Starting at $65,295 (including $995 destination) and ranging to nearly $120,000 with the X6 M Competition, the 2020 BMW X6 comes well-equipped and has more options than a hall of mirrors. The X6 M50i offers the best of the value and performance worlds, and with standard all-wheel drive it is our recommended X6.
All X6s are equipped with 20-inch wheels, leather upholstery, panoramic moonroof, a 12.3-inch touchscreen for infotainment with Apple CarPlay compatibility (Android Auto coming in mid-2020), heated front seats, a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, ambient lighting the kids love, parking sensors, a USB-C port, Bluetooth connectivity, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitors, high-beam assist, and adaptive LED headlights.
The touchscreen is part of the iDrive 7.0 infotainment system. It’s dense with options but relatively easy to use once you take the time to learn the language. Natural voice controls abet the simplicity, and eventually make it the only thing you need to use to sort through the most vital features.
The speedo and tachometer wrap around the digital instrument cluster, which can be off-putting at first, but is a pretty economical way to open the interior real estate. The map display in the center is like a beta version of Audi’s superior Virtual Cockpit, but it’s still a nice improvement over iDrive 6.0. The best features are the twin torque and horsepower gauges on the right side of the cluster.
Bring an adapter if you want to charge your phone because it’s USB-C or bust for the X6. Or get a better phone (talking to my employer, here) and opt for the available wireless charger.
The options start with all-wheel drive, which adds $2,300 to the X6 sDrive40i.
The M50i comes with all-wheel drive and upgrades to 20-way power front seats, Harmon Kardon 16-speaker system, a three-spoke leather-wrapped M steering wheel, and all the M suspension bits.
Even though the package options have been streamlined in recent years, BMW has plenty of places for you to spend more money. Softer leather upholstery, deeper sport buckets, driving assistants, a head-up display, 21- or 22-inch wheels, light-up grille, glass controls, wireless smartphone charging, cooled front seats, heated rear seats, premium audio, and a night-vision camera are all on the options list.
There’s more that take luxury to that next level. These include the Sky Lounge panoramic roof that has more than 15,000 illuminated points to simulate a night sky, like a Rolls-Royce headliner. There are heated and cooled cupholders, soft-close doors, massaging seats, and the illuminated kidney grille that can remain on night or day. OK, we like these features far more than gesture controls.
More compelling available features include Laserlight headlights, which enable you to see twice as far down the road and is 10 times as strong as traditional LEDs, according to BMW. Another interesting feature is the heated front armrests that come standard on the M models.
One other standard feature we can get behind is the 4-year/50,000-mile limited warranty including three years of complementary scheduled maintenance.
With features like these, it’s easy to prefer the inside to the outside of the X6.
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