May25

BMW X6 in UK spec - exclusive pictures

The new BMW X6 isn’t launched in the UK officialy until the end of next week, however I’ve managed to see it in the flesh and take a few pics.

Like many petrolheads I’ve read the (mainly positive) reviews of this car but thought I would reserve judgement until actually seeing it in the metal for myself. I always knew the car would be imposing but it’s not until you see it up close and personal that you can appreciate it for what it is. Make no mistake, it may have coupe curves but it still has tons of presence on the road. It actually looks quite aggresive, an attribute that I really like.

The model below is the xDrive35i petrol version of the car in metallic space grey (boring colour if ever there was one) fitted with the optional 20″ Y-Spoke alloys (£895).

The car has been launched with 3 engines, the petrol 35i at £42,730, the diesel 30d at £41,965 and the diesel 35d at £44,145.

Not bad prices - until you find out that the level of spec isn’t all that good. For example, none of the 3 models come with leather seats! Instead they come in “twill cloth upholstery”. Now I’m sorry but if I’m paying £42k for a car then I would expect leather seats as standard. The spec is so bad that I went onto the BMW website today to “build” my X6 and the £42k 35i model came to £60k by the time I put on all of the options that I would expect.

There is a bit of light at the end of the tunnel however as the Twin Turbo V8 xDrive50i will be launched around October/November of this year. As well as having a much better engine than the 35i (the 50i will do 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds!) it will come with a better spec too. Unfortunately prices haven’t been announced yet but I think it will be around the £52k mark.

Anyway, here are the pics, please let me know what you think.

What I’m listening to right now: Cassie - “In Love With You”

Topics: Cars | 25 comments so far

Sunday, May 25th, 2008 at 4:04 pm and is filed under Cars. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Comments

  1. Max (12 comments.) says:

    nope still not a fan. the back looks like the back of a certain new ford model i’ve seen about

  2. Darren says:

    Agree with Max, the alloys also look very similar to the that of the Focus ST.

  3. Lee Bandoni (17 comments.) says:

    Not a bad looking BMW but not sure if I would buy one. Finance companies are doing some really cheap financing on them right now so it will be interesting to see residual values in 18 months when the first ex-lease ones filter into the market.

  4. Lee says:

    Audi remain the king then, looks like something out of a space or sci-fi movie…

  5. Official Football Credit Card (6 comments.) says:

    I prefer the Audi Q7 or the Porsche Cayenne. Too expensive. I guess the value of the X5 is going to start dropping.

  6. Ian says:

    Ok, who squashed it…looks horrible! :(

  7. gadget (152 comments.) says:

    I had the official flyer from BMW the other week. Not impressed at all and I say that as a X5 driver.

  8. lucyp (1 comments.) says:

    Don’t like it, the car looks confused with whether it should be a car or a four wheel drive, it looks huge - you’ll never be able to park it anywhere.

  9. Kieron (417 comments.) says:

    Gadget-you can’t judge it by a flyer, you really need to see it in the metal. You will be very surprised.

    LucyP - it’s not as big as a Range Rover, and I park mine with no problems (mainly).

  10. CHINEDU says:

    If the X6 is not a hit why has the production for this year been sold out.
    I still think,as I thought when I saw it in concept mould that, its a car to beat.

  11. perp (1 comments.) says:

    Hmmm, it’s taken a few days, but as earlier BMW designs, it’s a grower. It’s nice to see that they have the confidence to do something a little different - knowing that they have the respect and the heritage to change peoples minds, and a clear sign of a company not afraid to take a bold step forward. I’d happily drive it around London & the SE with your web address on if you provide a fully expensed version for me :-)

  12. Chilli (5 comments.) says:

    Hmmmm not convinced, it looks like a cross between a Jag and a Merc. Wouldn’t like the car tax bill on it once it goes up again this year either…I’ll stick with my Smart car I think -)

  13. Kieron (417 comments.) says:

    Perp - I agree. It’s nice to see a car manufacturer doing something a little different. If only Jag had the conviction to do something similar with the XF, instead of coming out with an upmarket Mondeo.

  14. Frank (1 comments.) says:

    It looks like BMW couldn’t be bothered to finish the rear end, however I think this may grow on me, as most new cars usually do.

    I’m looking forward to see what the 2009 Audi Q5 brings, usually Audi offer a lot more as standard.

  15. Kieron (417 comments.) says:

    Frank - have you not seen the Q5? Its dull, dull dull! A bit like the Tiguan. http://www.autoblog.com/2008/04/19/beijing-motor-show-officially-official/

  16. Chromate says:

    From looking at the pics, I don’t really like it. It just looks like a clumsy sports car. Very awkward, like it doesn’t know what it’s supposed to be. But then I don’t like the X5 either. Much prefer the Range Rover.

  17. Gaj (7 comments.) says:

    I think you have to see it to like, I’m pretty impressed myself, i’m still saving up for my 330 Ci so it’ll be a while before I can afford something like this? Kieron what are you driving now - didn’t you have an escalade?

  18. Kieron (417 comments.) says:

    Gaj - yes I had an Escalade but upgraded to a Range Rover Supercharged (in white of course). You can see it in this post: http://www.here.org.uk/2008/02/more-white-cars-50-examples-of-why-white-is-the-most-popular-colour-choice-for-cars-in-the-world.html

  19. Chris (1 comments.) says:

    I’m not sure if I like this. It looks very bubbly and round to me. I think I’ll have to take a trip to the local dealer when its released and have a proper inspection!

  20. Gaj (7 comments.) says:

    Very nice, I did love the escalade too.

  21. Dazza says:

    > I’m looking forward to see what the 2009 Audi Q5 brings, usually Audi offer a lot more as standard.

    We just specced up a Q7 and Audi seem to be taking the P on the options for this car. To get the decent (non clip on) DVD screens in back of the car they wanted an extra £4.2k. To order the DVD package you also need the TV option which was around £700 and the technology pack for £2.5k. You can get a professional installer to do this work for around £1,500, shame on you Audi.

    From what Kieron is saying it looks like BMW have gone the same way with the X6. Having leather as an option on the X6 is just shocking, it should be standard.

  22. paulette (11 comments.) says:

    This is definitely awesome.But there are cheaper cars offering more features compared to BMW.

  23. Pajtim (1 comments.) says:

    wowwww this is superfect machine

Trackbacks

  1. [...] all new BMW X6 Sports Activity Coupe is due to be launched late next week, but one of our readers, Kieron, got an exclusive one-on-one with the [...]

  2. [...] BMW X6 isn’t launched in the UK officially until the end of next week, fortunately Kieron from here.org.uk managed to see the X6 in the flesh and take a few [...]

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