All talk about the “Germanness” of cars is, in essence, empty noise. If you thoroughly study Mercedes, you can find an excellent car with no nationality: its comfort and prestige have long become international. Upon closer inspection, Audi is simply a very proper car, and again, not about sausages with beer. Only the Bavarians manage to infuse their creations with a true German character.
Precision, pressure, a sinful streak, pork knuckle with braised cabbage — all of this is abundantly present in the “tuned” X5 and X6, refined by the BMW M-technic tuning studio. For such a package, you’ll have to shell out one and a half million rubles more than for the standard version. At the same time, their acceleration to 100 km/h is faster: the X5 wins by 1.8 seconds, and the X6 by 0.7.
In fact, the acceleration dynamics of the X5 M and X6 M are identical — 4.7 seconds to the first hundred
In the base configuration, there is no spare tire. You’ll have to pay an extra $119 (946 UAH)
A GAZE DULLED BY EXCITEMENT
The modern German is a peace-loving and politically correct creature. But you can’t argue with genes. That’s why the X5 M and X6 M are the least like ordinary cars. The engineers who created the “X-six” secretly dreamed of an assault vehicle, and the “X-five” easily turns into a reconnaissance patrol car — just mount a machine gun. All my words about the German spirit of BMW should be filtered through this subconscious military prism.
Precision? Yes, the Bavarian all-wheel-drive vehicles have impeccable steering, but civilian metaphors like comparing to a shark don’t work here. Driving the X5 M and X6 M is like aiming a ship’s cannon or sealing a submarine hatch: the mechanisms work with jewel-like precision but require serious effort. Only sailors from old war movies handle them with flair. I suspect they had to practice long and hard.
Aggression? German SUVs are packed to the brim with it. But this is the aggression of a blitzkrieg — a short and victorious assault. The 4.7-second acceleration to 100 km/h should be used precisely, at the right moment. Most often — to crush the Mercedes-Benz ML in a race, which takes 5 seconds.
A sinful streak? It oozes from every crack of the body. You merge into calm traffic in the X5-X6 M — and you feel like a soldier on leave. Such a warrior is not thinking about defending the homeland at all. He has a glassy stare, and he opens the brothel door with a kick from his hobnailed boot.
The tachometer is usually a secondary detail, like a tie, but in the “M” models it’s the main instrument, like a watch
GLASSES DON’T HELP
Talking about BMW M series without emotions is almost impossible. But let’s at least try for a minute.
So, BMW crossovers from M-technic carry under the hood a V8 with a volume of 4.4 liters, producing a maximum of 555 horsepower. The peak torque of 680 Nm is available in a very wide range of 1500–5650 rpm. M-technic bets on turbocharging. The new M TwinPower Turbo is the world’s first engine with a common exhaust manifold, where each of the four pipes serves two cylinders at once. This allows creating constant pressure on both “snails” of the Twin Scroll turbocharger, free from any backflow.
Lexus projects speed onto the road, while BMW focuses attention on revs and gear
What is unhealthy conservatism? Leaving huge air ducts but depriving the driver of the “innate” gear-shifting algorithm
The torque distribution map (operation of pseudo-locks) is displayed on the monitor in real time
In the base configuration, there is no spare tire. You’ll have to pay an extra $119 (946 UAH)
Of course, the “M” models received a stiffer suspension and steering. There’s a Launch Control function for automatic acceleration control, which helps them win drag races. And a mass of electronics that prevents the body from leaning and the gearbox from shifting up too early.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS: BMW X5 M, X6 M
IS IT ALL ABOUT WEIGHT DISTRIBUTION?
What’s definitely not here are off-road talents. They’ve been methodically destroyed. The BMW X5 M and X6 M sport “gills” in the front fenders and 20-inch alloy wheels. Different-sized tires — 275/40 R 20 in front and 315/35 R 20 in the rear — are another consequence of the car’s “rear-wheel-drive” philosophy.
Both models emphasize the body elements responsible for aerodynamics and cooling. M-style also means a body lowered by 10 mm compared to the standard X5 and X6. What geometric off-road capability can you talk about — with such improvements, even a curb becomes an obstacle.
The all-wheel-drive BMW M series is attributed with either neutral or rear-wheel-drive handling. We checked — both versions are valid. The X6 M behaves impeccably. You steer it into a corner, and it, evenly distributing the asphalt with all four wheels, exits it, rotating around an imaginary central axis. The X5 M leaves no doubt that its rear axle is more prone to sliding. At the same time, both cars have absolutely identical all-wheel drive, identical electronic assistant settings, the same active differential on the rear axle, and, of course, the same tires. So, perhaps it’s a matter of weight distribution. If you’re used to SUV habits, then switching to the X5 M won’t shock you. But owners of traditional SUVs will have to get used to the exemplary behavior of the X6 M.
FASTER TO A HUNDRED
BMW’s X series has been producing sporty M versions not so long ago. But competitors from AMG have been making the ML63 for ages. At the same time, the sporty ML hasn’t completely lost its off-road capability. Plus, it has a naturally aspirated engine, which also means a lot. The only thing BMW M-line crossovers can boast about is a 0.3-second advantage in acceleration to 100 km/h. Is it worth emphasizing dynamics so much? During the test, we were much more impressed by the braking character than the increased agility. The brakes work fantastically. When you press the left pedal, events around you slow down, as if you’re driving at 50 km/h, even though the actual speed is a hundred higher.
There will always be people willing to pay a couple of extra kilograms of money for “magical” 0.3 seconds of advantage over AMG. Maybe they’re not so crazy. But I’m sure each of these perfectionists has a chandelier made of coast guard searchlights hanging in their living room. In the kitchen — a washing machine with an aviation turbine. And in the hallway, a vacuum cleaner that sucks in neighbors along with their metal doors. In this row, the BMW X5 M and X6 M look quite
harmonious.
The test was conducted at the “Uspensky Speed Academy” track
(www.urt-as.ru) with the support of its instructors