Sania Nehwal, the famous Badminton player, is one of the proud owners of the BMW cars in India. She has two BMWs - the X6 crossover and 3 Series saloon. The BMW 3 Series was gifted by the Andhra Badminton Association in praise of her Bronze-medal winning performance at the 2012 London Olympics. Saina Nehwal’s cars are very precious to her as she said “A ring of even Rs. 1 crore or Rs. 2 crores will not make much of a difference or make me as happy as a car.”
The badminton star loves enjoying long drives with her sporty BMW X6 luxury crossover-coupe. The X6 is one of the popular celebrity cars that is also owned by the Salman Khan.
The X6, launched in 2008, was the first Sports Activity Coupe (SAC) from the German automaker that combines attributes of a SUV and a coupe. Features like high ground clearance, large wheels and tyres and all wheel drive are borrowed to make it a sports utility vehicle, while the sloping roof, bold styling and stances resemble a coupe. The crossover has a rare blend of athletic design, agility and dynamic performance control.
The moustache like wider frontal air intakes, kidney grilles, new light arrangement, prominent rear wheel arches, coupe roofline, bold horizontal lines and masculine diffuser add more to its broad, sporty and muscular appearance. Its interior design is inspired from the X5, especially the centre console, dashboard and front seats. The material quality, too, resembles the X5. That said, knee pads on the centre console and steering wheel with gearshift paddles mark distinction. It has plenty of space and features to offer.
The X6 houses a twin-turbocharged, six-cylinder diesel machine to derive power from. It’s quick and refined. A new TwinPower turbo V8 petrol engine, combined with direct petrol injection and BMW EfficientDynamics technology, is also on offer. It’s one of the most efficient power-units in its league. Despite a heavy and big body-built, the crossover drives so well across different rev-ranges. Power supply is instant and smooth. The 8-speed Steptronic sport gearbox offers choice between different driving modes though the gear lever or gearshift paddles.
The vehicle easily absorbs minor abrasions on rough surface, and offers amazing stability. It’s quite comfortable on smooth roads. The X6’s optional Active Steering increases speed and assistance at low revs, while reducing applied lock and assistance at high revs. The intelligent BMW xDrive four-wheel drive system and Dynamic stability control ensure fine traction and stability throughout off-roading. The X6 also gets driver assistance features such as BMW head-up display, surround view, driving assistant plus, navigation system professional, park assistant and BMW night vision with dynamic light sport.
