight 21-inch alloys, plus an M Sport steering wheel, exhaust and brakes. Upgrading from these to M Performance spec adds huge 22-inch wheels, tweaked suspension, a differential and a Harman Kardon surround sound system.

The M50d and M50i are the flagship models, costing £74,335 and £76,870 respectively, and are powered by suitably beefy engines. A 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel engine powers the M50d, which has four turbochargers, produces 395bhp and accelerates from 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds. The petrol M50i has a 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine with 524bhp, and 0-62mph is dealt with in 4.3 seconds. Both have a huge amount of torque, allowing for breathtaking acceleration at any speed.

Below these fast versions are the xDrive 30d and xDrive 40i models. The 30d uses a 262bhp 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel engine, and gets from 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds, while the 40i has a more powerful 336bhp petrol engine of the same size. In this model, 0-62mph takes 5.5 seconds. All X6s come as standard with all-wheel-drive and an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

Read our review of the current X6, or see which models make our favourite luxury cars list.