27 May 08
'Excuse me sir. With all due respect, your car is very ugly, isn't it?'
This came from a dishevelled local unloading his van at the last gift shop at the most northerly tip of the Scotland. Those in glasshouses shouldn't throw stones...
I resist the temptation to subtly restyle the BMW X6 using him as a live bonnet ornament, but it's already almost 2pm and we set off, using the A99 from John O'Groats. The road, one of the most dangerous in the UK, deserves plenty of respect. It's undulating, twisting and it coils along a barren, but beautiful coastline with plenty of tricky cambers and blind crests to catch the unwary out. There's also the added distraction of a terrific view of the North Sea.
Here the X6 is impressive, belying its mass. Its steering is saloon-car quick and far more accurate than a Range Rover Sport, tipping into corners with uncanny agility. It has tenacious grip and traction: its ability to shuffle torque fore and aft as well as side to side means the X6 is fantastically nimble when exiting corners.
Photographer Phil meanwhile is not so impressed, bemoaning the absence of 'oh Jesus!' grab handles - something he reached for in vain while negotiating tighter corners at speed.
