BMW X6 M 2015-2018 review

It almost gets to this speed too effortlessly. You are kept somewhat isolated from the sensation of speed, meaning you really have to be travelling at some pace before you get a sense of it.

The efficient brakes mean you can carry vast amounts of this speed into a corner with confidence. They're of the high-performance compound sort - significantly larger than the previous BMW X6 M's - and the calipers are painted in the typical dark blue of M cars.

It sounds fast, too. The electronically controlled flaps on the exhaust system make the most of the V8, which produces a fantastic series of snarls, barks and roars. But for all of this noise, the X6 M still manages to keep itself in check when it needs to. It is remarkably calm at low speeds, and almost more so at motorway pace.

The X6 M comes with the Adaptive Dynamic suspension setup that makes other BMWs ride and handle so well. In Comfort mode it smoothed out the few pockmarks on the road surfaces of our test route to make the X6 a wonderfully fast cruiser. Even in Sport mode it still deals fantastically with all the lesser potholes you will encounter on a daily basis.

The rest of the cabin is standard X6, albeit with higher levels of luxury than you might get on lesser versions. Inside expect to find M Sport seats, Merino leather upholstery, wireless phone charging, wi-fi hotspot preparation, dual-zone climate control and an iDrive infotainment system with DAB, sat nav, a 20GB hard drive, and USB interface. Outside there is adaptive sports suspension, LED headlights, cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, powered tailgate, and auto lights and wipers.

One big fallback with the X6 M is its relative practicality. Its boot is smaller than all of its main rivals, at 580 litres, and the swooping bootline will make it harder to carry larger items. It is also only a four-seater, so won't be able to take as many passengers.

For all its capability, ultimately it's hard to recommend the BMW X6 M. Truthfully, there are other cars that do the individual jobs it performs as well or better. For instance, BMW's own M5 is just as fast and is more than £20,000 cheaper.