2026 BMW X6 M Competition

The most capable car nobody needs, and BMW M knows it.

Let us be honest: the X6 M Competition makes no real sense. A 4.4-litre V8 in an SUV we can just about get on board with, and secretly find rather cool, but piling the full BMW M arsenal on top of a coupe-SUV is arguably a step too far. It is heavy, it is thirsty, it sacrifices practicality for a roofline, and there is a more sensible version of it sitting right next to it in the showroom. And yet, spend a few days with it and the sheer breadth of its ability wears down your objections, even as your head keeps insisting the X5 M is the smarter buy. This is a deeply silly car that happens to be brilliant, and pulling those two threads apart is the whole review. We scored it 7,2, and both halves of that number are earned.

Design: menace on the motorway

There is no ignoring an X6 M. The nose is absurdly broad, and the black inserts in the bumper make it more aggressive still, while the wide, horizontal kidney grilles add to the tough, planted stance. Fill someone's mirrors with this and they move over. From the side the coupe-SUV roofline is the whole point and the whole problem: it looks purposeful, tapering down to a squat rear with fat haunches over the 22-inch wheels, but it is also the reason the boot and rear headroom take a hit. The rear itself is clean and muscular. Whether you love the silhouette or not, and we lean towards the more upright X5, there is no arguing with the presence. It looks like exactly what it is.

Engine: the V8 is the whole point

The engine is sublime, and it is the reason to forgive everything else. This is the familiar 4.4-litre twin-turbo M V8 from the range-toppers like the XM, M5 and M8, here running 48-volt mild-hybrid assistance rather than a full plug-in system, which keeps the weight and complexity down. It makes 625 hp and 750 Nm, and that torque is on tap all the way from 1,800 to 5,800 rpm, which feels almost absurd in the moment, while peak power holds from 6,000 rpm. The result is a wonderfully fat, linear shove that never seems to run out of breath: it just keeps pulling hard to the top of every gear. It sounds serious without being childish about it, and the response is sharp for a turbo motor. Whatever you think of the concept, the powertrain is world class.

Gearbox: the ZF finally has a job that suits it

Drive is through the eight-speed ZF torque-converter automatic, and here is the interesting part: with this much torque to manage, the ZF actually feels better resolved than it does in the M3 and M4. In those cars the automatic can, to our minds, blunt the edge of what should be a razor-sharp experience, and we still quietly miss the old dual-clutch. But in the X6 M the box has so much muscle to lean on that its smoothness becomes an asset, shuffling gears cleanly and slurring the torque into one long wave. It is the right gearbox for this particular car, even if we would still take a DCT in the smaller M cars.

M modes: two cars in one

Like every M car, the X6 M lets you fiddle endlessly. There are drive modes, three steering weights, and adjustable dampers that run from firm to, frankly, absurd. The clever bit is the two red M buttons on the wheel, M1 and M2, which store your favourite combinations. Set one up soft for the motorway and one savage for a good road, and the car changes character at a thumb press. Spot an inviting stretch of tarmac, jab M2, and the whole thing tenses up and grins with you. This ability to be two completely different cars is something BMW M still does better than almost anyone, and it is a big part of why the X6 M is so easy to live with day to day and so thrilling when you want it.

Handling: grip that borders on the ridiculous

The X6 M is permanently four-wheel drive. Unlike the M xDrive system in the M5 and M3 there is no rear-drive-only mode, which is a genuine shame, because a 625 hp coupe-SUV that could light up its rear tyres would have been gloriously silly. There is a 4WD Sport setting that pushes more torque rearward, but you still will not get it meaningfully sideways: the traction is simply staggering. Accept that it is a brute and start leaning on it, and the composure is astonishing. There is endless grip, no understeer to speak of, and huge, unflappable body control for something this tall and heavy. Wind everything up to Sport Plus and you barely register that you are hustling around 2,400 kilograms; it changes direction and gathers speed like a far smaller car. It flatters you, and then quietly does the hard work itself.

Ride and comfort: the one setting it is missing

This is where the compromise bites. The spread of damper settings runs from firmly sprung to needlessly, teeth-rattlingly hard, and on the 21-inch front and 22-inch rear wheels there is no setting that is truly comfortable. Around town and over broken surfaces it fidgets and thumps in a way a car at this price should not. We are not asking a super-SUV to waft, but it should be able to relax when you do, and the X6 M never fully switches off. A set of the smaller wheels would help, and if it were our money we would order them.

Interior and technology: BMW at its best, with two lapses

Inside, the X6 M is mostly excellent. The build quality and materials are what you expect from modern BMW, which is to say very good, and the curved display and iDrive are slick and quick to learn. The driving position is spot on, the M seats hold you properly, and there is a real sense of occasion. Two things nag, though. The steering wheel leather feels less special than it did in the previous, F-generation M cars, which matters on the part of the car you touch most. And there is no comfort access on the rear doors, so they do not unlock on approach the way the fronts do, which on a car costing this much is genuinely baffling. What is BMW thinking?

Practicality: the compromise you are paying for

Here is the everyday reality. Because of that sloping roof, the boot is notably smaller than the X5 M's and the rear headroom is tighter, so the family and the dog draw the short straw. Front-seat space and comfort are excellent, and for two people on a fast, long journey the X6 M is a wonderful thing, but it asks you to pay more than the X5 M in order to carry less. That is a strange proposition, and it is the heart of the case against it.

Price, rivals and the case against

Prices start at around €170,000 before you touch the options list, and it climbs quickly from there. At that money the X6 M sits among serious company: the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT, Audi RS Q8, Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 and Aston Martin DBX707 all want the same buyer. The X6 M can look most of them in the eye dynamically. But the most damaging rival is BMW's own X5 M. It has the same engine, the same ferocious ability and the same price ballpark, yet a bigger boot, more rear room and, to our eyes, considerably more elegant lines. You lose nothing that matters and gain everything practical. If you are spending this kind of money on a V8 super-SUV, that is the one we would tell you to buy.

AutoNext Verdict

The X6 M Competition is a monument to excess, and taken purely as a driving machine it is deeply impressive. The engine is a gem, the gearbox finally has enough torque to shine, the grip and body control defy the size and weight, and the way it shrinks around you when you commit is genuinely special. BMW M's talent for giving one car two distinct personalities is alive and well, and on the right road, in the right mood, the X6 M is enormous fun.

But the compromises are real and they are self-inflicted. The ride never properly relaxes, the boot and rear space are down on the X5 M's, a couple of details disappoint, and the entire concept asks you to pay a premium to lose practicality you did not need to lose. It is brilliant and it is silly, in almost equal measure.

So the X6 M earns its 7,2: sensational to drive, hard to justify. If you want one anyway, we completely understand the pull of it. We just would not buy it over the X5 M.