BMW X6 M50d

Where is the limit?

About two years ago I was writing about the phenomenal bi-turbo engine developed by BMW, which solved one of the major drawbacks of these oil-burning machines, the turbo lag. But guess what – for some unknown reason, this was not enough: engineers at BMW were not happy, so they thought, why not add another turbo? We have now a car with three turbines.

And to show how happy they were with the result, the engineers decided that this engine was worthy of bearing, for the first time on a diesel, the M badge. So, the BMW M50d was born.

They looked around in the yard and picked two models into which to transplant the beast's heart, the X5 and the X6.

I got the chance to sit behind the wheel and drive around for a few days in the X6 M50d. I had been looking forward to this for a number of months so I’d gemmed up on everything there was to know about the car. The specs show that this 6 cylinder 3.0 liter diesel will only be 0.6 seconds slower than its big brother, the full X6M version powered by the thirsty V8. How about that!

Let's talk a bit more about those turbos. This is how they work: one by one, they kick in sequentially across the rev range. A small one gets to work at almost 1,000 revs, a larger one takes over from about 1,500rpm, then a third kicks in from about 2,600rpm. And... guess what: the full 750Nm is available from just 2,000rpm, enough to give you a headache if you are not used to such a violent push in the seat.

The intelligent ZF eight-speed automatic transmission brilliantly complements the power of this motor, short-geared when needed, but not lacking flexibility. The sport mode allows the gears to be shifted close to the limiter while keeping the revs in the best performance range.

In terms of fuel efficiency, even if it seems a bit vulgar to talk about this in such a car, I managed to get a 10 liter /100km consumption on a gentle freeway cruise. If you put the pedal to the metal, the consumption will rise significantly to almost double. Still, it's an unbeatable figure if you compare it with the V8 powered X6M.

The chunky steering wheel is indicative of the way the X6 goes about its business. The driver has to deal with a two-tonne vehicle but, miraculously, the engineers have done their homework here such that you cannot feel this weight. It grips the tarmac like a veritable sports car, balanced and smooth, without giving the driver that chilly feeling of losing control.

Inside, the BMW X6 M50d is quite dull. The personalization of the interior to the M specs is kept to a minimum. A small badge on the wheel will remind you that you are in an M Sport vehicle. To be honest I would have expected more creativity in this department.

The two rear seats of the pre-facelift X6 have now turned into three, probably because male clients could not justify before a practical mum the need to buy such a large four-seat vehicle. Now your practical SUV is reborn and reinvented to please families too. But families with deep pockets, as the tested version hits the 100,000 EUR mark.