2009 BMW X6

On closer inspection, it's clear the 2009 BMW X6 pulls off a rather extraordinary feat of packaging. The roofline's downward taper is merely a visual trick because the inside of the X6 is actually impressively roomy. The seating position for front and rear passengers feels much lower than in the BMW X5. The driving position is much more carlike, and though you're laid back, rear-seat legroom is surprisingly good. Despite the longitudinal drivetrain layout and the need for a propeller-shaft, as in the X5, there is no transmission hump protruding in the rear footwalls. The 2009 BMW X6 is a four-seater, but BMW could've easily put in a three-passenger rear bench and made room for five. But that would've made it more of a family hauler and ruined the vehicle's coupelike elan.

And now we have the 2009 BMW X6, which is, essentially, a four-door, four-wheel-drive coupe/crossover with only a smattering of the X5's utility yet nearly all of its weight (at 4894 pounds, the X6 weighs only 88 pounds less than the X5) and mass. It seats only four people, albeit very comfortably and luxuriously. It is rated at 20 mpg on the freeway, but I barely achieved 17 mpg with the cruise set at 80 mph. It will come as little surprise that the X6 is a very good driver. It has much more in common with a sport sedan than with any SUV, with typically BMW traits: direct steering, strong brakes, firm damping, and superb body control.

Nevertheless, the X6 has a lot going for it, and I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that, like most BMW products, it's amazing to drive. It's kind of remarkable, in fact, how well it performs. BMW's latest SUV pounds down a heaving country highway with more composure and more tail-wagging sureness than a 335xi or an X5, and more speed than some purpose-built sports cars. The steering is a tad on the heavy side, ride quality is a little harsh on broken pavement, and few people would call the back seat anything but claustrophobic, but other than that, there are relatively few complaints.

Like the Infiniti, the 2009 BMW X6 is available in two trim levels; the $53,275 xDrive35i uses the sonorous 300-hp, 3.0-liter twin-turbo in-line six familiar from the 1-, 3-, and 5-series. The xDrive50i model starts at $63,775, but our fully equipped tester shocked us like a party buzzer with an estimated price of more than $80,000.

The 2009 BMW X6's blistering acceleration, however, leaves nothing to complain about. It's slightly faster than the FX50, beating the Infiniti to the 60-mph and quarter-mile markers by 0.3 second. With 10 additional hp and 81 more lb-ft of torque, we expected the 2009 X6 to be even quicker - until we learned its weight.

The X6, although based on the X5 SAV (BMW-speak for "sports activity vehicle"), isn't an SUV at all. Nope, BMW says it's an SAC - a "sports activity coupe" - a new type of vehicle that's designed to appeal to buyers who would want a 6-series, had they not gotten used to their SUV's high seating position. So the SAC is the post-SUV SAV, if you catch their drift. We did - kind of - but still don't get the AMC Eagle styling and the fender gaps big enough for another set of wheels.

The new "Sports Activity Coupe" will come in two flavors, the 2009 BMW X6 xDrive 35i and the X6 xDrive 50i.

Both models are equipped with BMW's xDrive permanent all-wheel-drive system and standard Dynamic Performance Control active rear differential - what varies is the engine used to turn the four wheels. You may have already guessed the BMW X6 xDrive 35i makes use of the same twin-turbo 3.0-liter in-line six that sees duty in the 1-series, 3-series, and 5-series cars that bear the 35i suffix. The surprise here is a new engine for the top-of-the-range 50i - it's not the 4.8-liter engine that's found in the 5-series, 6-series, and 7-series cars that use the 50i suffix. It is instead a twin-turbocharged, direct-injected 4.4-liter V-8.

Inside, it's as roomy as a mid-sized SUV with 20 cubic feet of storage good for four golf bags and four passengers (50.8 cubic feet with rear seats folded down). Additional features like a keyless engine-start button, a paddle- or lever-shifted sequential six-speed automatic transmission and automatic lumbar-squeezing seats put the 2009 BMW X6 in the high-performance direction. BMW doesn't call this car an SUV but an SAV, meaning Sport Activity Vehicle. The base xDrive35i is powered by the company's glorious 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight six and the xDrive50i has a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8. In the latter, at high speed, the driver could whisper a request of a passenger to remove their coffee mug from the dash before it spills, while discerning the cello counterpoint amid the symphonic sounds from the optional 12-loudspeaker, iPod-integrated audio system. The 2009 X6 is incredibly smooth, quiet and luxurious. But under load, the signature V8 roar comes to life with a passenger-startling tug. With silenced Garrett turbos, the sound from the cabin is similar to an E39 M5's, while from the outside, the V8's exhaust note is akin to the drop of the green flag at Daytona, but slightly more civilized.

Keeping with the machismo theme, BMW equipped X6 models with powerful six- and eight-cylinder engines. The 2009 BMW X6 xDrive 35i comes with the same twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six found in the 335i and 535i sedans. This incarnation makes 300 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque. X6 xDrive 50i models make 400 horsepower and a staggering 450 pound-feet of torque from an all-new, 4.4-liter twin-turbocharged V-8.

On the street, the 2009 X6 xDrive 50i is smooth and stealthy fast. It coasts effortlessly--fast seems, well, slow. Triple-digit speeds sneak up so easily, the X6 could be a citation machine for the lead-footed. Floor it and the V-8 rewards with a cranium-filling sonic massage. The BMW X6 appears most like an X5 on the inside. Our loaded 50i had a thick, heated steering wheel and leather-trimmed kneepads for cornering. In the back, BMW's product-packaging magicians managed to squeeze in plenty of legroom and just enough rake in the seats so that six-footers with normal haircuts shouldn't have problems with the low roof. The cargo area is deep, but not tall--still enough for four golf bags, claims BMW.

The 2009 X6 will come in two variants. The xDrive35i is powered by the now familiar 300-horse, 3.0-liter twin turbo inline-six. But the big stuff what's under the xDrive50i's hood -- a new to the BMW lineup 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8. Both engine variants are mated to a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters, and as the names imply, come standard with BMW's xDrive all-wheel-drive system that sends 40 percent of the power to the front wheels and 60 percent to the rear under normal driving conditions.

The new V8 BMW X6 is rated at 400 horses and 450 lb-ft of torque, making it the most powerful engine ever available in a BMW sport/ute, easily topping the X5's 350-horsepower, 4.8-liter naturally aspirated V-8. Engine torque reaches its peak at 1800 rpm and stays there until 4500 rpm, which makes the M3's rev-happy V-8 -- with its 295 lb-ft of torque -- seem puny by comparison. BMW says the engine will propel the 2009 X6 from 0 to 60 in just 5.3 seconds -- an impressive number for a vehicle likely to weigh well over two tons and just 0.4 second slower than the 500-horsepower Porsche Cayenne Turbo. Top speed is electronically limited to 155 mph on 20-inch-wheel-equipped models.