I was driving by the BMW factory in Spartanburg the other day when I came across a convoy of X5s, when I noticed three test mules in between. I took what pictures I could going 70 mph on a busy interstate with my cell phone, and here ya go. Definitely a sporty looking crossover, like the Infiniti FX, but more like the 6 series coupe. Really angular in the back, and more like a beefier 6 series coupe. Real sharp, angular front end that was sleek. Not a hgue BMW fan, but looked real sharp!
jason

 

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I hate cross-over vehicles, the X3 is rubbish, the X5 revolting. I expect the X6 to be puke inducing.....

 

It ain't really that bad..... :-)
jason

 

better people should be driving big old SUV's with high centers of gravity or tiny two passenged German designed and British made retro cars eh??

<--- proud owner of a crossover (and it replaced a second MINI)

 

Uh, actually the cars are British designed, I believe, and these are not "retro" cars, these are the natural progression from the original. The PT Cruiser is a "retro" car. But I agree that crossovers are good for some people. Big SUVs are not. But MINIs are your friend! :-)
jason

 

the BMW Z3 started the retro thing. The MINI came along about at the same time and both lines of thinking are correct....natural progression and retro. How else would you explain the decades gap? enough....off topic....

one thing is for sure whether you hate or love the X6...it's nice to have choices.

 

What decades gap between the old Mini, which was made through 2000, and the new MINI, which debuted shortly after???
jason

 

decades between design

 

"the BMW Z3 started the retro thing."

What about the miata?

 

Yeah, talk about a rebadged MG if I ever saw one!
jason

 

Erm, actually the original Miata was an almost carbon copy of the 1960's Lotus Elan.

 

I really do not get these cross-over 'lifestyle' vehicles, they appear to be aimed at a set of 'wannabee's'. People that want to portray an active lifestyle.

It appears to me that a lifestyle vehicle is one which supports your butch manly hobbies which involve towing, carrying and driving through mud (SUV) or perhaps you are a mixed up induvidual that wants to driver through mud and then race around the Nurburgring ? (X5)

I can almost get the X5 and the Cayenne / Toureg - all three (two?) can tow a boat and are smart and sophisticated when that is what you need, but for the same / less money you could get a really good truck for boat duty and a nice 540i / Passat V6 / Audi A6 and not have the horrible compromise that the former requires, you could get a wonderfully smart and fine-handling sedan for the 364 days / year that you are not towing your boat to the lake. Or, preay tell, do you buy the X5 because you want people to perceive you as the type of guy (girl) that owns a boat, or has a lifestyle that requires hauling stuff ?

See what I mean ?

You get the X5 to portray a lifestyle. Even BMW advertise it as an SUV for the Nurburgring, they do not show towing a 30ft boat, nor doing a mountain goat impression. They just tell the world that it could. Assuming you owned a boat, or ventured any further off road than the parking lot.

Its the image that counts....

But the other so-called lifestype cars ?

The X3 for instance - what the heck use is it ? It seems any piece of crap jacked-up junk with an inflated price tag is called a “Lifestyle car”. See also VW New-Beetle, PT Cruiser etc, That Dodge thing even to an extent our beloved Mini.

In what possible way is an X3 an adjunct or enabler to any particular lifestyle except that of being in debt on finance and going shopping quite a lot being a happy little consumer drone.

Anyone?

I can’t see you fording wild rivers with a dozen deer carcass on the back of it for sure, have you seen how pathetic is it at towing much more than a single jetski ? and do you really want to admit that you really could not afford the X5 ? The X3 is, to me, the absolute worst thing in the BMW lineup, it is a poor mans X5, or a wannabe's lifestyle statement.

To me it simply says 'sheep' or maybe 'fashion victim'.

No it would not be any good at rounding them up, but more that the implied lifestyle was a factor in the purchase

You see it is actually, it’s a lifestyle statement. You see you need to remember we can no longer tell the difference between “lifestyle” and “fashion”.

Or maybe that should be the difference between “lifestyle” and “some pre-packaged load of old junk we sold to you at a premium price because it’s a lifestyle necessity item”

The X3 was invented because people wanted the (pretty good) X5 but could not afford it, so they got the mini version of it.

So you see the X5 I can almost cope with except they are rather dull to drive compared to a 540i and the step-up into the drivers seat is tedious, and the steering is vague and the thing pitches under braking and I really just think that I have left the boat at home......

The X6 ? X3 ? X7 ? Xn I can really live without.....

 

i dont know whats the point of having the X6 in production!!

 

MaxN,

A lot of crossover owners do not buy them to "portray an image." They buy them because they're practical in many cases.

A lot of people need the extra space because they have kids, perhaps a dog, etc..but they have no intentions of going off-road or towing a boat.

A crossover vehicle will offer the space and utility of a traditional suv, while offering better fuel economy and much better on-road driving dynamics as well.

Think of crossovers as sedans with lots of extra space, rather than suvs that lack ruggedness..and you might understand their draw.

And vehicles like the X3, X5, etc are NOT useless. Just because someone needs the space of a crossover doesn't mean they don't appreciate good handling and quick acceleration. The BMW suvs are pretty good at blending the feel of a traditional BMW sports sedan with the utility of an suv.

And as you seem to hate the X3 so much, I'll try to explain it's existence: Not every potential buyer wants a mid-fullsize 7 passenger vehicle.

I would consider an X3 as a second vehicle, but I would NEVER buy an X5..I just don't like vehicles that large. The X3 is a really nice size..it's not reserved only for posers.

 

Hey I know exactly where you where! You are at the Augusta Rd exit in Greenville, SC in the pics- my wife used to work right near there. I used to see test mules and prototypes pretty often when I lived in SC, that was pretty cool.

 

simple fix for this you know. don't buy one.

 

*looks at current car collection

Nope - no SUV, SAV's or the like

 

Yep, that's where I was! Cool.
jason

 

do you have kids and/or large dogs? Some of us do and a MINI won't cut it. Trust me...I tried....sold the wife's Cabrio for an FX35AWD.

 

Its funny, but back in the days when i had three children to move around, we managed to 'cope' with a Ford Escort.

Oh and just the one Ford Escort (three door) too between us.

After that we 'coped' with a Saab 900.

There is absolutely no need to buy a huge SUV the moment you hear the patter of tiny feet, unless you are especially bad at planning (ie you have to take EVERYTHING when you go to the shops) or you are buying into the lifestyle that the SUV portrays.

for 350+ days of the year, only one or two seats are occupied in my Mini or my wife's 325i. On the days that we need more space we rent a mini-van or an SUV. When my Brother and his wife and son came out here we rented a Chrysler mini-van. Oddly enough although it seated everyone the luggage space was rubbish.

So when my friends (3) came out we rented a big sedan - not sure what it was - but the seating was maybe slighly tighter, but the luggage capacity was incredible.

I would argue that unless you NEED the hatch for dogs, a Sedan is a much better proposition than a SAV/SUV simply based on the luggage space.

I would further argue that unless you need the ground clearance a wagon version of a sedan is a much better proposition - easier to park, easier to load and better to use day-to-day.

If you need the ground clearance and off-road ability, may I suggest a Range Rover or a Jeep ? andthing that is 4x2 is not going to cut it and is (again) a vehicle that looks the part, but isn't.

see the problem ?

SAV's and SUV's are terrible compromises that portray a lifestyle yet usually fail to live up to the dream.

 

Although advertisers won't say it this way, crossovers are marketed to people who need a stationwagon or minvan, but don't want to get that. In fact throw sliding doors on curren crossovers (such as Mazda CX-7 or 9, the new Highlander, Buick Enclave, GMC Arcadia etc) and you have a nice-looking minivan.
Don't get me wrong, nothing against wagons (that's my second car afterall) -- but lets call a spade a spade.

 

By the way, based on the spy shots on Edmund's Inside Line, the back of the X6 should continue to slope down (as it appears to do right before the cladding on the above pictures) and the angles you see above are nothing more than plastic cammo. The natural line of the roof is easy to picture/imagine in the pic you have of the X6 from the front (the one shoing a truck next to it).

Cool catch with those photos though.

 

Yeah, I agree..but that doesnt take away from their practicality.

 

^ Nope, like I said, there is a market for wagons and minivans (I myself have one), and this is merely different packaging (which I admit is often more attractive . . . though I do wish that wagons were more popular in the States, so that we could benefit from wider selection . . . oh, if only the M5 waogn was being offered in the States -- I still wouldn't be able to afford it . . . but at least I could dream).

Personally I would take my 3-series wagon over an X3 any day . . . and likewise, I prefer the 5-series wagon to the X5 (same practicality, but better handling/mileage), but to each their own -- in fact, the only reason my wife hasn't traded in the 3-series wagon for the new X5 is that she doesn't want to give up the manual transmision.