BMW gave the X6 its lifecycle impulse final 12 months and cranked up the aggression on an already menacing-looking car. The 2024 BMW X6 (G06) facelift can now solely be ordered with the M pack, driving the purpose house that BMW desires this to be perceived as a significantly sportier different to the extra sensible X5, and it definitely feels prefer it from behind the wheel. The X6 facelift includes a 48-volt electrical system that not solely powers the gentle hybrid system but additionally the optionally available energetic antiroll bars that appear to get this 2.3-ton (4,600-pound) to defy the legal guidelines of physics by means of the corners. It’s no sports activities sedan, but it surely grips alarmingly effectively, and with the limited-slip differential within the again, it catapults itself out of corners at what can solely be described as an alarming tempo.

Why anyone would wish the BMW X6M Competitors with 100 extra horsepower is past me, though I’ve not pushed a type of, so possibly as soon as I get my palms on one, I’ll perceive the place the just about $35,000 worth distinction comes from. My 2024 BMW X6 M60i tester, which includes a detuned model of the identical S68 engine you discover within the X6M, felt prefer it already had extra energy than the car actually wanted.

Nevertheless, that is an X6, a car that’s meant to look a bit extreme, a daring chariot for its extroverted proprietor to indicate off in, so the ability degree of the X6 M60i felt excellent provided that mindset. I took it on a street journey for a pair hundred miles, and whereas I anticipated it to pin me to my seat with only a flex of my proper foot’s huge toe given its engine specs, I didn’t count on it to sip as little gasoline because it did when you weren’t on it.

Facelift Adjustments

With new headlights, taillights, bumpers, and wheel designs, the G06 LCI definitely seems to be refreshed. It’s a bit extra angular-looking now, and its daytime working mild signature aligns with the remainder of the BMW lineup. I parked my LCI tester subsequent to a pre-facelift X6, and whereas at first, the adjustments could not appear too vital, they fully change the way you understand the car if you examine it straight—it seems to be much more trendy and modern now.

Inside, the one huge change is the addition of the twin-screen array, with a 12.3-inch show in entrance of the motive force and a bigger 14.9-inch display for the infotainment. The LCI mannequin was presupposed to get iDrive 8.5, however for some purpose, my tester had the marginally older model 8. For the reason that automobile has all the required {hardware} to run the upgraded working system, a visit to the seller can in all probability resolve this.

With the introduction of the curved screens and the newer iDrive, BMW has additionally eliminated the bodily local weather controls. You now should entry the local weather menu to regulate something apart from the temperatures of the 2 zones, which is a step backward when it comes to security and value. Issues are improved with iDrive 8.5, which provides extra local weather capabilities to the primary display, so that you don’t all the time have to enter the massive local weather menu.

Delicate-Hybrid Improves the S68 V8

There’s no getting round how nice the S68 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 is. It propels even an enormous car just like the X6 with ease, turning it into what looks like a sorted sports activities sedan on stilts that weighs far lower than it truly does. With 530 PS (523 bhp) obtainable between 5,500 and 6,000 rpm and 750 Nm (553 pound-feet) of torque that’s delivered flat from 1,800 all the best way to 4,600 rpm, whichever gear you’re in and irrespective of the velocity, the car pulls very strongly.

Even taking handbook management over the eight-speed automated gearbox and placing it in eighth at round 100 km/h (62 mph), the car picks up velocity very effectively, and you’re reminded simply how clean this engine is.

With launch management engaged, the 2024 BMW X6 M60i feels even faster in its dash from a standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) than the 4.3 seconds claimed by BMW. It’s actually sturdy, sufficient to make your passengers really feel uneasy if they didn’t brace for it beforehand. The car darts off the road so aggressively that it may even provide you with whiplash, identical to in some very highly effective EVs. The immediacy of the ability can be exceptional.

What’s not so sizzling is the noise it makes, at the very least right here in Europe, the place the car is fitted with a particulate filter. This helps the massive V8 clear up its act, and you may hardly odor a factor if you’re behind the car, but it surely muffles the roar of the eight-cylinder mill significantly. Within the US, the particulate filter shouldn’t be fitted to this car, and the exhaust has a significantly extra savage bark.

No Lean By means of Corners

My tester didn’t include the 22-inch wheels and summer season tires that it was configured with, and as an alternative had 21s and winter tires. I believe that is what gave the entrance finish a unusually floaty really feel when attempting to push right into a nook, making the car need to plow straight on reasonably than rotate round its axis and preserve its trajectory by means of the nook.

I’ve not skilled this in every other X5 or X6 of this technology, and I attributed it to the tires. The additional weight of the facelifted mannequin may additionally play a component on this conduct—the G06 LCI M60i is about 80 kilograms (180 kilos) heavier than the previous G06 M50i.

Apart from this, there’s little to criticize concerning the dealing with. With the energetic antiroll bars just about eliminating roll by means of corners, a really exact steering rack, four-wheel steering, and loads of mechanical grip, my tester felt prefer it may defy physics. It’s a identified trait that BMWs, particularly the massive and heavy ones, do a implausible job of disguising their heft, and the X6 G06 LCI isn’t any exception. It offers you loads of confidence to drive it shortly, even on a slim, twisty street, as you all the time really feel that you’re in management.

I’m curious to attempt one out with the optionally available air suspension, which is softer and extra comfort-oriented, and which may lend the X6 fairly a distinct character. Some who’ve pushed it say it’s your best option for this car, however given how comfortable my tester was with metal springs, I’ll reserve judgment till after I’ve had a go in a single with air suspension.

Is It a Higher Deal Than an X6M?

Although the X6 M60i begins at simply over €108,000 (VAT included) right here in Romania, my tester had choices that took its worth past the beginning worth of the X6M—simply shy of €148,000. A few of the most costly choices had been the M Sport Suspension Skilled pack (€3,690), the Innovation Pack (€5,504), the Consolation Package deal Plus (€4,356), the Unique Pack (€2,563), and the Bowers and Wilkins Diamond sound system (€4,920). There have been extra choices, however itemizing all of them would take up half of the article, and you may try the choices listing in its entirety within the gallery.

BMW X6 M60i or X6M?

Nearly €150,000 is some huge cash for an X6 that’s simply an M Sport mannequin. That worth level is precisely the place the X6M begins, although, and it has so much fewer consolation and elegance choices than the X6 M60i. The total-blown M mannequin has about 100 horsepower extra, it seems to be a bit extra aggressive, and it’s a bit extra enjoyable to drive, however you get nearly the identical expertise (and extra choices) for a similar worth in an M60i.

I haven’t pushed the most recent 2024 BMW X6M or X5M, so I is perhaps fallacious about this, however to me, it makes extra sense to spec an X6 M60i like my tester and get a extra luxurious expertise reasonably than going for the stiffer and fewer snug M variant—consolation is finally what you need out of an enormous SUV, not a harsh experience because it’s by no means going to be a sports activities automobile anyway. And when you actually need extra energy out of the car, an engine remap that shouldn’t have an effect on reliability if you’re smart is the best way to go, and it’ll carry the 2024 BMW X6 M60i into the identical efficiency league because the X6M.