There is no such thing as a monster, but they can be perceived as large angry animals that are feared by most or small purple or green cuddly toys that are adored by children, the monster comes in various forms, loved and hated. This monster is a huge, snarling diesel BMW estate.

The BMW X6 M50d is not as the badge on the boot may imply a five litre engine, but is in fact a three litre straight six. Regardless of size, this engine produces a whopping 381bhp, goes from 0-62mph in an amazing 5.3 seconds and has the top speed restricted to 155mph.

The car we had on test was in Alpine White and looked brilliant; it really stood out in a crowd. The interior had high quality black nappa leather and alcantara trim which looked magnificent. The size of the X6 is much larger than it appears on the road, when you leave it in a car park you cannot fail to spot it on your return as it towers above everything else. While standing alongside the X6 I could really appreciate just how big, wide and particularly tall this vehicle is.

The official combined fuel consumption figure is 37.7mpg, but during the time we had the car it showed an average of 29.2mpg on the on-board computer, which is not a bad result for such a large and heavy car with a lot of horsepower. The C02 figure however at 204g/km will not suit anyone who wants to appear to be eco-friendly.

The basic price of the car is around £60,000, but add a few nice options and you can easily top £72,000. The car we had was fitted with Adaptive LED headlights that were so bright that even on the darkest winter night they shone so brightly and transformed night into day, whether they are worth £1,387 however is debateable.

 

 The X6 is agile and drives more like an expensive sports car than a large 4x4

Driving the X6 is easy, despite its size everything is in the right place the controls, switches and levers are all intuitive, and within just a few minutes you feel as though you have been driving it for years. The X6 is agile and drives more like an expensive sports car than a large 4x4. Handling is typical of a BMW, it goes around corners without any drama’s or worries. The braking is good and the X6 feels rock solid on any road surface at any speed, and with a very smooth 8-speed automatic gearbox pulling away in any situation is effortless.

The luggage area is large, but not excessively as the rear windows angle takes away quite a bit of room, in this case BMW have gone for design over functionality. The X6 M50d is large and powerful, looks stunning to most but is not to everyone’s taste, it is graceful yet bold, and its stance and size can be frightening to other road users, but at heart it’s a docile easy to use car.

This X6 really is a Monster, in the nicest possible terms.