[parky1215]

I recently finished 700-mile road trip during the Fourth of July weekend on my brand new 24 X6 M60i.
It now has little over 2000 mile on the odometer and I was finally able to do couple of kick downs to experience its true power. Please note that this comparison is based on the street and occasional joy rides around the city and not on a track.

24 X6 M60i specification

• Mineral White
• 22” M Double-spoke black wheels
• Tacora Red Sensafin with Fineline black wood trim
• M Sport Pro Package
• Parking Assistance Package
• Executive Package
• HK Sound System

Engine / Exhaust
I was eager to push M60i’s brand new S68 engine and experience the difference between S68 and M5’s S63 engine. Although M60i’s S68 is factory de-tuned engine from 24 X6M, it still has plenty of power for the street. I am not sure if 48v mild hybrid system has any significant impact on the power delivery, but M60i accelerates pretty well for such a heavy car. Obviously, acceleration is not like M5, but that’s expected for the car that is like 1000 lbs heavier and with 100 hp less. It still feels as quick as my previous car (20 C63s AMG coupe) with RENNtech tune producing about 550 hp.

Throttle response in M60i can be a bit touchy in comfort mode. Sometimes, it is responsive, and sometimes it feels little bit laggy. This is not an issue if you drive the car in sport/sport+ mode.

Exhaust sound is definitely big no-no on this car. It is simply very quiet. I tried to listen for the exhaust sound with windows down, but even in sport+ mode, sound is barely noticeable.
This X6 M60i replaced 20 MB C63s AMG coupe. When I first got 22 M5 Competition early last year, I thought that M5 had pathetic exhaust sound compare to my AMG. But the M60i takes one step further to the point that M5’s exhaust started sound good to my ear.
Even fully opening exhaust valve with dAHLer controller did not make significant difference. Definitely, something needs to be done to improve this.

Oh, and regarding Auto Stop & Start (A.S.S.), I thought I would absolutely hate it like I did in my previous cars. But it is not actually that bad with new mild hybrid technology. Engine wakes up really smooth and is unnoticeable most of the time. Only time I feel some vibration from engine waking up is when the engine restarts automatically while the car is still stop at the traffic light with brake pedal still depressed. Other minor annoyance is that A/C air gets warmer when A.S.S. kicks in.

Suspension / Handling
My past few cars have been sporty cars such as M3, M4, C63s, and etc. so I am used to driving a car with fairly stiff suspension setup. I immediately noticed significant body roll on my first light cornering attempt on the X6 M60i because M adaptive suspension in comfort mode is pretty soft and bouncy.
It feels so floaty that driving the car in uneven road may give passenger some nausea (commented by gf). Again, this may be because both I and my gf are used to driving high performance sedan/coupe, so I was not used to driving more comfortable riding SUV.

I purchased in-transit dealer spec car and Dynamic Handling Package (DHP) wasn’t an option.
However, nice thing about different suspension mode in M60i is that there is significant and noticeable difference between comfort and sport suspension setting.
Changing suspension setting to sport actually makes car noticeably stiffer and improves body roll issue.
Same thing cannot be said with M5 or my other previous sporty cars as I could barely notice any difference between comfort and sport suspension settings on those.
Now that I am used to driving this bigger SUV, I am able to confidently push the car a bit more on the corners and can say that the car drives like BMW in sport suspension mode.

I also feel like steering in comfort mode is too loose and soft so I have it set up as sport steering in sport individual mode. My normal commute driving setting is sport individual mode with suspension and steering set to sport and drivetrain set to comfort.

Overall, sport suspension mode in X6 M60i equals about 60-70% stiffness of the comfort suspension mode in M5 Competition.
Sport steering mode in M60i has very close feeling to that of the comfort steering mode setting in M5.

Braking performance is really nice on X6 on the city street. It feels very linear and easy to make the car stop very smooth. While I do feel the weight of the car under heavy braking, I prefer smooth braking of the X6 for the daily. M5's brake takes a bit more effort to make the car come to stop smooth because brake bites harder and is not so linear while coming to stop at slow speed. Of course, M5 brake with better bite is preferred for spirited driving, but X6 is better for daily commute.

Interior
Many people complain about full touch screen on LCI, but I actually like it quite a lot.
Screen size looks much bigger than the M5’s separate iDrive 7 screens, and I find the design cleaner and modern.
I am not sure when BMW changed M5’s A/C control button from physical button to touch screen, but I do not like the A/C control system in the M5.
The touch screen A/C control system in M5 is located so low and digital buttons are so small that it is kind of hard to press them while driving the car. It gets even worse when I have any drink sitting in front of it as large cup can block access to the A/C control screen.
On the X6 screen, A/C control is also touch screen, but it is located more at the eye level so it is much easier to use. Upcoming iDrive 8.5 should also bring some nice improvement on A/C interface.

Multi-contour seat is nice once you get it to the right position. However, it took me a while (like weeks) to get it to be in the correct position. I was able to quickly adjust the seating position and feel comfortable on the M5 and previous M/AMG cars with sport seats, but I was dealing with some back pain initially when driving X6.
After countless adjustment, I eventually found a good seating position.

Things that are missing in M60i
As noted above, all my previous cars past few years have been either M or AMGs. They all give nice way to customize your car’s setting including buttons to save the customization.
There are quite few things that are missing in M60i that is otherwise available on M cars such as individually configurable button for sport exhaust, suspension, engine dynamic, A.S.S., and more.
Some of these can be configured as Sport Individual as quick access button. Only problem with this is that you can no longer configure interior LED light when you switch to any Sport mode. The interior light will always be stuck in bright red in the center area and bright blue for both foot and roof area (correction: this feature can be disable within Lightning Effect menu).
Also, gauge cluster display seems to be missing some of the M only displays such as being able to see setting for each individual components, transmission gear numbering display in D mode, real-time PSI for the tires, and so on.

Conclusion
X6 M60i is a nice sporty SUV that can give you plenty of fun with its powerful acceleration and do couple of rapid cornering here and there.
However, for the sake of your passenger’s comfort level and for your own fun factor, I suggest either drive your car in sport suspension mode or add DHP to your X6 order. I have not personally driven M60i with DHP, but have heard nothing but good things about it.
One big complaint I have is the exhaust sound. BMW should be ashamed of releasing this car with such a pathetic exhaust setup that kills pretty much all the nice V8 sounds that is coming out from the car.

Other things
I already got couple of CELs during my short ownership of the X6.
First CEL I got was right after finishing first 300-mile power-reduced driving mode. This was little weird. As soon as I connected OBD scanner to read the code, CEL automatically got cleared so I was not able pull the code.
Second CEL I got is 2 weeks ago at around 2000 mile. I was actually able to read the code for this one.
U0129: Lost communication with brake system control module.
I cleared the code because I did not find anything wrong with the brake system.
Code has not come back after 500 miles.
Also, recently got "Emergency call system malfunction" message which automatically disappeared on the next ignition on cycle.

[TechCTU]

Nice overview!

The sound in the 60i does not change even in sport mode? I thought the flaps open in sport mode?

[parky1215]

Originally Posted by TechCTU

Nice overview!

The sound in the 60i does not change even in sport mode? I thought the flaps open in sport mode?

Yes, it does change little bit but the noise change might be due pumped in speaker sound. It is still quite hard to hear actual exhaust sound from outside even if I set the valve to open 100% of them time using a valve controller.
I think something more aggressive (eg. downpipe) needs to be done in order to bring out the sound on X6 M60i.

[mojoJJ]

parky1215 have you observed excessive wind noise in the cabin at speeds over 30mph? How’s the overall noise insulation of the cabin? There might be something wrong with my car because the wind noise is excessive and overall noise insulation is bad; so much so that I can hear the car in my blind spot.

[parky1215]

Originally Posted by mojoJJ

parky1215 have you observed excessive wind noise in the cabin at speeds over 30mph? How’s the overall noise insulation of the cabin? There might be something wrong with my car because the wind noise is excessive and overall noise insulation is bad; so much so that I can hear the car in my blind spot.

I did not notice any exessive wind noise even when going over 80+ mph. Car is really well insulated as far as wind noise goes (another reason why it's hard to hear outside exhaust sound).
You might want to bring in for service if you hear excessive wind noise over 30 mph.

[mobilejo]

Originally Posted by parky1215

Only problem with this is that you can no longer configure interior LED light when you switch to any Sport mode. The interior light will always be stuck in bright red in the center area and bright blue for both foot and roof area.

Wait, what? Are you saying that the ambient interior lighting can not be any other colour when in Sport mode?

[hufington]

Originally Posted by mobilejo

Wait, what? Are you saying that the ambient interior lighting can not be any other colour when in Sport mode?

Who the heck knows why they did this!

[parky1215]

Originally Posted by mobilejo

Wait, what? Are you saying that the ambient interior lighting can not be any other colour when in Sport mode?

Originally Posted by hufington

Who the heck knows why they did this!

Yes, unfortunately no. If you go to ambient light setting while in sport mode, color changing option is grayed out

[mobilejo]

Originally Posted by parky1215

Yes, unfortunately no. If you go to ambient light setting while in sport mode, color changing option is grayed out

Well that sucks. I drive in Sport mode exclusively, so I'd basically have one ambient light setting. It's like everyday I learn something that makes me less likely to ever get an LCI.

[wardy007]

Yep, those were the three that killed off my order:
Red lighting ONLY in Sport mode.. WTF?
No ASS off option.
NO Exhaust sound whatsoever.. just simply staggering!

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by mobilejo

Wait, what? Are you saying that the ambient interior lighting can not be any other colour when in Sport mode?

Yes. It can. I have mine blue all the time.

It’s a change in the lighting settings.

But it defaults to sport mode=red lighting.

[The Stig]

Originally Posted by parky1215

Yes, unfortunately no. If you go to ambient light setting while in sport mode, color changing option is grayed out

It’s not in mine.

I am in sport mode right now and have the blue lighting on

[ddavtian]

Originally Posted by wardy007

Yep, those were the three that killed off my order:
Red lighting ONLY in Sport mode.. WTF?
No ASS off option.
NO Exhaust sound whatsoever.. just simply staggering!

Interesting reasons to cancel a great car. I would not guess people decide to get X6 M60i or not based on ambient light color.

Lights are controlled by this setting, you can have it be fixed color for sports and eco modes, or pick any other color.

For ASS off, drive with sports transmission, then it doesn't turn it off.

I wish it sounded louder but that's not affecting the drive. I get my cars to drive, not to listen to exhaust.


OP, great review. I got fully loaded one a month ago, drove across the country. It's not my previous M cars, but it's still a great car.

[jad03060]

Aren't vehicle sound level requirements showing up more and more around the world? IOW, a loud vehicle may become a total thing of the past.

Keep in mind that a turbocharger effectively dampens the exhaust sound, and throw in a muffler, it may not let all that much through.

[cobramite]

I don't think anyone here is expecting a BMW V8 powered SUV to be obnoxiously loud to the point of requiring legislation. What we don't care for is a V8 exhaust being emasculated to the point of a damn Prius.

[cobramite]

Originally Posted by jad03060

Aren't vehicle sound level requirements showing up more and more around the world? IOW, a loud vehicle may become a total thing of the past.

Keep in mind that a turbocharger effectively dampens the exhaust sound, and throw in a muffler, it may not let all that much through.

Doesn't look like the engineers at Ford got that memo.
https://www.google.com/search?q=2024...id:KZM91_GYG7k

Neither did the guys at GM:
https://www.google.com/search?q=c8+z...id:Jg1yflulM5k

[LDT]

Drove my M60i about 500 miles today. The Hwy Assist + is great. Hands free except on curvy mountain roads. It wants me to take over which is fine. The X5 will reach triple digits in a jiffy. Used CarPlay/Google Maps and listened to tunes on Tidal without interruption. 22” wheels/tires are a bit noisy on concrete freeways with expansion joints. Silky smooth on asphalt. ODO now at 750m so I can let her rip. Very happy with my choice of vehicles. NO comfort access on rear doors is a pain in the ass but I’ll get over it (maybe).

[parky1215]

Originally Posted by The Stig

It’s not in mine.

I am in sport mode right now and have the blue lighting on

Originally Posted by ddavtian

Interesting reasons to cancel a great car. I would not guess people decide to get X6 M60i or not based on ambient light color.

Lights are controlled by this setting, you can have it be fixed color for sports and eco modes, or pick any other color.

For ASS off, drive with sports transmission, then it doesn't turn it off.

I wish it sounded louder but that's not affecting the drive. I get my cars to drive, not to listen to exhaust.


OP, great review. I got fully loaded one a month ago, drove across the country. It's not my previous M cars, but it's still a great car.

I was not aware that this setting existed. I will try this out next time!

[TurtleBoy]

Originally Posted by LDT

Drove my M60i about 500 miles today. The Hwy Assist + is great. Hands free except on curvy mountain roads. It wants me to take over which is fine. The X5 will reach triple digits in a jiffy. Used CarPlay/Google Maps and listened to tunes on Tidal without interruption. 22” wheels/tires are a bit noisy on concrete freeways with expansion joints. Silky smooth on asphalt. ODO now at 750m so I can let her rip. Very happy with my choice of vehicles. NO comfort access on rear doors is a pain in the ass but I’ll get over it (maybe).

You are still about 500 miles short of the break-in period so probably want to still follow the procedures for awhile.

[BMthusiast]

Thank you for your perspective on the G06 S68! My order's nearly at delivery so I'm getting prepared for arrival. The main thing I need to brace myself for is the auto start-stop thing, but I'm fine with paddle shifting in traffic so not really that big an issue for me. Exhaust wise, I found a solution for secondary cats and replacing the oem muffler with valve-controlled dual silencers. Power wise I'll get the output increased with Racechip GTS Black. Not too expensive of mods overall. Also, I'll be getting the badging blacked-out and the M Performance steering wheel.

[parky1215]

Originally Posted by BMthusiast

Thank you for your perspective on the G06 S68! My order's nearly at delivery so I'm getting prepared for arrival. The main thing I need to brace myself for is the auto start-stop thing, but I'm fine with paddle shifting in traffic so not really that big an issue for me. Exhaust wise, I found a solution for secondary cats and replacing the oem muffler with valve-controlled dual silencers. Power wise I'll get the output increased with Racechip GTS Black. Not too expensive of mods overall. Also, I'll be getting the badging blacked-out and the M Performance steering wheel.

Which valve controller dual silencer are you looking to get?

[BMthusiast]

Originally Posted by parky1215

Which valve controller dual silencer are you looking to get?

Just a standard one by Valvetronic.

https://valvetronic.com/products/uni...39496535113764