BMW X6 SUV (2014-2019) - Interior & comfort

If you’ve ever driven a BMW X5, then the BMW X6’s interior will seem very familiar. The X6’s raised suspension means you get a good view of the road ahead, and a wide range of adjustment for the steering wheel and driver’s seat should make it easy to get comfortable. Rear visibility isn’t great and the X6’s size makes it tricky in tight spots, although all models come with a reversing camera and parking sensors front and rear.

The X6 is a quiet cruiser at speed, with very little road noise despite all models having huge 20-inch alloy wheels. The adjustable suspension allows you to set the car up for comfort or sporty driving. In Sport and Sport+ modes, the ride can become unsettled, but this is easily remedied by choosing the softer suspension settings via the BMW iDrive system.

BMW X6 dashboard

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The BMW X6’s dashboard is focused on the driver and the car’s big transmission tunnel gives the driving seat a cosy ‘cockpit’ feel. It also has the latest version of BMW’s iDrive infotainment system and a wide 10.25-inch screen. This reduces the need for conventional buttons and allows BMW to smarten up the interior with a variety of high-quality trim finishes. The majority of the plastics used are soft to touch and all X6s come with leather upholstery and attractive ambient lighting.

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Equipment

The X6 is very well equipped and gets cruise control that can automatically brake the car, an eight-speed automatic gearbox, sat nav, automatic lights and wipers, heated seats, xenon headlights and tyre-pressure monitors. Thanks to BMW's 'remote services', you can even lock or unlock the car from your smartphone, using a dedicated app. This also gives you access to handy information about the car, like how far it can go with the remaining fuel in its tank.

Additionally, all models have M Sport styling, 20-inch alloy wheels, adaptive M Sport suspension, twin exhaust pipes and an M Sport steering wheel. The M50d also features some styling tweaks to distinguish it from the 30d and 40d, including model-specific 20-inch M Sport double-spoke alloy wheels.

Options

There’s no shortage of options to choose from if you want to spend more money on your BMW X6, and the company’s adaptive LED headlights are likely to be a popular choice. They cost £1,500, are brighter than conventional headlights and can remain on full beam without blinding other drivers.

The £1,000 head-up display means you can see information such as sat-nav directions without taking your eyes off the road. BMW also offers several different packages for the X6, which are cheaper than specifying the options individually. These include a Security pack (including lane change warnings and a speed limit display), a Cold Weather pack and an M Sport Plus pack, along with those more orientated to exterior and interior design embellishments.

Apple CarPlay is a £235 option which is disappointing on a car costing over £60,000. If you enjoy listening to high-end audio you can add a Bang & Olufsen stereo for £3,000, although as this has to be combined with the M Sport Plus package (at £2,195) it’s a rather expensive way of getting the best sound system in the X6.