Top Gear: Jeremy Clarkson takes on the BMW X6 xDrive35d
This is Jeremy Clarkson’s bashing week on BMW cars and following his “great” X5 M review, we have another one for you, or should we say, he does?! This time, another somewhat controversial vehicle back in the day, the BMW X6, the Sports Activity Coupe, and not SAV as he calls it. And not just any X6, but rather one of our favorite ones: xDrive35d.
As seen in the previous review, the iDrive system takes a beating and to be objective, we have to agree with him. The first generation iDrive “suffers” a bit when compared to the latest nav system. Moving down his complaints list, we have the shift paddles….and again, he has a point here. We have to admit that the old school paddles seen in the M3 are far more intuitive and appropriate: one shifts down, the other shifts up.
Next item…the suspension system. Not sure about you, but we certainly like its roughness and firmness, inspires more confidence and certainly handles better in corners without having the “boat effect”.
But seriously….complaining about the amazing 3.0 liter twin-turbo diesel?
WOW!
One of the best diesel engines in the BMW line-up and not only, and one we’ve been craving to see it in more U.S. spec models.
The next item on list just simply made us smile. Expecting the X6 SAC to act as a 4×4 and crawl over boulders, is just something we didn’t think we would hear. The X6 is a sport oriented vehicle craving for performance, and yes, it does give you some off-roading capabilities, but not even close to a Jeep or Range Rover. It’s like comparing apples and oranges.
Now, the next scene shows the X6 35d struggling to climb a hill…okay, we got the point, but easily we forget the car comes equipped with summer/performance tires that won’t do well on snow nor grass. Any xDrive system coupled with good winter or all-season tires will get the job done.
And really? Summer tires in snow, in the highest ski resort in the Alps? Well, we made that mistake ones with an E46 and we certainly won’t do it again.
As a final thought, the first BMW X6 launched prior to the recession, despite his statement.
It’s all fun though and we know what TopGear stands for these day and that’s perfectly fine, still enjoy watching the show.
Author: Horatiu B.
Source: http://www.bmwblog.com/2010/01/07/top-g ... xdrive35d/