Some have questioned it’s very existence. It’s been called a waste of time and a product of car designers with “to much time on their hands…” But BMW’s new X6 SUV is a real departure from what we’ve seen in recent years.

First off, lets position it in BMW’s current range. The X6 is billed as a sportier, more intense version of an X5. It’s got a more intense price too seeing as it goes for roughly 8 grand more than the X5. That’s a lot of dough so, well, what do you get for all that extra cash.

Well for one you get turbos. Two of them. Strapped to a 4.4 liter V8 engine so sweet you could drive it forever into space and never cease to be entertained.  The result is 400 ponies and 450 ft-lbs of torque that are ready to escort you into triple digit speeds. The sound is said to be unlike any other BMW, rough and almost muscle-car  like.

Here is where it gets a little weird though. When driven back to back with a regular X5 there isn’t much of a difference. Sure it’s a bit quicker (not much) than a V8 non-turbo X5 but it doesn’t feel $8,000 quicker, or more special for that matter. In fact it’s coupe-like profile kills head room makes the car less comfortable with 5 adults. The niche the X6 occupies could have easily been filled by a sportier X5, an X5-M maybe?

Though it introduces a bunch of new technology and is pushing the design boundaries the X6 still comes off as rather purposeless. Yet, Mercedes’ CLS sedan is basically an over-styled  E-Class with less headroom and rear leg room, and even though more expensive, outsells the regular E-Class. Maybe BMW knows what it’s doing after all…

Above: Can BMW create it’s own segment in the market, and than fill it?