Proof of the Existence of Highway Robbery
2.—The BMW X6 is Much Pricier than the Acura ZDX and the Options List is a Quick Route to Personal Bankruptcy
Our mid-level trim 2012 ZDX Tech came to $51,405 equipped with all of the essential luxury goodies anyone could possibly want. There is a more basic version available for $46,120 if you can live without Acura’s awesome in-dash navigation system and positively scrumptious ELS Premium Audio system. For our money, we would definitely go for the Tech version we drove as it strikes the best balance of features per dollar.
Tech geeks can also shell out $56,670 for a ZDX Advance with heated/ventilated seats offering six levels of cool or hot, a blind spot warning detection system, adaptive cruise control, a collision mitigation system that can apply the brakes for you if an accident is expected or you are just lazy, ambient interior lighting and the Integrated Dynamics system which adds levels of adjustability to the suspension.
Admittedly, of all the features we just talked about it is the Integrated Dynamics System that we most enjoyed during time behind the wheel of this top of the line ZDX. In the sportiest setting, this system truly closes any perceptible gap one may detect between the ZDX and X6 in regard to tight handling and a truly buttoned down driving experience.
Okay, BMW’s have always been expensive but here are the base prices for all three X6 models. The base 6-cylinder starts at “just” $59,800, the mid-level 8-cylinder skyrockets the price to $70,400, whereas the X6 M is available to greedy investment bankers and Russian mobsters for only $92,900 and remember this is all before BMW socks it to you with their options list. Really, BMW wants $1,000 for “special” blue or black paint?
Now, we could spend all week going over the prices found in any BMW product’s options sheet but we do actually appreciate that they finally stopped charging for Bluetooth 3 years after Kia and Hyundai did exactly that. Way to keep up. Here we are comparing the ZDX pricing with an X6 with the 6-cylinder so first off if you want a back-up camera and navigation in the BMW (these are essential) you should add $3,300 for the Premium Package.
Other packages are similarly pricey but the following charges are inexcusably greedy—satellite radio for one year is $350, a 3 passenger rear bench seat costs another $350, a plug for full connectivity to your iPhone is $249 and there is a $7,700 BMW Special Composition Package which apparently only nets you nicer leather on the seats and dash, an especially soft headliner material, increased power seat adjustability, some X6 door sill inserts and Eucalyptus RedBrown Wood Trim. That wood had better come from a really rare, endangered tree to make it worth that price.