Opposites attract: MINI First vs. BMW X6 M

Today we've brought together:

The BMW X6 M and the MINI First.

Because:

They both come from the same Bavarian carmaker, but arguably couldn't be more opposed: one is an entry-level supermini with 75bhp, the other a race fettled SUV-cum-coupé with around seven times the power and eight times the price tag. These two cars truly show off BMW's breadth of talents.

The differences:

The MINI First is BMW's attempt to drag even more customers into its ever popular and ever-pricey brand by scaling everything back, including the engine, and making it more 'affordable'. It's still over £10,000, and it's about as well equipped as a box of eggs, but it's by far the cheapest way into brand MINI to date (short of buying used, obviously).

The X6 M is like a box of eggs too - Faberge eggs. If ever a car could be described as utterly decadent (and slightly pointless), this is it. BMW's M Division specialises in turning regular Beemers into track-honed, high-speed hypercars - and for that reason it claimed it would never overhaul the non-sporty 4x4 cars in BMW's line-up. It reneged on that promise, though, when it realised an £80,000 4x4 supercar could make lots of money - even during the credit crunch.

So, BMW now offers a circa-£10,000 hatch with a 75bhp 1.4-litre engine, not much more standard kit than some chairs and a steering wheel, and child room only in the back, while simultaneously selling a circa-£80,000 SUV with a 547bhp screaming V8, all the toys you could possibly need and enough room in the cabin to swing a small Arabian prince. Let's put it this way: the X6 M will get to 62mph in around a third of the time it takes the MINI (4.7 seconds), despite being about three times its size. It will also do so over a boggy Highland peak, whereas the MINI is as suitable for off-roading as a pair of high heels.

And most importantly, people are marginally less likely to dislike you for having the MINI, particularly vegetarians.

Any similarities:

We're struggling here to be honest, though both, in their own way, sacrifice space and practicality for style. Plus, there's no denying that BMW's strict dedication to quality is as apparent in the £10k machine as it is in the £80k one. Despite its lack of power and kit, buyers of a MINI First can be assured of exactly the same attention to detail and engineering integrity as the M Division product.

For that reason, both carry a significant amount of prestige. That said, they're still at opposite ends of the prestige spectrum - where the MINI has a genuinely classless appeal, this particular BMW positively screams "I'm considerably richer than you!"

If this pair was a double act, it'd be:

Fry and Laurie: one's really big, very quick and a dead cert to be popular in America shortly, while the other's a loveable little Brit that's already become a surprise smash hit across the pond.

Mark Nichol