BMW ActiveHybrid X6
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viewed from the rear
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Interior
It’s either a bad impression, or a good impression of a Blame for the lazier git-go lies with the transmission, which runs through seven pretend ratios to mimic an automatic. At 5.3 seconds to 60, the hybrid is slower off the line than the standard V-8 model, but it catches up before 100 mph. Acceleration, too, is strangely disconnected. Still, the hybrid’s 163-foot stop from 70 mph is heroic for something this massive.
The binders are terribly grabby at low speeds, and the pedal sinks all the way to the floor in a panic stomp. Both the brakes and the newly electric power steering are drained of feel. But hybridization affects the X6 in other ways. The X6’s remarkable responsiveness is barely dulled, and the hybrid still posted 0.86 g on the skidpad.
However, the extra quarter-ton is only slightly more conspicuous than stray Popsicle spittle on a Jackson Pollock. Another shocking number: This thing weighs 5741 pounds, 500 more than a regular V-8 model. Fat lot of good that did—we averaged only 14 mpg. This tranny stirs in conventional automatic and CVT functionalities with two electric motors, for a total system output of 480 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque.
Here, the mid-level X6’s 400-hp, twin-turbo V-8 is mated to a transmission shared with the Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid. To elevate it to an elite stratum of insanity, however, BMW conjured up the X6 ActiveHybrid. As an all-terrain sport-utility “coupe” that looks like a gerbil head and offers up to 555 horsepower, BMW’s X6 seems like an exercise in absurdity.
The binders are terribly grabby at low speeds, and the pedal sinks all the way to the floor in a panic stomp. Both the brakes and the newly electric power steering are drained of feel. But hybridization affects the X6 in other ways. The X6’s remarkable responsiveness is barely dulled, and the hybrid still posted 0.86 g on the skidpad.
However, the extra quarter-ton is only slightly more conspicuous than stray Popsicle spittle on a Jackson Pollock. Another shocking number: This thing weighs 5741 pounds, 500 more than a regular V-8 model. Fat lot of good that did—we averaged only 14 mpg. This tranny stirs in conventional automatic and CVT functionalities with two electric motors, for a total system output of 480 horsepower and 575 pound-feet of torque.
Here, the mid-level X6’s 400-hp, twin-turbo V-8 is mated to a transmission shared with the Chevrolet Tahoe hybrid. To elevate it to an elite stratum of insanity, however, BMW conjured up the X6 ActiveHybrid. As an all-terrain sport-utility “coupe” that looks like a gerbil head and offers up to 555 horsepower, BMW’s X6 seems like an exercise in absurdity.