2015 BMW X6 M

BMW's X6 M is a bit like telemarketing and door-to-door fundraising: it might be annoying to some of us, but it must be a money-maker, or else it wouldn't exist.

Based on the standard X6, the X6 M is the high-performance extension of that controversial crossover, or sport activity vehicle, as BMW calls it.

For the moment, BMW has the tiny sliver of a market for fast, fastback crossovers to itself: Mercedes-Benz is only this year getting ready to launch its GLE Coupe, which will be available in high-po AMG form to keep up with this M ute.

The BMW's speed comes from a 4.4L turbo V8 shared with the lesser X6 xDrive50i, but tuned for loads more power: in the M, it makes 567 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque, figures that make this (and the similarly-motivated X5 M) the most powerful cars in BMW's lineup. An eight-speed automatic transmission and AWD are standard.

Fuel consumption, according to Natural Resources Canada test methods, is estimated at 16.6/12.1 L/100 km (city/highway).

This year sees the X6 M adopt updated styling shared with the standard model, though from the outside, those changes are mostly in the details; the car's basic shape is unchanged.

The X6 M's feature list is long, adopting all of the stuff from the standard models, and adding M-specific items like 21-inch wheels, sport seats, heated rear seats, 16-speaker, 600-watt stereo, head-up display and four-zone automatic climate control.

And that's in addition to steerable Xenon automatic headlights, adaptive brake lights, fog lights, heated, auto-dimming, and power-folding side mirrors and windshield washer jets, front and rear park assist, backup camera, rain-sensing wipers, auto-dimming rearview mirror, heated steering wheel and front seats, power-adjustable tilt-and-telescopic steering, power tailgate, 10-way power-adjustable front seats with driver memory, Dakota leather seat upholstery, dual-zone automatic climate control, nine-speaker stereo with USB and auxiliary inputs and CD player, Bluetooth, soft-close doors, garage door opener, navigation, and voice control for navigation, telephone and stereo functions.