Sports car meets SUV in 2010 BMW X6 M

Sacramento, California – Ever seen a crossover sport-utility vehicle on steroids?

Say hello to the new-for-2010 BMW X6 M. Here you’ll find SUV luxury and performance lifted to the mountaintop.

A little history helps explain this incredible machine.

I reviewed the new BMW M6 Coupe in 2006, complete with a 500-horsepower, 40 valve, high-compression V-10 engine with variable valve timing … and a sticker price of nearly $107,000. A seven-speed sequential manual gearbox operated sans clutch, with a computer chip and an electrohydraulic mechanism handling those chores. You could shift via a center console-mounted shifter or rip up and down the gearbox via steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

Now imagine all that in a crossover SUV, with the bodywork styled in such a way as to relay a message of force and menace. That’s the X6 M.

Just walking up to it, you get chills – a big-shouldered, aerodynamic blazer with a grille straight out of Star Wars. The bright-red paint job certainly added to the macho ambience.

The X6 M drew comments of admiration from passersby on the street, in parking lots and at gas stations.

Be advised that you’re going to be spending a lot of time at that last destination as the X6 M gets only 12 miles per gallon in the city and 17 mpg on the highway. That’s the price you pay for having a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 and four overhead camshafts under the skin.

Is it worth the price? Well, when you’re unwinding those 555 horses, the last thing you’re thinking about is money. That’s probably a good thing, because the starting price on the vehicle is $88,900.

For your money, you get the satisfaction of just walking away from the great majority of motor vehicles on the road. The X6 M blazed into tight holes on freeway merges. It charged up steep hills like Teddy Roosevelt leading the Rough Riders in Cuba. It cruised at 80 miles hour with quiet serenity. A self-leveling rear air suspension and the all-wheel-drive system add to the enjoyable excellent ride.

It’s truly a fabulous vehicle, the kind that justifies its price with its high level of performance.

From the cockpit, luxury abounds as the outside world breezes by. Comfortable leather seating surfaces are surrounded by convenience and safety features. Notable super-goodies that are standard include a heated steering wheel, heated rear seats, park-distance control and auto-leveling headlights.

BMW still has that quick-hit turn signal that I’ve never been able to figure out – sometimes it stays on, other times it shuts off unprompted – but I think that’s more a me problem than a car problem.

BMW calls it a Sports Activity Vehicle, but folks, this is a crossover luxury SUV in every sense of that term. To me, it came off as a distinct vehicle for someone who is fortunate enough to have a lot of money to spend on a car, but wants some of the old-fashioned utility you get from an SUV. And as a bonus, the vehicle is rich-looking enough to make people think you spent more than $100,000 for it.

In these wobbly economic times, some auto reviewers have characterized the X6 M as a gaudy throwback to pre-recession days, when automakers were trying to outdo each other with luxury, horsepower and sticker prices. I understand those sentiments.

But if your checkbook balance is in your favor, this X6 M stacks up as a must-test-drive right now. Beyond a Porsche Cayenne, I’m not sure you’re going to find anything else out there to match up with this BMW.