X6 M Competition

Some cars are chosen for how they drive, others for how they arrive. The X6 M Competition does both, but it is the arrival that steals the show: that raked tail in Marina Bay Blue pulling up to the valet of a five-star hotel in Porto Cervo, those swollen wheel arches filling the mirrors of whoever you are following on the road to Baja Sardinia. On the Costa Smeralda, aesthetics is a language — and this SUV coupé speaks it fluently.

By day, though, it is the Gallura that gives it the terrain it deserves: the granite folds between Arzachena and San Pantaleo, the descents towards Cannigione, the loop that climbs inland from Porto Rotondo. To plan the right route, our complete guide to supercar rental on the Costa Smeralda gathers roads, advice and stops tested kilometre by kilometre.

The 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 does not chase high notes: it works from low down, with a baritone soundtrack that only turns menacing when you push past 4,000 rpm. Launch control compresses 0–100 km/h into 3.9 seconds, but it is the surge that follows that leaves passengers speechless. The eight-speed gearbox, set to its most aggressive Drivelogic calibration, fires through the ratios with a calibrated violence that never tips into harshness.

Compared with a conventional SUV, the roofline tapering towards the tail lowers the centre of gravity in your hands as much as on paper: the X6 M settles into corners with a coupé's composure, the steering is dense and precise, and the compound brakes bite without fading even after twenty downhill hairpins. It is a car that makes you forget its size remarkably quickly.

When the first X6 appeared, the idea of an SUV with a coupé roofline looked like a provocation. Today it is an entire category, and this generation in M Competition form remains its benchmark: four adults travel comfortably despite the arching roof, and the boot swallows a week's luggage without complaint.

Those who choose it have usually already ruled out the classic SUV: they want the distinctive object, not the extra space. To weigh it against the alternatives in a fleet of more than 100 models and 150+ versions, it is worth browsing the luxury SUVs for rent in Sardinia or the complete BMW line-up.