Overseas media slam new BMW XM plug-in hybrid performance SUV

The first overseas reviews of the watershed BMW XM plug-in hybrid performance SUV have delivered mixed reactions.

BMW’s first high-performance plug-in hybrid SUV – the 2023 BMW XM – has been panned by European and US media, with one reviewer likening it to a “[BMW] M5 with most of the joy sucked out of it”.

The BMW XM is the first standalone model from the company’s high-performance M division – not shared with a regular BMW equivalent – in more than four decades, and will be the German brand’s most expensive SUV ever offered in Australia.

Although it shares its DNA with the BMW X5 M performance SUV, the first road tests published by overseas media outlets have ranged from positive to lukewarm to critical.

Respected UK magazine Autocar praised the XM’s interior quality and engine sound – due to its combination of a twin-turbo V8 and electric motor – and sure-footedness and body control in corners.

However, it was less complimentary about most other aspects of the vehicle, including comfort over bumps, straight-line performance, calibration of its petrol and electric propulsion sources, driver feel behind the wheel, practicality, and bold styling.

“The comparative lack of practicality, the obstinately ugly aesthetic and the punchy asking price are all okay, because the XM redrafts the dynamic rulebook for fast SUVs, with M5 CS genes palpable in its very DNA, right? Wrong,” Autocar wrote in its first drive review of the BMW XM in the US.

The vehicle’s hefty 2710kg weight was also noted. It is 300kg more than a non-hybrid BMW X5 M, or the equivalent of two Toyota Corollas.

Autocar wrote: “There’s a thoroughbred balance here but honestly the contact patches are so obscenely large and the body control so iron-cast … that there’s little in the way of true agility or fluidity. So what you have is an M5 with most of the joy sucked out of it.”

The review concluded: “So driving the beastly XM confirms what its styling suggests: that this car lacks authenticity or at least any real purpose beyond shock and awe.

“Too heavy to express itself, too severe to rub along with day to day and too expensive for powertrain niggles to be let off lightly, it brings little to either the brand or the super-SUV party. M can do better.”

Fellow UK magazine Auto Express was also unflattering, saying in its verdict: “If you want proof of how hard it is to overcome the laws of physics, it’s right here.

Auto Express added: “The end result is a car that we have to mark up as a rather uninvolving triumph of oneupmanship – perfect for China and the Middle East, but probably best ignored by M devotees in the UK.”

The sentiment was echoed by some media outlets from the US – expected to be one of the BMW XM’s main markets, alongside China and the Middle East – including magazine Road and Track, which said:

“While the XM is certainly capable and generally pleasant to drive, its approach is, at times, confusing. It can feel special, but it also feels like a committee car made to check a bunch of predetermined boxes, instead of something designed through one person’s vision.

“There isn’t one fantastic stand-out aspect to the XM, no one revolutionary thing to pique the public’s interest … and the pointlessly stiff ride and a selection of parts-bin cabin appointments do the XM no favors considering it’s approaching Bentley levels of expensive.”

However, not all first drive appraisals of the BMW XM were negative.

US magazine Motor Trend reported: “It’s hard to speak conclusively about its super-SUV-cred … but the XM showed flashes of brilliance.

“Dip deep into the throttle or speed past 80 [or 130km/h] and the V8’s low burble joins the fray as the internal combustion engine effortlessly fills the power gap and traffic disappears in your rearview mirror.

“The four-wheel steering is refreshingly light and direct … ride quality and roll control were also both well-managed on our drive, further helping the American-built XM feel smaller than its roughly X7-sized footprint would suggest.”

In its road test, US motoring news and reviews website Motor1.com noted: “The BMW XM is impressive. It is equal parts a corner carving masterpiece of an SUV and a comfortable daily driver, with one of the best, most seamless plug-in-hybrid powertrains on the market today.”

Most of the reviews of the BMW XM have been complimentary about its interior quality and technology, as well as its body control through corners.

Drive’s European correspondent Greg Kable has had a first taste of the XM at its media launch in the US in recent weeks – stay tuned to Drive for the full road test in the coming days.

First deliveries of the BMW XM are due to commence in Australia in the first half of this year, priced from $297,900 plus on-road costs – which makes it the most expensive BMW SUV ever sold locally.

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