The X6 surprised me here, and in a good way. Upon sizing up its aggressive design, you might think that this is an SUV that's all about delivering a performance driving experience, even if it comes at the expense of ride comfort. That's not the case at all. While the suspension is definitely firm, it doesn't crash over large bumps in the road — which are unfortunately prevalent on the roads I frequent in Chicago — the way other cars can. What made this even more surprising was the fact that the X6 I tested came equipped with the Sport Package, which features an adaptive suspension and can have P275/40R20 performance tires in front and P315/35R20 rubber in back. Even on a sports car those would be considered extremely aggressive tires. Sharp rises in the road are met with quite a bit of suspension rebound.

You can tell BMW wants you to think of the X6 as a performance SUV from how the company has tuned its steering characteristics. Rather than having a lightweight feel to the wheel, the X6 demands that drivers flex their muscles to maneuver it. In fact, it doesn't feel that different from the steering in BMW's new small two-door, the 128i. The X6 responds readily to your command, and while I generally like heavier-feeling steering, non-enthusiast SUV shoppers might find it to be tedious after awhile.