BMW’s most powerful and road-legal production model to date has made its Malaysian debut, the all-new BMW XM (G09).
It is the first standalone M model since the iconic 1978 BMW M1, and for the first time ever for the M moniker, a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
Fully-imported (CBU) from the U.S, the super-SUV is offered in a single variant, which comes in two guises, XM Night Gold Line and XM Shadow Line.
Standard kit for both consists of the M Aerodynamics package and M High-Gloss Shadowline exterior elements, with extended black-coloured contents for the Shadow Line guise.
Priced (otr, w/ insurance) at MYR 1,316,450 for a two-year, unlimited-mileage warranty, and MYR 1,398,800 for a five-year warranty with maintenance package upgrade.
Seven exterior colours. Black Sapphire Metallic, Mineral White Metallic, Cape York Green Metallic, Dravit Grey Metallic, Carbon Black Metallic, Marina Bay Blue Metallic, Toronto Red Metallic.
Weighing in at 2,785 KG, the all-new BMW XM is 5,110 MM long, 2,005 MM wide, 1,755 MM tall, and has a wheelbase spanning 3,105 MM.
Stocky, muscular and elegant with an imposingly commanding presence, its long front overhang and dynamically stretched cabin form a distinctive two-box design.
Its tall and flat front end is merged to a powerfully contoured dual dome-like hood that has a central indent with the BMW emblem, placed front and centre above the grille.
Of which, fitted is a massively illuminated kidney grille (BMW Iconic Glow), octagonal in shape, and finished in black (Shadow Line), and gold accents (Night Gold Line).
Accentuating the outlook are the large lower air intakes, featuring air curtains located at the outer edges of the lower bumper.
Portraying a giant coupe-esque silhouette with a long and slightly dipping roofline, the rear end matches the front with solidly strong proportions.
Very angularly designed, it looks sharp, clean and seamless, emphasising its elegantly robust and broad stance.
Then, the rear windscreen houses two laser-etched BMW roundels on the top corners, an homage to the last ‘M Only’ model, the BMW M1.
Completing the rear’s unique presence is a sporty black high-gloss diffuser with an integrated vertical and hexagonal M twin exhausts setup, and a new XM logo.
Contributing to a fierce and focused looking outlook, installed is a pair of inward-tilted, ultra-slim and slit-like split headlamp design.
The crisply contoured upper section which is typical of M design, houses the side lights, turn indicators, and LED Daytime Running Lights (DRL).
Meanwhile, the darkened and deep bumper-embedded lower section houses the low- and high-beam headlamps.
They are adaptive LED units, featuring cornering light function and matrix high-beam with BMW Selective Beam non-dazzling High-beam Assistant.
Slim, sharp and wrapped around, the slightly jutted out tail lamps hold a very striking presence, recalling the iconic M1.
Fitted with LED units, they feature an inverted L-shape light graphic, with three diagonal light strips in the style of BMW GmbH logo, flanking the outer sides.
The dual-arm M side mirrors are electronically adjusted and folded, with turn- and blind spot-indicators. They also come with the expanded exterior mirror package.
Fitted are M sport brakes with lightweight discs, and callipers finished in high-gloss black.
It rides on a set of 23-Inch M light-alloy rims, star-spoke style 923 M bicolour Night Gold (XM Night Gold Line), Black (XM Shadow Line), wrapped in 275/35 R23 (front) and 315/30 R23 (rear) tyres.
The wraparound dashboard design of the all-new BMW XM is uber premium with uber high levels of craftsmanship, draped in two-tone Merino leather with refined carbon fibre and silver trim detailing all around.
Main highlight being the massive one-piece BMW Curved Display, integrated and taking command of the top half of the dash. The layout arrangement is well put with very easy reachability and driver oriented.
One half of the BMW Curved Display, it features a fully digital 12.3-Inch LCD high-resolution instrument cluster with a Heads-Up Display (HUD).
Featuring the BMW Live Cockpit Professional, it runs on the latest BMW Operating System 8 (BMW OS 8), and supports the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant.
Interior of the luxurious five-seater comes with a choice of four upholstery schemes. Leather Merino Deep Lagoon with vintage leather content, Leather Merino Silverstone with vintage leather content, Leather Merino Black and Leather Merino Sakhir Orange.
The front seats are M Multifunction seats, they are power-adjustable with active ventilation, massage functions and illuminated M badges.
As for the rear ‘M Lounge’, its uber comfortable one-piece bench is detailed with diamond-shaped structures in the headrest and stitching pattern. It gets two M-branded comfort pillows, and a 40:20:40 split-folding function.
Completing the ambience, the Alcantara headliner features a three-dimensional prism structure, and is set into a ‘photo mount’ border that is illuminated by the standard multi-colour ambient lighting system. The colour selection can be tailored to match driving mode and cabin atmosphere.
It offers very generous head, shoulder and legroom thus front and rear occupants get ample space. Obviously, the cabin’s spaciousness is majorly due to its humongous build, which is excessively long, wide and tall.
The three-spoke M leather steering wheel comes with multi-switches (media, vehicle settings), carbon fibre paddle shifters, and tilt and telescopic adjustments.
It has numerous storage areas including side door pockets, compartmentalised and caverned spaces in the centre console, armrest pockets and a decent-sized glove box.
Several cup holders are strategically placed in the cabin, and they all come with a temperature control function (heating/cooling).
It gets two USB ports, one 12-V socket, and a wireless charging tray. All are located in the centre console, and feature a built-in cooling system to prevent overheating of devices.
The boot features a remote-control activation with contactless opening function, and has a 527-Litre of cargo space, and up to 1,827-Litre with the rear seats folded down.
The all-new BMW XM features the following set of Advanced Driver Assistant System (ADAS).
Under Driving Assistant Professional, grouped are Steering and Land Control Assistant, Emergency Stop Assistant, Automatic Speed Limit Assist, Lane Change Assistant, Active Cruise Control with Stop/Go, Lane Departure Warning, Front and Rear Crossing Traffic Warning, Evasion Assistant.
Whereas, under Parking Assistant Plus, grouped are Active Park Distance Control, Reversing Assist, Lateral Parking Aid, and Surround View System.
Passive safety includes six airbags (driver and passenger, front side, front and rear curtain), M seat belt (anchor, pretensioner, reminder), ISOFIX, blind-spot info system, high-beam assistant, parking sensors (front, rear), parking camera, attentiveness assistant, acoustic protection for pedestrians, active protection, Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake-Force Distribution (EBD), Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Hill-Start Assist (HSA), Tyre pressure Monitoring System (TPMS), and security alarm.
Drivers can select between three different Drivelogic gearbox modes and three M xDrive settings. The latter includes the standard 4WD, 4WD Sport and 4WD Sand.
Featuring the other half of the BMW Curved Display, the infotainment sees a 14.9-Inch central touchscreen, running BMW Live Cockpit Professional on the latest BMW Operating System 8.
It supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, smartphone connectivity, navigation, 5G network, BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant, BMW Gesture Control and over-the-air software update.
The suite of Driving Assistant Package will make cruising through the city or speeding through the highway a more relaxing experience.
While the suit of Parking Assistant Plus will make manoeuvring the huge super-SUV in and out of any tight spots an easier task.
Integrated into the two-tone vintage leather design door is a setup of Bowers and Wilkins Diamond surround sound system.
Under the hood is the first-ever plug-in hybrid M powertrain.
Merged is a 4.4-Litre V8 twin-turbocharged petrol engine that makes 489 HP and 650 NM of torque, and a 145-KW electric motor that makes 77 HP and 280 NM of torque.
Mutually, they generate a total output of 653 HP and 800 NM of torque.
Fitted is an eight-speed M Steptronic automatic transmission.
Power is sent to all four wheels (4WD), via the M xDrive all-wheel drive system.
Century sprint takes 4.3 seconds. The max top speed is 270 KM/H, while the electric top speed maxes out at 140 KM/H. Courtesy of the M Driver’s Package that comes as standard.
The fuel tank capacity is 69-Litres and it is capable of delivering a combined fuel consumption figure of 1.6 to 1.5-Litre for every 100 KM.
Whereas, the electric motor is powered by a 29.5-KWH Lithium-Ion battery, offering a total driving distance between 82 to 88 KM (WLTP) on a single charge.
A full charge takes 4 hours and 15 minutes, via a 7.4-KW AC wallbox charger (No DC fast charging). Also, included is a flexible charger and a public charging cable.
The all-new BMW XM gets Comfort Access system with engine push-button start, powered boot operation, four-zone automatic climate control, welcome carpet lights, ambient lighting, steering wheel (multi-switches, tilt, telescopic), front seats (power adjustable, active ventilation, massage function), BMW Live Cockpit Professional, temperature controlled cup holders, heat monitoring wireless charging tray, parking cameras, parking sensors, auto high-beam and rain sensing wipers.
Rear air-conditioning vents are present in the cabin.
The Adaptive M Suspension Professional installed, provides a sporty handling without compromising comfort, the Integral Active Steering stabilises the vehicle at higher speeds and reduces turning radius, and the active stabilisers reduce side-to-side body rolls, improving driving dynamics and comfort.
Then, the M Sport differential delivers great performance on the road, variably distributing the driving power between the rear wheels, improving traction and stability in various driving scenarios, e.g., accelerating out of bends, at high cornering speeds or with differing road conditions.
Overall, it is solid and extremely comfortable with a handling that is more refined and agile. The ride quality is luxuriously excellent, and the dual-natured drive has a wonderfully smooth engine power and transmission delivery.
Good sound insulation, with all the NVH aspects of the build accounted for. The cabin is able to suppress wind, road and tyre noises extremely well, making them barely noticeable at all speeds and even when cruising through bumpy asphalts.
The all-new BMW XM is in a class of its own. Enveloped by an uber luxurious appeal that commands a presence like no other.
Paired to a formidable dynamic powertrain, it offers a dual-natured driving experience only a BMW is able to.
Its striking exterior is very well designed with the harmonious proportions, powerful contours, and emphasis on the huge body sculpture.
Quality of the equipment and materials installed inside and outside of the super-SUV really impresses with the upscale, mature design and restrained detailing.
Overall, the all-new XM is just a strong character, a great vehicle that offers an elegant outlook, sporty performance and practicality all in one.