New cars: BMW X6 xDrive35i

Car and Driver

Here comes an SUV looking like “a swoopy, four-door pseudo-coupe.” Mechanically, the X6 is more or less an X5 with fewer seats. Highlights include a “curvaceous bod” and “brilliant handling.” The 300-hp, twin-turbo inline-6 hits 60 mph in 5.9 seconds, and an optional $4,550 Sport package enables “heroic” cornering and braking. Opt for the $400 rearview camera because cars can nearly disappear in the shortened rear window.

The New York Times

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Call it a New Age mutant Ninja wagon. BMW identifies this “visually arresting specimen” as a “sports activity coupe,” or SAC. Translation: “A luxury tow-vehicle sports-car grocery-getter 4-by-4 hatchback.” Fuel economy is never a priority with performance-oriented luxury wagons, but the X6 actually breaks the 20-mpg highway barrier. The Dynamic Performance Control system lets you sling the car through a gap in traffic in a hurry.

Motor Trend

How sporty is the X6? Its bucket front seats are “augmented with kneepads on both sides of the center console”—so driver and passenger don’t feel cramped while cornering. Standard features include power seats and side, knee, and curtain air bags, and BMW’s iDrive interface centralizes control of navigation and entertainment systems. Both the six and eight cylinder models are “mated to a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters.”