BMW X6 M50d first drive

A dusting of styling tweaks murmur the BMW X6’s facelift: a broader grille, repositioned fogs and revised rear lights accentuate the car’s existing width, and there are new paint and leather shades.

But the big news is BMW’s new triple-turbo diesel, which becomes the world’s most powerful six-cylinder oil-burner. It’s an evolution of the twin-blown 3.0-litre that powers the 30d (241bhp) and 40d (301bhp), and is the first oil-burner in the M Performance range that sits below whole-milk M cars.

Not that the X6 M50d is poke-starved – its mighty 546lb ft of torque trumps the X6 M by a comfortable 45lb ft. A small, variable-geometry turbo works at low revs, a larger blower joins the fray at 1500rpm, and a second small turbo kicks in at 2600rpm. All this bites 1.2sec from the 40d’s 0-62mph metric, despite a 40kg penalty.

Progress through the turbos’ overlapping dialogue is smooth, though the work of the final two is noticeable as the M50d approaches maximum hurl, and there are ample revs to enjoy. Yet the X6 M’s talent for belittling pace endures here - regular reality checks of the speedo are recommended. Step on the throttle from constant speed and there is brief lag, though, denying BMW’s aspirations of linear progression.