- Auto123 tests the new 2024 BMW X5M on the track.
Vancouver, BC – You have to hand it to BMW. This is a company that debuted as a maker of roadsters and sport cars, then eventually graduated to performance sedans and of course and performance SUVs – and now, electrified models.
Through it all the company has retained that performance ethos throughout the lion’s share of its lineup. Sure, you’d be hard pressed to find many people that love the acceleration and handling capabilities of the egg-shaped (and now, defunct) i3 EV, but you don’t have to look far in any BMW dealership to find something fast and fun.
Which this X5M Competition SUV is not. What it is, is more “tarmac obliterating” and “manic”.
Consider the facts and figures: it’s got a 4.4L twin turbo (with each turbo having twin scrolls) V8 plus a 48V mild hybrid system with gearbox-integrated starter/generator that adds up to 147 lb-ft of torque that all combines to make 617 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque. So, yeah. Manic. The 8-speed auto ‘box with electronic limited slip and AWD have all been tuned by M, and you of course have sport-tuned steering and M-adaptive dampers at all four corners.
Design of the 2024 BMW X5M Competition
The styling of the model has been updated for 2024 – they are calling this an “LCI” after all, which is BMW-speak for mid-cycle refresh. You get a more-aggressive front fascia with a blacked-out kidney grille that works really well, new wheels and improved aerodynamics.
It looks really, really good especially finished in Isle of Man Green Metallic with black wheels (measuring 21 inches at the front, and 22 inches at the rear).
While in this case, we conducted a track test on it, in real life the aerodynamics more relevantly deliver improved fuel economy. But yes, we also noted reduced lift through the long, fast sweepers and elevation changes at Area 27 Motorsports Park, where we be put the X5M and other BMWs through their paces.
Interior of the 2024 BMW X5M Competition
Inside, the refresh means a curved display with new graphics and latest iDrive system, now in its 8th generation and faster than ever before with all manner of online capability, live over-the-air updates and so on. Otherwise, returning are the M sport seats with glowing M logos on their headrests, top quality leather with diamond-stich inserts, gorgeous sounding (and looking) Bowers and Wilkins audio, plenty of carbon- fibre and customary thick-rimmed steering wheel with two red “M” buttons for calling up your personalized drive settings.
It really is a fantastic place to spend time – no matter how high-performance it’s gotten, the X5M will always be a fantastic long-distance cruiser.
Driving the 2024 BMW X5M Competition – on the track
We started out with comfortable settings but quickly activated sport settings for our steering, brakes, suspension and powertrain and got right to it.
Area 27 is nestled among the beautiful rolling vineyards of the Okanagan Valley in central British Columbia. The course is designed to flow with that land, which means plenty of elevation changes and blind crests that test both a driver’s and a car’s mettle. It’s in these setting that you really can see what a car can do. Elevation changes can upset a car by twisting it every which way, unsettling a chassis that’s not up to snuff.
I wasn’t too worried about that with the X5M. Along with the new elements mentioned earlier, it also gets more chassis reinforcement for a better ride and to improve body control. You feel it almost as soon as you set off.
No surprise, the available power is delivered in sledgehammer-like fashion, but the dampers are tuned to minimize squat under acceleration, ensuring those fat 295-section Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tires are squished nicely into the track surface and you’re fired down the front straight. You’ll be grabbing the big, responsive carbon shift paddles in a desperate attempt to keep up to the tune of 0-100 km/h in about 3.7 seconds, accompanied by a proper almost GT racer-like yowl from the quad tailpipes. Anyone whoever said a turbocharged powerplant was never going to sound right hasn’t driven a car like this.
At these speeds, the front straight of Area 27 reached an end rather quickly taking us into a fast-sweeping right hander. It is fast, but as far as elevation changes go it’s one of the tamer stretches on the circuit so you’re able to better judge what any given vehicle is doing beneath you.
Turn-in is sport-on and while like in so many other Bimmers (and modern sports cars and sedans in general) I’d like a little more feel through that thick wheel, you learn very quickly to trust the front-end responsiveness.
What I didn’t quite expect, however, was that you feel the big SUV’s 5,500-or-so lb curb weight quite readily as you start to throw it through corners. That feeling is magnified as you start to approach the more challenging turns on the track. It’s not like it will have you understeering into oblivion, but I had driven the M8 coupe just before, and I expected the latter to feel more like a slightly taller version of that car than it did.
That said, the X5M’s brakes are absolutely phenomenal, both in terms of feel and stopping power, and the rear rear-biased AWD lets you control things with the throttle if you feel the urge. On the track, of course, that’s more than an urge, it’s kind of a necessity.
The X5M is really, really fast though. Whatever you want to say about its attitude through race-track turns is fine, but let’s be honest: no matter how much BMW would have us believe X5M Competition owners take their trucks to the track – and I’m sure there are some that do – that’s not really what this is engineered for.
The X5M is a luxury SUV with a performance bent, and it will deliver the goods probably 99 percent of the time for most owners, and with less of a hit to the wallet than an Escalade V or Porsche Cayenne GT. Sure, that 1 percent that track their X5M may have been better off getting something more track-focused, that they could tow to the track with their X5M in order to scratch that itch. But the majority will love the X5M for its looks, its power and interior features and fit and finish.
Strong points
- Deep-chested power
- Great looks
- Top drawer interior fit, finish and features
- Good value
Weak points
- A little loud
- Heavy
Competitors of the 2024 BMW X5M Competition
Audi RS Q8 Cadillac Escalade V-Series Mercedes-Benz AMG GLE 63 S
Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT
Keyword: 2024 BMW X5M Track Test: Off to the Races