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This is the BMW XM. Initially, the XM was announced late in 2021 and pronounced to be the most powerful BMW ever made. Rolling on to March 2023, the production version XM has officially started being delivered to customers in markets across the world, South Africa included for a cool R3,4M.
At this point, the BMW XM should have sparked a few thoughts in your mind. What is it exactly? What is it based on? And where does it fit into the current crop of BMW products? These are all valid and logical questions but of course you’re also wondering about its design…you should. These are all conversations that BMW wants you to have because this BMW XM is, to BMW at least, a very big deal.
It’s a car of many firsts for the brand. It’s the first standalone M-car in over four decades. Where the very first BMW M1 was a mid-engine supercar, the modern M-car is realised as an all-wheel drive Super-SUV with an electrified powertrain that is almost 2.5 times more powerful than the M1. It is without doubt, the most powerful BMW M-car in production and yet, it will do around 88 kms in pure electric mode before you plug it into the wall socket for a charge. This is the BMW XM and its introduction sees it perched at the very top of the electrified high performance M range next to the BMW i4 M50, the BMW iX M60 and the BMW M760e. The latter two models have not been introduced in SA as yet, but the BMW XM is already here with some customers already driving them.
Phoenix, Arizona in the Southwest USA is the backdrop of the international media launch of the flagship M-car. We find ourselves in desert-country, an arid tapestry of dry brush and succulents cut by a series of blacktop that could see you in Las Vegas or Los Angeles in just a few hours. About an hour outside of Phoenix, the roads are quiet but for the occasional US mainstay truck (bakkie) or motorhome…this is America after all. The BMW XM stands out within a canvas of silver screen American culture, drawing stares from everybody, motorhome camp dwellers and gun-running cowboys included. The XM in Arizona is the contrast of all contrasts.
The car itself is a series of contradictions. As a designer’s conception, it’s an odd sight but one that I can’t quite discredit or criticise. The design language is modern luxury BMW with bold statements at every corner. The sloping roofline is characterised by a strong outline strip that carries down to the D-pillar kink and then across the shoulder line, finishing with an XM designation badge just above the wheel arches. This can be finished in chrome, black chrome, the vehicle body colour and even gold. Another standout design element is the large kidney grille and air intakes flanked by a striking, split lighting unit similar to the electric BMW i7 in execution. The illuminated BMW M grille with horizontal slats can also be finished in the same colour as the side strip, gold included for those with more eclectic tastes. The rear will be the subject of much discussion with flatter surfaces and vertically aligned twin tailpipes on either side. They may be divisive in some circles but they’re bold, they’re real and they speak of the under-skin engineering too.
The XM sounds satisfactorily like an M-car, despite the new M HYBRID powertrain. BMW has chosen to employ its fantastic 4.4-litre, twin-turbo as the heart of the system albeit with revisions to the turbo and the oil pump for improved efficiency and cooling. This engine is tuned to deliver 360 kW of power at 5,400 rpm and 650 Nm of power. This is good news as the mighty V8 makes up the lion’s share of the power delivery. But the smarts and modernity are carried through with the coupling of an electric motor powered by a 25 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The electric motor delivers up to 145 kW and 280 Nm but it’s able to generate up to 450 Nm at the transmission to propel the XM from standstill with unbelievable immediacy. It’s a highly complex drive system with a high focus not just on performance but also on thermal management and efficiency. Despite the complexity, you want to know how it runs? Well, it’s unlike anything you know.
The electric motor makes up for any whisper of turbo-lag. There is none to speak of, as the large and heavy XM launches off the line with undramatic aggression, the only real showiness coming from the loud exhaust note. And then it gathers speed with unmitigated intention, rushing through that 8-speed ZF transmission to 100 kph in 4.3-seconds; to 200 kph in 14.3-seconds before its 250 kph top speed. Fitted with the Driver’s Package, which seems to be a must in South Africa, the BMW XM will fight to 270 kph.
Speed is absolute but the handling is another tail of contrasts. Where a BMW X5 M Competition for instance, is taut and hard, this XM manages to be fast but within a more comfortable setting. Even in its most sporty driving mode, you can never criticise the XM for having a hard ride. Instead, it seems to prioritise luxuriant speed over hardcore, pin-point edginess. The 2,7-ton XM corners with the assistance of electronically controlled dampers and active roll stabilisation. There’s a level of complexity within the chassis working to keep the XM as flat and poised mid-corner, so much so that to say the XM has any body roll would be incorrect. You can feel the computer-aided corrections but this, with new active steering negates the driver feel and engagement, something that purist M customers may not enjoy. Despite its significant power, this car is less Urus and more Bentayga Speed in how it executes on the call for performance.
On the opposite end of the driving equation, the electric motor doesn’t just work to increase performance. It also works to support the petrol engine under steady loads, i.e. coasting, or highway cruising and increases efficiency, making this large SUV turn in unbelievably good fuel economy. That said, the plug-in hybrid XM also allows for pure electric driving too with maximum speeds in electric mode of 140 kph and 88 kms of range.
As with all M-cars, the adjustability of the powertrain, the brakes, the steering, and the chassis are all available through the M Mode selector on the centre console, including setups for M1 and M2 buttons on the multi-function steering wheel. These mode settings also include adjustments of the hybrid characteristics of the powertrain and that’s very much a BMW M trait.
From the inside, there’s a lot more familiarity with the bulk of the architecture from the parts bin of any modern BMW. You’ll be right at home with the latest OS 8 BMW Curved Display infotainment system with integrated BMW Head-Up Display and ConnectedDrive tech. Over the air vehicle updates are possible through this system, as is the eSim that allows access to in-car WiFi as well as a new YouTube video streaming application for those times when you’re waiting in the car with time to kill. Things like the BMW Digital Key integrated through the BMW App and your smartphone take the connected vehicle to a new level. The integrated technology is top draw here, still accessed into an iDrive system that remains functionally and experientially relevant.
Where the interior familiarity is innovated, is within the material mixes available on the XM as well the roofline and rear seat architecture. The standout Coffee Brown vintage leather trim is not for all, but it adds a touch that more expensive nameplates in this segment seem to get right. The leather is genuine and finished within a process that shows all the natural blemishes and textures.
The XM is a 5-seat configured vehicle based on the 7-seater X7 platform, and that has resulted in lounge-like, cavernous rear seat packaging. 5 adults will fit with ample space without discounting the 530-litres of boot space still available. It’s clear that BMW has compromised boot space for the rear quarters and with new quilted leather design and an extension of the rear seats into the side panels, BMW has found a way for rear passengers to feel even more cosseted. What is oddly missing at the rear though, is the ability to adjust the rear seats in any way. It seems like an oversight especially within such a rich interior design. The use of LED ambient lighting technology is also innovated within the XM, with animated displays triggered when you start the vehicle, or change driving modes. Perhaps the most visually newsworthy interior piece is the prismatic, 3D roof headliner finished in Alcantara. Flanked by LED panels, the angled surface is said to improve sound quality within the cabin too.
Where the exterior makes a strong, standalone M-car statement, the interior feels too familiar to other BMW products. There are some signature XM pieces but perhaps not standout enough for a car of this much headline importance.
The BMW XM will retail in South Africa from R3 400 000, making it the flagship product for the brand. The XM is BMW Motorsport’s antithesis of the current ever-changing mobility landscape. It’s fully BMW-M yet entirely different to anything they’ve built before. It’s more powerful than anything before it too, yet also consciously efficient. It brims with luxury and lounge-like comfort yet holds the road with unbelievable dynamism. It really is a car of contradictions, some of which you may love and some that you may find you’ll grow to love. It’s undeniably a technological thrill, but is it the right car onto which so much expectation has been heaped after so many decades? That is the key question – one that we’re still unconvinced by. The only tell, will be the acceptance from buyers and what the future of M will look like. ////
BMW XM LABEL RED
As if 480 kW and 800 Nm wasn’t enough, BMW M will introduce an even more powerful BMW XM LABEL REDwithin the third quarter of 2023. The LABEL RED will boast combined output of 550 kW and 1000 Nm. Of course, it will become the most powerful M-car ever made and will run from 0 - 100 kph in 3.9-seconds.
Key design features of the RED LABEL will include, you guessed it, red embellishments around the kidney grille, the windows and roof line and woven into the 23-inch alloy wheels.
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