Here’s What I Really Liked And Didn’t Like About the 2024 BMW X6 xDrive40i

When the BMW X6 launched in 2006, I was always a bit on the fence about how I felt about it. It was costlier than an X5, performed and drove nearly the same as an X6, but was way less practical from its lower and sloping roofline. In my eyes and the eyes of many others, the BMW X6 as a whole never quite made sense because it was less practical, but demanded more of your hard-earned monies.

Clearly, after three generations and almost 20 years later, the X6 made me and those eat our hats of skepticism several times, becoming one of BMW’s best-selling models. But it also reinforced a stereotype about automobiles: style doesn’t come cheap and that’s where the X6’s premium mainly comes from.

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In essence, the X6 is simply a more stylish, sportier, “coupe-like” crossover SUV, or SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) as BMW called it, fulfilling the brand’s mission of making sporty luxury SUVs. It’s for those who want the high-riding feeling of an X5 and that little extra utility when they need it, but without the full-fledged affluent soccer parent stigma, and it’s been a smash hit.

To see if it was still any good, since BMWs have changed quite a bit over the last 20 years, I spent quality time with a base, but still rather pleasant X6 xDrive40i. Here’s what I really liked and didn’t like about it.

Love: An Engine To Die For

Yeah, this one isn’t just a like, it’s a love. And that’s because for decades, BMW has proven that it knows how to steal the hearts and minds of driving enthusiasts and part of that comes from its tradition for making straight-six engines. Not only is BMW’s inline-six cylinder as iconic to the brand as the flat-six is to Porsche and Subaru, but it is downright a prime example of peak internal combustion power.

Known for its silky smooth and robust power delivery, burly engine note, and reliability, BMW’s inline six is about as perfect as internal combustion can get and the story is no different with the X6 and its use of the company’s venerable I6 as the base model.

Internally called the B58B30 in its latest form, the single-turbocharged and intercooled TwinPower inline-six delivers 375 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque from 3.0-liters, yielding a 0-60 MPH time of around 5.0 seconds.

It’s not so much about the acceleration from a standstill as it is about the engine’s passing power and the way this engine delivers that power. Not only is it a straight six, which, by design, is known to be the superior arrangement of six-cylinders for its smoothness, low-end torque, and versatility in low- and high-demand load situations, it’s extra mild-hybrid tech makes any sort of acceleration maneuver absolutely seamless.

Thanks to mild-hybrid 48-volt assist, not only does the engine operate more smoothly while operating through automatic stop-start conditions such as stop-and-go traffic, but it provides some extra torque in full and heavy throttle situations. The result is an absolutely silky, butter, epic wave of torque that catapults you towards the horizon with an unrivaled level of effortlessness that makes you forget that V-8s exist.

Need to shake off that tailgater or pass that 18-wheel on a bi-direction county road? Simply the tip into the throttle and the X6 telepathically provides instant acceleration in almost any condition. BMW’s inline-six is such a genuine masterpiece that you can theoretically throw it into any car and it’ll make it that much more fun.

Like: The Exterior Design

The first-generation E71 BMW X6 debuted with a rather polarizing troll-like appearance and was either a love-it or hate-it design. The second-gen F16 featured slightly more cohesive sheetmetal, but with this latest G06, I think they really nailed it, particularly with this midcycle refresh.

While based on the core design that debuted roughly four years ago, the updated LCI G06 benefits from sleeker head- and taillights, updated wheel designs, revised front and rear bumpers.

Compared to the previous two generations of BMW X6 and even the original pre-LCI G06 X6, this latest update sports much cleaner and more crease- and fold-free panels. And yet, it comes across as being more futuristic and sophisticated, even more timeless. BMW exterior and interior designs have always pushed outside the envelope with forward-thinking aesthetics and while things seem a bit more reserved this time around, less is more in this case.

Like: The Overall Driving Experience

In terms of modern BMWs, the X6 still drives and feels like a Munich thoroughbred. It’s plenty quick, fun to scoot at faster paces, and it encourages you to push it to its limits when the road gets windy. Dynamic Stability Control and xDrive is present to keep things nice, tidy, and shiny side up.

The X6 has always been an easy car to drive fast, considering its size and weight. Though once you start hitting its limits of adhesions, as I’ve experienced at BMW’s Performance Driving School with the X6 M, the X6 can be slightly less forgiving at the limit, particularly as xDrive overworks to correct sideways action from getting out of hand. Though as fast and fun as it is to drive, even in base xDrive40i form (which will simply become xDrive40 in terms of nomenclature), the electrically-assisted steering still feels a bit dead and robotic, if not slightly over-boosted.

As someone who’s grown up with BMWs in the family and thus, a soft spot for the Munich thoroughbreds, I’ll admit I’ve always been a bit extra critical with my critiques of BMWs. And that’s because I, like many other car enthusiasts, remember the days that we’d all probably refer to as BMW’s peak era. That era would most notably be the 1970s through the 1990s, and even up through the 2000s.

It observably went a little bit astray in the 2010s when Albert Biermann, the then chief engineer of BMW M and the man responsible for making and engineering some of the best driver’s and sports cars of all time, left the company for greener pastures at Hyundai. Bundled with the industry’s transition from hydraulic-assisted power steering to electric-assist, where it obviously took automakers various attempts at figuring out the secret sauce with electric-assist, BMWs seemed to have lost a bit of their charm. They were still fast and fun to drive, but some of its secret sauce clearly left the building.

Thankfully though, the TwinPower inline-six comes to the rescue in the heartbeat department because it is just such a damn good engine.

Dislike: iDrive 8

BMW launched its latest infotainment system, iDrive 8, in 2021 and it continues on, finally reaching the G06 X6 with the LCI update, complete with BMW’s latest CurvedDisplay. It remains to be a very feature-rich and customizable experience that we’ve all come to expect from BMWs these days.

Though I’m not the biggest fan of its “app drawer” arrangement and menu organization hierarchy. Like a smartphone or a tablet home screen, even as described by BMW’s product designers, it scatters all the vehicle options, infotainment features , and HVAC functions, into icons. In theory, it makes sense, but in practice, I find it absolutely distracting, requiring me to take my eyes of the road too frequently just to perform basic adjustments.

BMW’s iDrive has never been without its fair share of criticism, especially when it debuted on the market for the first time in the E65 7 Series back in 2002. Though, it eventually evolved to become one of the best infotainment system interfaces with other automakers chasing BMW and even mimicking its concept by design and use of the central rotation selector.

It appears that BMW once again is looking to reinvent the in-car infotainment system or bring more of today’s relevant experiences into the cockpits of its cars. Though I find this one to come up a bit short. Just because it works on a smartphone and tablet, it doesn’t mean it’ll work in a car.

And while some other manufacturers have similar “app drawer-like” menu interfaces, BMW’s system goes a step too far breakign down the functions and options into icons. The more successful app-drawer-like menus on some other infotainment systems keep the choices large and simple, then breakdown the more detail functions.

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Dislike: The Ride Quality Over Rough Pavement

I know, it’s a BMW, it’s geared towards sportier driving experiences and thus, its suspension and ride will be tuned accordingly. Overall, the X6’s ride and handling compromise is excellent. When the pace quickens, the X6 finds a way to shrink into something half its size. But the compromise for such excellent handling is a less forgiving ride.

On most surfaces, as long as there isn’t a bump or pothole in site, the X6 is as smooth as butter. But whenever there is even the slightest imperfection or undulation, the X6’s stiff-legged suspension and minimal axle articulation really test the resiliency of your back and tolerance to being jostled around. In short, it can go from incredibly smooth and comfortable to incredibly jostling real quick.

Would I Actually Buy One With My Own Money?

Overall, yes the X6 is luxurious, tech- and feature-rich, comfortable, quiet, fast, and fun to drive. But again, I question whether I’d actually get one over an X5.

That’s because the X5, which has always preceded the X6, is just already so darn good, it makes me wonder why I’d actually get an X6 over an X5. Not only are their driving experiences nearly identical, the X5 rewards more by being slightly cheaper, more practical, just as fast and fun to drive, while also being far more comfortable.

That’s because the X5 comes with far more supple suspension tuning, especially with its optional adaptive dynamic air setup. And despite being more comfortable with a more supple ride, it still manages to shrink and feel like something half its size. It’s also just as quick and comes with the same seductive turbocharged gas inline-six and V-8 powertrains. And thus, because it excels at being both comfortable and excellent handling, it does the split-personality thing, comfort vs. sport, a bit better than the X6, and would be my preference between the two.