In addition to the DSC mode and the specific setup of the shock absorbers and Servotronic steering, the driver may also configure the setup of the drivetrain on the X5 M and the X6 M. Activating the Power mode influences both engine and transmission behavior, and the driver can choose from the Sport and Efficiency driving programs. The Sport program allows precise control of engine power under the most dynamic driving conditions, and ensures a linear build-up of the power delivery. The Efficiency program, in turn, upshifts at earlier points not only to significantly reduce fuel consumption under normal driving conditions, but also to allow a relaxed style of driving by taking advantage of the new M engine's prodigious torque available from low engine speeds. The result, therefore, is an ideal combination of flexibility for daily use and all-out performance when desired.
When customizing the response of the steering wheel-mounted M Drive button, the driver uses the M Drive menu to pre-select the desired Power Mode and the setup of DSC and EDC, making a personalized combination of settings that can be activated on-demand. The driver's favorite settings are saved and activated at any time simply by pressing the M Drive button on the steering wheel.The BMW M philosophy naturally continues into the design and configuration of the driver's "office." Both of these all-wheel-drive high-performance sports vehicles come with a special M cockpit with the instrument cluster featuring a variable redline, specific vehicle function displays, and white display backlighting. Both the X5 M and the X6 M feature power, heated front M sport seats, an M sport leather steering wheel, M door sills, and driver's footrest.
Infotainment functions, standard on-board navigation with Real-Time Traffic data and communication functions are all controlled by BMW's fourth-generation iDrive. The standard audio system features 12 loudspeakers and a 230 watt amplifier. In addition, both the X5 M and the X6 M may be equipped with a Head-Up Display programmed specifically by BMW M. This option enables the driver to customize the type and scope of data projected onto the windshield through settings available in the M Drive menu.
Innovative driver assistance systems are fitted as well, with both models featuring standard Dynamic Cruise Control, Rain Sensor, Auto-Dimming Mirrors, Park Distance Control, and BMW's Xenon Adaptive Headlights. The list of optional features includes a Driver Assistance Package, which includes High-Beam Assistant, Head-Up Display, and Rear View Camera with the spectacular new Top View feature. Top View provides the driver with an "birds-eye view" of the vehicle on the iDrive control screen, using input from a camera on each side of the vehicle and the traditional rear-view camera. Top View provides the driver with additional confidence for tight parking scenarios.
The X5 M and X6 M come with extremely stiff bodyshells. To ensure maximum solidity, BMW's engineers focused on the use of intelligent lightweight materials technology. Both the choice of materials and the arrangement and geometry of the support bars, braces, and mounts on both models are based on an overall concept that combines maximum crash safety with supreme agility - which helps avoid crashes in the first place. At BMW, the ability to avoid a crash is the best safety feature of all.
Forces acting on the unibody in the event of a crash are diverted through the engine carriers and the chassis along several load paths in order to avoid extreme loads acting on individual structures and help keep impact energy away from the stable passenger cell.
Both the X5 M and BMW X6 M come with frontal and hip/thorax airbags, as well as curtain head airbags to protect the occupants both front and rear from injury. Three-point inertia-reel seatbelts are at all seating positions with force limiters and, on the front seats, an additional seatbelt pre-tensioning function. To help protect occupants from cervical spine injury in the event of a rear impact, the front seats feature crash-activated active head restraints. ISOFIX child seat anchors are standard on the rear seats.
All restraint systems are controlled by the vehicles' central safety electronics, which take the type and severity of a collision into account so that the most effective safety elements are activated in any given crash. The frontal airbags feature two-stage activation, to allow deployment in varying intensity as a function of crash severity. Networked with Dynamic Stability Control, the standard rollover sensors activate both the curtain airbags and the seatbelt pre-tensioners, to ensure occupants are best positioned for and protected from the unlikely event of a vehicle rollover.