Up Close With the 2023 BMW XM: Weird, Wild and Wunderbar
Look, I can’t tell you why BMW seems to feel the need to make every new SUV generation look like an angry Pokemon. All I can do is bring the story to you that the trend does not seem to be ebbing, as evidenced by the first auto-show appearance of the new 2023 BMW XM SUV at the 2023 Chicago Auto Show. It’s the first opportunity the world has to see BMW’s new super-sports SUV in person, and rest assured, it is as wacky and weird in the “flesh” as it is in pixels on your phone screen. But when you start to realize what competitors the new XM is up against, its outré styling and odd mix of retro touches and super-modern features starts to come together a bit more.
Related: More 2023 Chicago Auto Show Coverage
But What Is It?
First, we have to talk about what this actually is, and it’s pretty significant: This is the first electrified model from BMW’s M division, the automaker’s performance group that creates iconic sports machines, like the M3 sedan. For that first-ever electrified model, BMW chose to do a plug-in hybrid SUV instead of a sports car, which makes sense given the massive shift of interest from cars to SUVs over the past few decades.
As such, we have a two-row, five-seat SUV equipped with BMW’s venerable twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V-8 engine, but augmented with a hybrid-electric powertrain. It pumps out a whopping 644 horsepower and 590 pounds-feet of torque and runs it through an eight-speed automatic transmission to all four wheels. BMW says the SUV can accelerate from 0-60 mph in 4.1 seconds. Or, if you’re more interested in the hybrid part of it, the onboard battery should be good to get you about 30 miles of electric driving before needing a recharge.
Soooo Much Styling
The purpose of the new XM is not about efficient hybrid motoring, but rather about jaw-dropping, head-turning, “look-at-me!” styling that’s meant to counter vehicles like the Lamborghini Urus,Porsche Cayenne Turbo or Land Rover Range Rover Sport. These are super fast, ultra lux SUVs meant for the valet line at a posh Beverly Hills eatery instead of grocery duty.
And as a head turner, the XM is a slam-dunk success. It’s based off of the XM concept car from 2021, and the styling has carried over almost entirely intact, for better or worse. It’s toned down slightly in the front and back, allowing for actual government-regulated lighting requirements in markets around the world. But what they’ve created is still an absolutely off-the-wall concept car for the streets, complete with confusing front lighting elements (which set of lights are actually the headlights?), a bit of a pig-nose grille and some odd, puffy-looking appliques down the sides. The side appliques underline the window sills but look oddly glued-on when you’re standing next to them. The wheels are massive 23-inch rollers, but they look better in lighter colors than darker ones. The whole vehicle is a bizarre mish-mash of angles, cuts, scoops and strakes. And it actually does work, in some odd look-at-me-cry-for-help kind of way; maybe it’s just that it doesn’t work well in white.
No Less Weird on the Inside
The XM’s interior is no less odd, but it does work a little better than the exterior. There’s a lot of influence from the iX electric SUV in the interior styling. Materials are high-quality and impressive, and there are details in the XM that you don’t find anywhere else. Check out the unusual diamond-patterned interior roof panel that’s ringed by ambient LED strips; it looks like it should open to a glass roof, but it doesn’t. Same goes for the rear seats — the upholstery is very cool, and the seatbacks blend into the doors. But the backseat leg- and headroom is actually very snug. It looks like a big, chonky SUV on the outside, but it’s still nothing more than a mid-sizer on the inside, not much different than an X5 in terms of space, and smaller than the X7.
The front seats are the best thrones in the house, despite being faced with the latest flat-panel displays that are currently all the rage from German luxury automakers. At least BMW’s tend to be easy to use, quick to react and, frankly, look fantastic. But there’s nothing new in here that isn’t also appearing in other top-trim BMW models. The real story are the color combinations, the wild upholstery you can spec and the cool shapes of everything around you. I have to give BMW props for the XM’s interior styling; you certainly won’t find this level of wackiness in your average Lexus.
You Won’t See Many of Them
BMW seems to be aiming for exclusivity here, as even the least expensive XM starts out at roughly $160,000. That should effectively limit the number that you see on the road, and coupled with the “it’s definitely not for everyone” styling, fairly well guarantees that you make a statement whenever you arrive anywhere in one. For people looking for something different, weird, wild and wunderbar, the new BMW XM should fit pretty much all of your requirements.
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