Practical test: BMW XM: Bollernd through the southern United States

2023-07-12 17:11:57

Practical test: BMW XM Bollernd through the southern United States

BMW XM Road Trip Southern States

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Hardly any other BMW has polarized car fans in the past few decades as much as the XM. The imposing luxury SUV does not want to please everyone – but it is a real show for the public, especially in the south of the USA.

Already on the Florida coast at the start of the Southern States tour the first thumbs up when you are in the BMW XM stands at the traffic light with its golden ornaments. There are small crowds of people in front of the slightly run-down Seven-Eleven store when the two-tone XM parks in front of the entrance for a drink stop. The Americans are very impressed by the more than self-confident exterior of the mighty 4×4 car, which doesn’t even pretend that it wants to make any significant friends. Unlike other car manufacturers, BMW doesn’t just sing the praises of electromobility, giving models like an XM plenty of room to breathe. Admittedly, the BMW XM, as a noble and impressive offshoot of the X5, X6 and X7, is late. This applies less to the design, which is a matter of taste anyway. But a hybrid in times when electric cars are taking over the regiment confidently and across classes – it’s time for a power PHEV like the XM.

Rumbled through the southern United States

The drive package of the 5.11 meter long crossover is a real force and, of course, on the way through the sunny southern states, spectators make sure again and again that a befitting eight-cylinder engine is raging behind the grim-looking radiator grille. This one knows only too well with its 4.4 liter displacement and double turbocharger; it has been installed in everything that has status and reputation at BMW since the discontinuation of the image-boosting twelve-cylinder engine. In order to give the V8 powerhouse in the 2.7-ton XM the performance data it needs, the combustion engine with its 360 kW / 489 hp is supported by an electric motor that contributes an impressive 145 kW / 197 hp. The bottom line is 480 kW / 653 hp and gigantic 800 Nm maximum torque, which provide thrust as if the end of all days had come.

In normal driving operations, only a fraction of the horses are needed after crossing the border from Florida to Alabama. Even away from the big highways, the country roads in the south of the USA are well developed when you go through the humid swamp regions. Things are moving fast and the BMW XM hardly benefits from being a plug-in hybrid. Because when the stately 25.7 kWh battery pack is full, the colossus from Spartanburg can drive more than 80 kilometers purely electrically if desired. But the charging station infrastructure was already thin between Tallahassee and the Pensacola Navy Air Base. Past Mobile and Biloxi to the polarizing tourist and party Mecca of New Orleans, in the swampy regions with snakes and alligators you can hardly see a recharging plug without the detour getting too big. So almost exclusively the combustion engine has to do it, which at least doesn’t have to prove that it can reach speeds of up to 270 km/h.

At best, the battery pack can be recharged at night in the hotel in La Fayette or Marble Falls before heading west the next morning. The German-American can score even more with its interior space, luxurious equipment and a cargo area that can be expanded from 527 to 1,820 liters if necessary. But for two people, the normal loading compartment behind the tailgate, which swings open wide electrically, is easily sufficient and the elegant leather chairs can be pushed far back if desired, while the second row can still be comfortably relaxed thanks to the 3.11 meter long wheelbase . The workmanship is excellent; the design with an orgy in leather is bold, but not as polarizing as on the outside. Razor-sharp displays, air-conditioned seats and rear seats, in which you can even easily lounge in the corner due to the rounding towards the door – that’s particularly nice on longer journeys. In between, a look at the boldly modeled and skilfully illuminated interior roof.

The optional 23-inch tires only appeal to a limited extent. Although it looks great, it can only be recommended to a limited extent on long journeys with moderate road surface quality. Here, too, the following applies once again: it is better to choose the smaller 22-incher, which still looks smart, but offers significantly more driving comfort due to the greater durability. The steering is precise and anyone who takes it easy on winding roads in western Texas, or better yet in New Mexico, will quickly learn to appreciate the tight overall package and the low tendency to pitch and roll. Because even if the hybrid giant doesn’t look like it: it’s a real sports car and you can even recognize genes from the BMW M5 or the hardly less impressive X5 M when chasing corners at high speed. Only that the colossus pushes even more brutally with the corresponding fanfare of the four-pipe exhaust system , when the electric motor jumps into the breach. Then, despite being overweight, there is unrestrained thrust, while the occupants enjoy either V8 staccato or the hardly less impressive sound of the sound system.

With the promised standard consumption of 1.5 liters of Super per 100 kilometers, there is nothing to be gained on the last stages to Phoenix, despite the favorable US highway Interstate 10 and straight country roads towards Winkelman or Florence. With the battery pack only rarely filled due to the narrow infrastructure, the BMW XM is on the road with the equivalent of 12 liters of fuel. If there is a plug in sight, the battery pack recharges with 7.4 kWh. But that should hardly interest most XM fans. They love the power SUV, which costs at least 178,000 euros, because of its martial design – more than ever in the USA.

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