2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

The XM is the largest, heaviest, most powerful and most expensive car BMW M has ever made and it goes where no M car has gone before

2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

2023 BMW XM

Expected launch Q2 2023 – Price: S$900,000 without VES, CAT B COE, options

Five-door, Extra-large luxury SUV, five seats

653hp 4.4-litre, plug-in hybrid, TBC VES, 1.6L/100km, 85km electric range

PROS

Stirring V8 drama and drive thrills

Electric range redemption 

Sporty, upmarket interior

No direct competitor as yet

CONS

It’s yuuuuuge, and heavy 

Huge wheels = jiggly ride

Arizona, USA

The BMW XM is the largest, heaviest, and most expensive* car that BMW M has ever made, and only the second car to be developed from the ground up by M – and it’s an SUV.

It’s also the most powerful full-production car from BMW M, its total 653hp eclipsing the previous record holder, the 626hp BMW M5 CS.

Purists will scream, but just remember that we live in an era where Ferrari is making an SUV. So realists, and those deep of pocket and in the market for a mega soft-roader, will rejoice because as far as huge, luxurious, high-performance SUVs go, the XM sets a high bar for driving performance, delivers more space, and for less obscene price tag to comparable cars.

*Counting only full-production M cars not one-offs or limited editions like the M4 CSL.

What the X?!

2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

But what exactly is an XM anyway? If ‘XM’ is its official, scientific name, then its common name is pretty much ‘X8 M’. We weren’t able to confirm how much of its running gear it shares with the X7, but it’s patently obvious that the two cars share a platform, at the very least, with similar dimensions and an identical wheelbase.

2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

1979 BMW M1 Art Car by Andy Warhol

The difference, though, is that BMW M says the XM is only the second car it’s completely developed from the ground up, with the first being the M1. This is opposed to a ‘regular’ full M car – like an X5 M, for example – which uses the production X5 as the development base.

Styling and Appearance

2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

The XM makes a big impression because it is big. Very big. It’s 5,110mm x 2,005mm x 1,775mm, which means it’s bigger than pretty much all other SUVs in Singapore. On the road in America it seems almost normal in size, but that certainly won’t be the case back home. The front track, for example, is 1,726mm – not far off the total width of the BMW 1 Series.

2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

The XM is a car that looks far more interesting in person than it does in photos – the low stance and bulging fenders immediately imply M-ness, but it’s also very obviously designed to be a ‘loud’ car, if you want it to be.

There’s an emphasis on its overt M-ness, so visually it is hard to confuse the XM with an X7. For one, it’s coupe-ier, since the XM is a coupe SUV. The footprint and wheelbase are the same, but it’s 30mm less tall than the X7.

2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

While the front end features the split-style lights now seen on upper-class BMWs (7 Series, X7) it looks radically different, all angles and aggro. You can see that in the bulge-filled bonnet – the BMW logo sits in the ‘valley’ like the M3/M4, the front and rear aero details. It also does things differently with touches like the  stacked hexagonal tailpipes.

2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme
2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme
2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

There’s also considerable optical differences buyers can choose from. For example, we spied the car in red paint with gold accents, or blue with gold accents, while our test car was a more muted grey with predominantly gloss black highlights. In wheel terms, you can naturally spec 23-inch monster rollers, while our test car wore 22-inchers. BMW Singapore also says it’s likely to offer the LED-bordered Iconic Grille for the XM, which means it’ll also come to the 7 Series eventually.

2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme
2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme
2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

For M historians, there are also two visual cues to the BMW M1 : the black accent strip that sits near the car’s shoulder-line (just under the windows), and the dual BMW badges on the upper rear windscreen – aping the ‘tail badges’ of the M1. History aside, the XM is very much the Future Chapter of M when it comes to driving. 

2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

      Driving Experience

      2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

      Like most expensive high-performance SUVs, the XM relies on a bag of technological tricks to bludgeon physics into submission:  adaptive air suspension, active roll control, and – a M first – all-wheel steering. Interestingly, the XM doesn’t rely on the electric motor for all-wheel drive, but shunts all of its combined power through a conventional all-wheel drive system and a rear M Sport differential.

      2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

      The PHEV bit adds minimal complexity, thankfully : You select one of three modes: Hybrid (basically auto mode), Electric (self-explanatory) and eControl (maintain the battery charge). On top of that you have three drive modes – Road, Track, and Race – and further on, two M modes (M1 and M2) engaged by the steering wheel buttons.

      2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

      We left it in Hybrid on our 200km test route, and the XM was excellent at navigating suburban Phoenix’s sprawl. The car went quiet often, with the V8 waking occasionally. As you fly along, elevated, you can hear the Zimmer-made electric drive sound, the purr of the V8, or a combination of both.

      It’s slightly weird, but still entertaining, and it underlines the stark choices ahead for petrol power : we’d all better get used to it since PHEVs are the only way magnificent ICE engines are going to survive.

      2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

      And to speak of magnificent, BMW’s updated its 4.4-litre V8 (which pulls duty in the X5 M and X6 M) for the XM, but at its heart it remains a thoroughly stirring piece of engineering. Straight-lining the XM in full blast is a lovely experience, all the more so a contrast to the efficient, e-cruising.

      The XM delivers sound and fury, but it does not feel immensely fast, which is also due to its refinement, and its own nature. As you can imagine, it absolutely demolishes stretches on the freeway and wider A-roads. Its long, long legs and planted nature give confidence for very high speed runs.

      2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

      The massive 22-inch wheels don’t, impressively, detract from confidence, but do deliver noticeable tyre roar and thumping, unescapable in any big-wheeled machine. This is one area where the XM is improved over M-ified X cars that came before, like the X3 M, X5 M, whose flexibility was always hampered by excessively crash ride quality, which made them less flexible as a result.

      2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

      The XM is more adroit at spanning a spectrum of use. But as the road becomes tighter, physics does reannounce itself. Its battery may be floor-mounted, but the total weight of the car is a massive 2.7+ tonnes, and that certainly can be felt when the tarmac becomes twisty ribbons. To its credit, the XM never felt under-braked, nor was its weight dangerously out of control, like some EVs feel. It may be heavier than some large EVs, but it’s just as, if not more, agile.

      We confess that we flogged the V8 every chance we got and did not make any attempt at seriously testing the electric-only range of the car. That being said, we have tested the BMW 230e, a plug-in which has the same fifth-gen e-drive tech in PHEV format as the XM. So we would be surprised if the XM is unable to replicate, or at least get close to, its quoted 85km e-range in real life.

      2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

      You can say that PHEV tech in this end of the industry is used as virtue-signalling and performance -adding, like with Ferrari’s PHEVs, but with the XM, you have the chance of owning a properly-high performance car that is also capable of entirely zero-emissions commutes in Singapore. At the very least, it removes one sore point, that of neighbour-riling noise pollution.

        Interior and features 

        2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

        A PHEV, what more a high-performance one, adds to the cost of the car but the XM also justifies its higher price tag inside too.

        The iX and predecessors pioneered the concept of BMW interiors as lounges, so the XM continues that idea with what BMW calls, wait for it, the M Lounge. Wisecracks aside, it does have a unique interior ambience. If the iX’s inside is an eco-living space, then the XM’s interior is like an upscale motoring clubhouse on wheels.

        2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

        It has the same attention to detail, generous space and headroom, alcantara and leather everywhere –  but M-ified with sport seats, red perforated leather, extensive carbon trim. There’s a new feature in the ceiling  too, a textured headliner in Alcantara which is lit by 100 LEDs for dynamic lighting effects when you switch drive mode, or enter the car.

        2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme
        2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme
        2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

        The base infotainment technology features are what we’ve seen in the iX and 7 Series, namely BMW’s OS 8 with the Widescreen interior comprising of the 12.3-inch driver’s display, and 14.9-inch touchscreen infotainment display, supplemented by an iDrive controller, and extensive voice control (Intelligent Personal Assistant).

        At the XM’s price level, we expect there to be extensive differences in the interior choices and execution (and price), so it doesn’t do the car justice to delve too deeply into this without seeing what choices customers will have when the car lands in Singapore.

        Space and practicality 

        2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

        M-Pillows standard, but will not make you go to sleep faster.

        The XM is probably the most spacious coupe-SUV around. BMW M didn’t go hog-wild with the plunging roofline, so headroom is quite generous, even with the textured headliner that takes up the space of a panoramic sunroof.

        With a wheelbase in excess of three metres, legroom is tremendous. The leather wrap-around concept of the rear seats would mean less space in a lesser SUV, but the XM will ably swallow two adults in that space with lots of room to spare, with even three people being more than bearable.

        2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

        This bag doesn’t contain a McGuffin, but the charge cable.

        Amenities are similar to the iX, there’s four-zone climate control, USB-C ports, space for tablet holders in the rear seat backs. Boot space isn’t distinguished at ‘only’ 527-litres, expandable to 1,820-litres. That’s about similar to an X5, but less than the X7’s capacious 327-to 2,120-litres. The boot is also where you will find what we thought was bespoke luggage, but turned out to be the World’s Fanciest Charge Cable Bag, complete with a tether to keep it in place despite G-forces. Very M, and a nice touch.

            Competition and Conclusion

            2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

            The super-lux/high-performance SUV segment has boomed, and this is M’s loud, proud attempt at clawing away some of that profitable pie – and we think it might take a big bite simply because there’s nothing quite like it yet.

            The XM is a ‘super-large’ SUV, a class above the likes of the BMW X5/ Audi Q7/Porsche Cayenne, and a PHEV, so it has no direct competition, for now. In other words, we can say that no other car does what the XM does, at this size, or this price, or with this level of electrification.

            2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

            A similar stablemate is obviously the X7 M50i, which we tested and enjoyed very much for its V8 heart, but it doesn’t handle as well, and foregoes the electrification. The only roughly comparable PHEV is the Porsche Cayenne Turbo S E-Hybrid Coupe, which is smaller in size, and slightly less expensive.

            There are more sort-of, fully ICE competitors : Aston Martin’s DBX707 has plenty of power but is not particularly impressive in any other area, while Porsche’s Cayenne GT should be comparable but again, it’s a less expensive car. If you want opulence with less sportiness, Bentley’s Bentayga EWB exists, and costs more. There’s also the Lamborghini Urus, which again isn’t as large, and is more expensive, but is quicker in acceleration though it loses its horsepower war (650hp) to the XM.

            2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

            The XM is the largest, heaviest, most powerful full-production car BMW M has made, its first PHEV. The fly in the giant, electric SUV pudding is that it does have clear dynamic limitations compared to the M cars that have gone before it. It pushes the boundaries of what an M car is.

            And BMW M’s not even done yet – internationally, it will later debut a range-topping XM Label Red, whose engine will crank out 585hp, for a vaguely insane 748hp of total system power. Its Singapore debut is TBC, but it could be a big thing if bragging rights mean something to you – and given the XM’s demographics it just might.

            But here’s the thing. The XM doesn’t need to be the best driving car BMW M has ever made, and to expect it to be that is misguided anyway. It just needs to be better than most of its competition, and given what we just outlined in this segment, you can begin to see the XM’s appeal.

            At the very least we can say it brings something to the market that nothing else does yet. This is BMW M taking things to another level – literally, and figuratively.

            2023 BMW XM 

            2023 bmw xm review – to the x-treme

            Drivetrain type Petrol-electric plug-in hybrid
            Engine 4,395cc, V8, twin-turbo
            Power 489hp at 5400-7200
            Torque 650Nm at 1600-5000 rpm
            Gearbox 8-speed automatic
            Electric Motor 197hp / 280Nm
            Battery (net) Lithium ion / 25.7kWh
            System Power / Torque 653hp / 800Nm
            Top Speed 250km/h / 270km/h (opt.)
            0-100km/h 4.3 seconds
            Fuel Consumption 1.6L/100km (WLTP)
            Electricity Consumption 29.5kWh/100km
            Charging Time / Type 7.4kW AC / 4.25 hours
            Electric Range 85km
            VES TBC
            Agent Eurokars Auto
            Performance Motors Limited
            Price Approx. S$900,000 without COE, VES 
            Availability Q2 2023

            Keyword: 2023 BMW XM Review – To the X-TreMe

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