2021 BMW X6

Car and Driver (opens in a new tab) says the 2021 X6 lineup adds some new standard features, drops some old ones and gets revised option packages, the most notable addition being Android Auto, which was not previously available and now comes standard alongside the standard 12.3-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay. It describes the 523-horsepower, 553-pound-foot twin-turbo V-8 as a lot more expensive than the standard six-cylinder but still better value than the six-figure X6 M, and says it reached 60 mph in 3.8 seconds at its test track.

MotorTrend (opens in a new tab) adds that a 48-volt mild-hybrid system was added to the 40i models, and that remote start and ventilated front seats became standard on the M50i. Car and Driver lists the rear-drive X6 40i at 21 mpg city and 26 highway.

NHTSA lists seven recall campaigns across the X6 and X6 M for this model year. The ones that affect how the car stops, steers or rolls are 21V062000, where the rotor and shaft in the integrated brake system may not have been welded properly and could separate in a hard stop, causing loss of ABS and brake assist, 21V031000, where the steering column's universal-joint connection may not be tightened to specification and can become loose, and 20V483000, where certain Pirelli tires may have a damaged inner layer and lose pressure quickly. The others are 20V761000, a 48-volt battery-to-starter-generator connection that may not be assembled properly, 20V528000, headlamps that may show a blue light, 21V096000, a rearview image that may be partly obscured when shifting into reverse, and 22V267000, a sunroof that may close without the key fob inside the car.

Owners have filed seven complaints with NHTSA on this model year: service brakes, electrical system and forward collision avoidance with 2 each, and hydraulic, air bags and engine cooling with 1 each. ProblemsByVin (opens in a new tab) declines to issue a buy-or-avoid verdict on a sample this small, and that is the right reading: the record is thin, and what it shows mainly points to the brake, electrical and driver-assistance systems worth having inspected.

Kelley Blue Book (opens in a new tab) lists the cheapest 2021 X6, the xDrive40i, at a Fair Purchase Price of $38,300, with trade-in values of about $33,400 to $37,300 and private-party values of about $36,900 to $42,700 depending on trim. KBB lists fuel economy from 16/22 mpg to 21/26 depending on trim. The M50i and X6 M cost considerably more, and the brake-assembly recall is the thing to verify on any used one.

EPA rates the 2021 X6 at 15 to 23 mpg combined and $3,350 to $5,150 a year in fuel. The 2021 Mercedes-Benz GLE-Class rates 16 to 23 at $3,350 to $4,850, the 2021 Audi Q8 is 20 at $3,900 and the 2021 Porsche Cayenne 17 to 21 at $3,700 to $4,550. The X6 has the widest spread of EPA ratings and fuel costs of the four because it is sold from the six-cylinder up to the M.