2024 BMW XM Label Review

Pros

• Big power
• Crazy-strong brakes
• BMW M engineering

Cons

• OMG it’s heavy
• Did we mention it’s heavy?
• Why, M, why?

Ridiculous. Outrageous. Massively powerful. Absolutely gargantuan. Roaring good time. Hilarious fun. When it comes to the 2024 BMW XM Label edition, the judges were in full-on histrionic mode after their laps chucking the XM’s 6,000-plus pounds of mass around Chukwalla’s tight, twisty circuit.

The XM deserves all those callouts and then some, as it’s one of the most perplexing and polarizing vehicles BMW has ever produced. Billed as a ground-up effort by the M division, it’s a technological and engineering tour de force in many ways, though with several caveats. Given it’s a plug-in hybrid, it can travel as much as 31 miles on e-power alone, at speeds up to 80 mph. However, to absolutely no one’s surprise, given its size and heft, it’s also inefficient, with a 14-mpg combined number on gas-only power and a 46 mpg-e number.

Then you look at the latest XM test numbers and shake your head so hard it hurts: 3.4 seconds to 60 mph, just 105 feet to stop from that speed, and a 0.97 g average on the skidpad. These numbers, which seem unbelievable for such a large vehicle, start to make sense with its 738 combined horsepower. Take it to a racetrack—especially a relatively tight and technical circuit like Chuckwalla—and it’s hard not to ask yourself, why? As in, why did I take this thing out here? Furthermore, it’s enormous, and these brakes are powerful, and that 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 sounds mean.

You must hand it to the M team; it seems as if a product planning meeting led them to develop a three-ton vehicle that could dance. Challenge accepted, apparently, all while adorning it with super-controversial front-end styling.

Riding in the XM reveals a luxurious and meticulously crafted cabin for its $191,895 price tag, reminiscent of what we’ve seen from various M brand vehicles. You are greeted by a wide array of settings designed to help you fine-tune your preferred driving style.

Executive editor Mac Morrison found once he got it set up to his liking and tore around the track: “This is a beast I never would’ve asked for, but it sure amuses me. Considering the absurd weight, it’s impressive. Moreover, it doesn’t feel crazy-crazy heavy like you expect it to. It delivers an asinine and roaring good time.”

Other judges weren’t quite as kind, with the prevailing opinion being that while there’s some fun to be had, it’s just too heavy and unwieldy to be anything more than a novelty on a track. The bottom line? It’s no match for fellow super SUVs like the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT or the Aston Martin DBX 707—at least in the type of environment subjected to testing. The XM straddles so many lines that it succeeds primarily in being monstrously big and powerful and, for BMW, at least, expensive. For some folks—though not very many, as rumors suggest BMW has killed the XM’s replacement—that’s enough.