Test: BMW XM – The ultimate M car is an SUV?

What the hell kind of creation is this?

This right here is the BMW XM. And no, that is not a car from a new Chinese car brand as some passers-by thought. And no, it’s not a concept car or prototype either. You can already buy the XM and you can already see it on the road. It is BMW’s answer to cars such as the Lamborghini Urus, the Bentley Bentayga, the Aston Martin DBX, the Range Rover or perhaps even the (2.5 times as expensive) Ferrari Purosangue. All super SUVs that operate a class higher than the BMW X5 and X6. It is actually only available as an M model and, after the M1, is the second car to be made entirely by BMW Motorsport. So there will be no good 30d version. The design is quite startling and BMW continues with its extreme design after creations such as the X6, the X4, the i7 and the grille of the 4 series. Perhaps the brand is structurally far ahead of its time, as was the case with the X6. To sprinkle with some numbers: the XM is 5.11 meters long, 2 meters wide and weighs 2,700 kilograms. The wheelbase is 3.10 meters, more than some small city cars ever were.

No good design at BMW.

A modern M is certainly electric?

Not yet. Yes, there is a fully electric iX M60, but that is an M-performance model, not a thoroughbred M. The XM is (on paper) and still has a V8 and an electric motor and a large battery. It’s a PHEV. The petrol engine is the new 4.4 liter twin-turbo V8 from (among others) the X6 M60i. It delivers 490 hp. There is an eight-speed automatic transmission that also contains an electric motor with 200 hp. Together they peak at 650bhp, more than any previous M model: it’s the most powerful street BMW ever. That is a lot, but thanks to the 30 kWh battery, the XM weighs 2,700 kilos. And that’s quite a bit too. The sprint to 100 km / h of 4.3 seconds is therefore fast, but not bizarrely fast, which you might expect given its power. There will also be a Label Red version of the car with about 750 hp.

Fast charging is not possible.

But how does the BMW XM drive?

A fascinating question, with a long answer. In any case, like in any other new M, you first have to struggle through the many driving modes, which you can then save under the M1 or M2 button on your steering wheel. In this car, supplemented with choices about hybrid or electric driving, the storage of electricity or not. It’s a day job, but well; if you own the car, this only applies for the first weeks, after that you will hopefully have set your own preference. Unfortunately, the interplay between petrol and electric power is not always smooth, especially at low speed, the interplay of the engines sometimes feels jerky and slow. Careful parking is annoyingly difficult because of the sudden response to the throttle and sometimes the clutch between the two drives closes very hard. Sophisticated is different. But if you put everything on sport, it works better and the electric motor supports the V8 in a clear way, giving you a lot of extra boost. Especially at high revs you really have a lot of power and on the intermediate sprint the car is seriously fast for something with the weight of a sea container. Due to the large battery, it can travel up to 70 km on power alone. Fast charging or three-phase charging is unfortunately not an option, so charging will take a while. Purely on power, the car drives reasonably quietly and if you are not in a hurry, this also succeeds at a higher pace.

The V8 delivers 490 horsepower.

That’s all about straight. And if there’s a turn?

BMW has surprised us too many times in the past with the capabilities of cars like the X6 M to surprise us hugely, but the XM does an amazing job for its size and weight. Aided by four-wheel drive, four-wheel steering, dynamic dampers and active stabilization, you can take corners at a bizarre pace. It should be noted that the slower it goes, the less pleasant it feels. So a sloping motorway bend or long exit is fine, but a dike road is not. The car is simply too big to speak of driving pleasure on roads that normally qualify for this. But if you like to devour high-speed twisty Autobahn stretches, the XM is for you. It’s also willing to push its butt a bit, but just like in an X5 M, the question is, is that something you want on public roads with a car of this size. It is a lot of mass that moves. The longer we drive it, the more we get used to the contradiction of the car, but that also seems to be a kind of Stockholm Syndrome. Yes, the car is fast, is full of luxury and gadgets and goes fast through the corner, but that is also allowed for this money. It is not the best driving of its kind, toppers such as the Purosangue and the Porsche Cayenne GT Turbo show on a dynamic level that it can be even smoother and purer. But another problem is called X6 M. That BMW is actually a better driver’s car than the XM. As a Competition version, it only has 25 hp less and weighs 350 kilos less. That last difference is very noticeable. Moreover, you have less trouble with the powertrain because the V8 always lets you know where you stand without power assistance. It is also more pleasant to drive ‘normally’ than the XM, which is very long and also quite stiff. The XM does show what PHEV technology does for the BPM: it is considerably cheaper than the X6 M Competition: 228,000 euros vs 177,000 euros. Our XM test car costs full option 193,000 euros.

The cockpit is very much built around you.

But such a long car as the BMW XM is spacious, so?

Well.. In the back seat it is. There you sit like a king, both in terms of space and luxury. In any case, the XM shows what BMW has to offer, the times when the brand lagged behind Mercedes and Audi in this area are behind us. It looks fabulous. It is more the M for Beautiful than for Motorsport now. The trunk is also not extremely large at 527 liters, and the lifting threshold is also high due to the large battery pack under the bottom plate. You can’t lose your charging cord anywhere, so BMW came up with a bag that seems to come straight from the Louis Vuitton store. Nice, but actually a clumsy emergency solution.

The rear seat is very spacious.

The choice of AutoWeek editor Roy Kleijwegt

That emergency solution mentioned is a bit the story of the whole car. It should be best in the mix of an X6 M and an iX M60, but in practice the BMW XM is a bit neither meat nor fish. It’s not exactly a bad car, but depending on your expectations there are better options available, including from BMW itself. If you absolutely want an XM because it is exactly your taste, then also immediately take the Label Red, because as an extremely bizarre thing with such a high weight, 750 hp fits better than the ‘skinny’ 650 of the standard version.