2020 BMW X5M Competition Review - The Best SUV Ever!

**The BMW X5M: A Beast of a Car**

As I sat down to drive the BMW X5M, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation. The car is an aggressive version of the X5, with a range of features that make it perfect for both everyday driving and track days. One of the first things I noticed was the shifter in speed 3 mode, which allowed me to select the shift speed as well as the engine response. This gave me complete control over how the car behaved on the road.

The X5M is also equipped with sport plus chassis, sport plus steering, and sport brakes - all of which were set to sport mode when I started driving. The brake pedal was adjusted to require less pressure than normal, giving me a sense of responsiveness that was almost supernatural. As I accelerated out of the starting line, I was greeted by a 0-60 time of just 3.7 seconds, which is no joke.

One of the most impressive things about the X5M is its passing power. The car feels incredibly linear, with a surge of speed that's more like a sports sedan than a typical twin-turbocharged SUV. This means that you don't get that sudden "surge" of power that many other cars offer - instead, the acceleration just keeps coming and coming until you're flying down the road at high speeds.

The X5M is also incredibly confident on the track. The adaptive M suspension helps to keep the car flat and stable, even when cornering at high speeds. While I couldn't get a drift mode, which was a disappointment, the car still handles beautifully and responds predictably to every input. The heads up display on the instrument cluster was a nice touch, providing vital information such as shift points and speed limits in sport and track modes.

One of the things that really impressed me about the X5M is its handling and performance. It's like a sports sedan that just happens to have some more room in the back and higher ground clearance. The car feels incredibly direct and predictable, with virtually no body roll even at high speeds. This is thanks in part to the advanced suspension system, which works tirelessly behind the scenes to keep the car stable and comfortable.

In terms of features, the X5M has a lot to offer. The ambient lighting is beautifully done, with a range of colors and effects that add a touch of sophistication to the cabin. The tech is also top-notch, with features like a 12.3-inch instrument cluster display and a range of driver assistance systems.

Overall, I'm thoroughly in love with the X5M. It's the perfect blend of performance, refinement, and style - and it's incredibly good value for money. Whether you're driving daily or hitting the track, this car is sure to deliver. And if you can't get behind its aggressive styling, there are plenty of other colors to choose from - including a stunning blue option that I couldn't resist.

So what's the X5M like as an everyday commuter? The answer is: it's great. The car is comfortable and refined on the road, making it perfect for long drives or daily commutes. And with its advanced safety features and driver assistance systems, you can drive with confidence knowing that you're protected.

But the X5M isn't just a practical car - it's also a serious performance vehicle. With its incredible acceleration and handling, it's perfect for canyon cruising or track days. And at half the price of some of its competitors, it's an absolute steal. Whether you're a seasoned car enthusiast or just looking for a fun and exciting ride, the X5M is sure to deliver.

**Track Day Performance**

When I took the X5M out on the track, I was blown away by its performance. The car devoured the corners with ease, its adaptive M suspension working tirelessly to keep it stable and flat. The brakes were also incredible, slowing the car down from high speeds with ease and confidence.

One of the things that really impressed me about the X5M's track day performance is its lack of feedback through the steering wheel. Unlike some other cars, you don't get a ton of communication from the road surface or tire wear - instead, the steering feels incredibly direct and predictable. This means that you can focus on driving without getting distracted by subtle inputs from the car.

Another feature of the X5M's track day performance is its incredible speed. The 0-60 time is just 3.7 seconds, which is no joke. And when you're pushing the car hard, the acceleration feels incredibly smooth and linear - unlike some other twin-turbocharged cars that can feel sudden and abrupt.

**Ambient Lighting**

One of the nicest touches in the X5M's cabin is its ambient lighting system. The car offers a range of colors and effects, from subtle LED accents to full-on mood lighting. This adds a touch of sophistication to the interior, making it feel like a high-end luxury vehicle.

The ambient lighting system is also incredibly customizable - you can adjust the color, brightness, and pattern of the lights to suit your mood or preferences. Whether you're driving at night or simply want to add some ambiance to the cabin, this feature is sure to impress.

**Tech Features**

One of the things that really impressed me about the X5M's tech features is its 12.3-inch instrument cluster display. This beautiful screen provides a wealth of information, from speed and direction to navigation and entertainment options. It's incredibly intuitive to use, with a range of customization options to suit your needs.

The car also offers a range of driver assistance systems, including lane departure warning, blind spot detection, and adaptive cruise control. These features make driving easier and more convenient, while also providing an added layer of safety and security.

Overall, the X5M is a car that's full of clever tech features and thoughtful design touches. Whether you're driving daily or hitting the track, this car is sure to deliver - and with its incredible performance, refined handling, and advanced safety features, it's an absolute steal.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ennext to me is the all-new bmw x5m competition it's faster than ever it's sexier than ever and it's packed with a crazy amount of tech so is it worth every bit of its 105 000 base price well today we're gonna find out exactly that you know the x5m has always been one of my favorite bmws it's the enthusiast choice for a performance suv and essentially it's almost like an m5 that's more practical has more ground clearance and that you can off-road and that is freaking badass now under the hood of this beast lies a 4.4 liter twin turbocharged v8 that makes 600 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque although this car has the competition package which gives it an additional 17 horsepower for a total of seventeen 617. nine thousand dollars the competition package is expensive you get that 17 additional horsepower but you get some key upgrades that i think make it worth it for one you get blacked out shadow line trim all throughout the exterior of the car it just looks a heck of a lot cleaner you also get upgraded 21-inch wheels in the front and 22-inch wheels in the rear that look phenomenal but the most important you get m sport seats and the m-sport exhaust that sounds incredible the massive v8 is paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission and power is sent to all four wheels zero to sixty happens in just 3.7 seconds for a 5400 pound suv how wild is that really the only complaint i have about the engine that's not a big one is this plastic cover has fake carbon fiber i feel like for what this car cost they could have made it real the x5m has always been a good looking car but this generation is sexier than ever and i love the styling of the front you know bmw is playing around with different grille sizes but i think the kidney grille to lower vent ratio on the x5m they absolutely nailed it it just looks aggressive and clean yet not overkill it's not too showy but you definitely know that you're looking at an m car and not a normal x5 i also love the bmw laser headlights it looks so cool the side profile of the x5m is good looking as well you've got your signature air curtain air breather here with the x5m logo on it although unlike the previous gen where this air breather actually allowed turbulent airflow to escape out the wheel well and down the side of the car that's just cosmetic it doesn't actually do anything competition wheels look absolutely fantastic there's three different wheel choices you can choose from there are 10 standard color options eight of which are free this is marina bay blue metallic and i think it looks absolutely stunning speaking of the wheels 295 section tires in the front and 315s in the back couple that with all-wheel drive and this thing has so much grip it's absolutely ridiculous once again it probably comes as no surprise that the rear of the x5m is good looking as well i love the sculpted body lines and this massive meaty rear diffuser housing that beautiful sounding quad exhaust and i also like the fact that it has a split tailgate so when you open the car up this part raises and we've also got a lower tailgate so you can go ahead and sit have a picnic or make it easier to bring stuff into the back of the x5m now if you fold the rear seats down it says 66 cubic feet of storage space which is class leading and honestly really impressive popping in the back of the x5m reveals there is plenty of legroom i'm 5'11 plenty of headroom we've got this massive sunroof above me now there's not a ton of creature comforts but everything is covered in high quality leather and materials so it does feel very nice back here you do have access to the climate control now because this has the 3 600 executive package we get heated seats back here you don't normally but that also comes with ventilated front seats heated as well you also got this sun shade or peasant blocker whatever you want to call it and it comes with remote engine start so you can actually turn on your x5m from your key which is pretty cool because the exhaust sounds awesome when you fire it up and you've got heated and cooled cup holders that works very well also comes with those laser headlights up front there is so much to talk about this interior is absolutely gorgeous i love the hexagonal quilting on the seats there's a bunch of different interior color options especially with the two-tone contrasted interiors make the seats look phenomenal i also love the fact that these m sport seats actually light up at night time you don't just have this embroidered logo it actually lights up which is pretty trick speaking of lighting up there are a bunch of different ambient light options we'll go over those more in the what it's like to drive video i'm gonna go into a dark environment so i can show you uh that ambient lighting a bit more effectively but i'll give you a little teaser of it right here now for audio files there's an upgraded speaker system the bowers and wilkins system which is equipped here the diamond surround system for 3 400 comes with 20 speakers and 1500 watts of power and it sounds absolutely phenomenal but one of the coolest things is when you've got it turned on at night time it's got this really cool ambient lighting tornado inside of the tweeters that just looks really really trick now we've got a bunch of different customizable options for the screens let's start with the instrument cluster right now i'm in m mode which means i've got this really driver oriented tachometer and speedo it's got these two horizontal lines that look like something out of a flight simulator i absolutely love that design got a nice heads up display in front of me as well if we put it into normal mode you get more information on the screen it's a bit more simplistic for the design but you can also get navigation options so on and so forth on this screen you can do anything from control the ambient lighting to experience modes that i'll talk about more in the point of view video that is just absolutely absurd we've got an unbelievably awesome surround camera system that works just so well i mean if you crash this car it'd actually be impressive all right so what is the x5m actually like to drive well to start off because the drive modes are so customizable and i love that about bmws uh we're gonna put everything into its softest settings so we've got the engine in the efficiency setting the chassis in the comfort setting the steering in the comfort setting the brakes which are controllable i'll talk more about that in a bit in the comfort setting and then we've got the mx drive in normal four-wheel drive mode i do have to say even in its most comfortable setting it does ride a little bit harsh now i like that about the car because it means when you put it into full sport plus mode for everything it's got very very little body roll for an suv which is a difficult thing to do considering it's higher center of gravity than something like a bmw m5 but if you're looking for something that's incredibly plush and comfortable you might want to get maybe a normal x5 or look into a different vehicle because it is a little bit stiffer but like i said i prefer that driving it around town it's super easy visibility is fantastic i love the look out over the hood we've got these two really sharp muscular lines on the hood that feel kind of like precision arrow points of where to place the car on the road we've got all these advanced driver safety systems um like lane keep assist if you click a button for the active cruise control and lane keep assist on the steering wheel this car will actually pilot itself within the lanes uh it works best on the highway and then after 10 seconds or so you get these yellow indicator lights that pop up on the steering wheel that let you know hey you really need to put your hands back on the wheel because we're about to cancel the system but it can slow itself all the way to a stop and speed itself up again it's really nice and i activate it most of the times that i'm driving uh long distances because that little bit of a cyst on the steering wheel just feels nice it just makes it a more relaxing driving experience but this isn't your everyday commuter comfortable car with nothing else to show for it is a true performance suv so we're going to go ahead i've got these two customizable buttons m1 and m2 you can set them up however you like i've actually got both of them set up to pretty much be the most aggressive modes possible one with traction control on one with traction control off but more typically you'd probably have a around town city driving mode and then maybe one for the canyons but we're gonna activate m1 mode we've got the shifter uh in speed 3 so you can actually select the shift speed uh as well as the engine response now we've got engine and sport plus chassis in sport plus steering and sport the brakes are actually adjustable as well so they're in sport mode which means i have to click on the brake pedal less than you would normally have to in order to apply the brakes it doesn't actually slow the car down any faster but the responsiveness is actually insane when you're in that mode uh and then we are in four wheel drive mode you can shift uh the percentage of rear wheel driveness uh when you're in four wheel drive sport if you so want but unfortunately there is no drift mode like there is in the m5 maybe they thought that was useless and uh in the x5m but a drift mode in the x5m i think that'd be pretty trick all right let's pick up the pace a little bit 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds is no joke and this car doesn't slow down after 60. the passing power of the x5m is truly truly impressive and it feels really linear you don't get this surge of power like most twin turbocharged cars it just accelerates and accelerates smoother and smoother and all of a sudden you're going dangerously high speeds i've got the dash in sport mode right now giving me that cool fighter jet feel but it is actually absurd how fast you can come into corners in the x5m i mean this thing is truly like a sports sedan that just happens to have some more room in the back and higher ground clearance the performance is insane the brakes on this car are actually staggering considering its curb weight oh my gosh this thing slows down like a supercar and the confidence you get because of that all-wheel drive is unbelievable it's actually unbelievable you don't get a ton of communication through the steering it's not like you're feeling every undulation in the road surface or really feeling much of the tires at all but the steering does feel really predictable and even though you don't have a bunch of feedback it just goes where you point it so so easily and feels really direct the heads up display on this is nice too especially in sport and track mode to let you know when to shift but you really shouldn't be able to come into corners this hot in an suv and have virtually no body roll you've got adaptive m suspension and you can feel it kind of battling with physics i mean this is a tall vehicle there's only so much you can do so it doesn't ride like a bag of bricks in a normal environment but the fact that this thing is able to stay as flat as it is is unbelievably impressive i love this car as an everyday uh commuter and a badass canyon cruiser off-roader do anything vehicle it really is hard to beat the x5m for the money i mean we've got the gle 63 um i guess there's the track hawk there's a couple couple other options but this to me is the best blend of everything it's got that refinement and class you know pulling up to a business meeting and a trackhawk versus an x5m it sends a different message uh regardless of how much power the trackhawk has this just seems like it ticks all the boxes of something you'd want in a car and for non-car people if you don't get it in this crazy blue color if you got it in black and you want to blend in you can because it doesn't look crazy showboat-y uh the same can't be said for something like a urus you know but this feels like it handles and performs almost every bit as good as the lamborghini urus for half the price and you can blend in at the same time or you get a crazy color like this which i absolutely love and it looks fantastic as well seriously bmw killed it with the x5m i'm in love with this thing could be a perfect daily driver for the future well guys i hope you enjoyed this video like always please browse the channel and subscribe the next video we're going to do a full point of view drive of this car showing you what it's like from a first person point of view and also go over a lot more of the ambient lighting as well as the tech and show you uh some features that we didn't talk about in this video alright guys make sure to turn your notification bell on so you don't miss the next video look forward to seeing you next time younext to me is the all-new bmw x5m competition it's faster than ever it's sexier than ever and it's packed with a crazy amount of tech so is it worth every bit of its 105 000 base price well today we're gonna find out exactly that you know the x5m has always been one of my favorite bmws it's the enthusiast choice for a performance suv and essentially it's almost like an m5 that's more practical has more ground clearance and that you can off-road and that is freaking badass now under the hood of this beast lies a 4.4 liter twin turbocharged v8 that makes 600 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque although this car has the competition package which gives it an additional 17 horsepower for a total of seventeen 617. nine thousand dollars the competition package is expensive you get that 17 additional horsepower but you get some key upgrades that i think make it worth it for one you get blacked out shadow line trim all throughout the exterior of the car it just looks a heck of a lot cleaner you also get upgraded 21-inch wheels in the front and 22-inch wheels in the rear that look phenomenal but the most important you get m sport seats and the m-sport exhaust that sounds incredible the massive v8 is paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission and power is sent to all four wheels zero to sixty happens in just 3.7 seconds for a 5400 pound suv how wild is that really the only complaint i have about the engine that's not a big one is this plastic cover has fake carbon fiber i feel like for what this car cost they could have made it real the x5m has always been a good looking car but this generation is sexier than ever and i love the styling of the front you know bmw is playing around with different grille sizes but i think the kidney grille to lower vent ratio on the x5m they absolutely nailed it it just looks aggressive and clean yet not overkill it's not too showy but you definitely know that you're looking at an m car and not a normal x5 i also love the bmw laser headlights it looks so cool the side profile of the x5m is good looking as well you've got your signature air curtain air breather here with the x5m logo on it although unlike the previous gen where this air breather actually allowed turbulent airflow to escape out the wheel well and down the side of the car that's just cosmetic it doesn't actually do anything competition wheels look absolutely fantastic there's three different wheel choices you can choose from there are 10 standard color options eight of which are free this is marina bay blue metallic and i think it looks absolutely stunning speaking of the wheels 295 section tires in the front and 315s in the back couple that with all-wheel drive and this thing has so much grip it's absolutely ridiculous once again it probably comes as no surprise that the rear of the x5m is good looking as well i love the sculpted body lines and this massive meaty rear diffuser housing that beautiful sounding quad exhaust and i also like the fact that it has a split tailgate so when you open the car up this part raises and we've also got a lower tailgate so you can go ahead and sit have a picnic or make it easier to bring stuff into the back of the x5m now if you fold the rear seats down it says 66 cubic feet of storage space which is class leading and honestly really impressive popping in the back of the x5m reveals there is plenty of legroom i'm 5'11 plenty of headroom we've got this massive sunroof above me now there's not a ton of creature comforts but everything is covered in high quality leather and materials so it does feel very nice back here you do have access to the climate control now because this has the 3 600 executive package we get heated seats back here you don't normally but that also comes with ventilated front seats heated as well you also got this sun shade or peasant blocker whatever you want to call it and it comes with remote engine start so you can actually turn on your x5m from your key which is pretty cool because the exhaust sounds awesome when you fire it up and you've got heated and cooled cup holders that works very well also comes with those laser headlights up front there is so much to talk about this interior is absolutely gorgeous i love the hexagonal quilting on the seats there's a bunch of different interior color options especially with the two-tone contrasted interiors make the seats look phenomenal i also love the fact that these m sport seats actually light up at night time you don't just have this embroidered logo it actually lights up which is pretty trick speaking of lighting up there are a bunch of different ambient light options we'll go over those more in the what it's like to drive video i'm gonna go into a dark environment so i can show you uh that ambient lighting a bit more effectively but i'll give you a little teaser of it right here now for audio files there's an upgraded speaker system the bowers and wilkins system which is equipped here the diamond surround system for 3 400 comes with 20 speakers and 1500 watts of power and it sounds absolutely phenomenal but one of the coolest things is when you've got it turned on at night time it's got this really cool ambient lighting tornado inside of the tweeters that just looks really really trick now we've got a bunch of different customizable options for the screens let's start with the instrument cluster right now i'm in m mode which means i've got this really driver oriented tachometer and speedo it's got these two horizontal lines that look like something out of a flight simulator i absolutely love that design got a nice heads up display in front of me as well if we put it into normal mode you get more information on the screen it's a bit more simplistic for the design but you can also get navigation options so on and so forth on this screen you can do anything from control the ambient lighting to experience modes that i'll talk about more in the point of view video that is just absolutely absurd we've got an unbelievably awesome surround camera system that works just so well i mean if you crash this car it'd actually be impressive all right so what is the x5m actually like to drive well to start off because the drive modes are so customizable and i love that about bmws uh we're gonna put everything into its softest settings so we've got the engine in the efficiency setting the chassis in the comfort setting the steering in the comfort setting the brakes which are controllable i'll talk more about that in a bit in the comfort setting and then we've got the mx drive in normal four-wheel drive mode i do have to say even in its most comfortable setting it does ride a little bit harsh now i like that about the car because it means when you put it into full sport plus mode for everything it's got very very little body roll for an suv which is a difficult thing to do considering it's higher center of gravity than something like a bmw m5 but if you're looking for something that's incredibly plush and comfortable you might want to get maybe a normal x5 or look into a different vehicle because it is a little bit stiffer but like i said i prefer that driving it around town it's super easy visibility is fantastic i love the look out over the hood we've got these two really sharp muscular lines on the hood that feel kind of like precision arrow points of where to place the car on the road we've got all these advanced driver safety systems um like lane keep assist if you click a button for the active cruise control and lane keep assist on the steering wheel this car will actually pilot itself within the lanes uh it works best on the highway and then after 10 seconds or so you get these yellow indicator lights that pop up on the steering wheel that let you know hey you really need to put your hands back on the wheel because we're about to cancel the system but it can slow itself all the way to a stop and speed itself up again it's really nice and i activate it most of the times that i'm driving uh long distances because that little bit of a cyst on the steering wheel just feels nice it just makes it a more relaxing driving experience but this isn't your everyday commuter comfortable car with nothing else to show for it is a true performance suv so we're going to go ahead i've got these two customizable buttons m1 and m2 you can set them up however you like i've actually got both of them set up to pretty much be the most aggressive modes possible one with traction control on one with traction control off but more typically you'd probably have a around town city driving mode and then maybe one for the canyons but we're gonna activate m1 mode we've got the shifter uh in speed 3 so you can actually select the shift speed uh as well as the engine response now we've got engine and sport plus chassis in sport plus steering and sport the brakes are actually adjustable as well so they're in sport mode which means i have to click on the brake pedal less than you would normally have to in order to apply the brakes it doesn't actually slow the car down any faster but the responsiveness is actually insane when you're in that mode uh and then we are in four wheel drive mode you can shift uh the percentage of rear wheel driveness uh when you're in four wheel drive sport if you so want but unfortunately there is no drift mode like there is in the m5 maybe they thought that was useless and uh in the x5m but a drift mode in the x5m i think that'd be pretty trick all right let's pick up the pace a little bit 0 to 60 in 3.7 seconds is no joke and this car doesn't slow down after 60. the passing power of the x5m is truly truly impressive and it feels really linear you don't get this surge of power like most twin turbocharged cars it just accelerates and accelerates smoother and smoother and all of a sudden you're going dangerously high speeds i've got the dash in sport mode right now giving me that cool fighter jet feel but it is actually absurd how fast you can come into corners in the x5m i mean this thing is truly like a sports sedan that just happens to have some more room in the back and higher ground clearance the performance is insane the brakes on this car are actually staggering considering its curb weight oh my gosh this thing slows down like a supercar and the confidence you get because of that all-wheel drive is unbelievable it's actually unbelievable you don't get a ton of communication through the steering it's not like you're feeling every undulation in the road surface or really feeling much of the tires at all but the steering does feel really predictable and even though you don't have a bunch of feedback it just goes where you point it so so easily and feels really direct the heads up display on this is nice too especially in sport and track mode to let you know when to shift but you really shouldn't be able to come into corners this hot in an suv and have virtually no body roll you've got adaptive m suspension and you can feel it kind of battling with physics i mean this is a tall vehicle there's only so much you can do so it doesn't ride like a bag of bricks in a normal environment but the fact that this thing is able to stay as flat as it is is unbelievably impressive i love this car as an everyday uh commuter and a badass canyon cruiser off-roader do anything vehicle it really is hard to beat the x5m for the money i mean we've got the gle 63 um i guess there's the track hawk there's a couple couple other options but this to me is the best blend of everything it's got that refinement and class you know pulling up to a business meeting and a trackhawk versus an x5m it sends a different message uh regardless of how much power the trackhawk has this just seems like it ticks all the boxes of something you'd want in a car and for non-car people if you don't get it in this crazy blue color if you got it in black and you want to blend in you can because it doesn't look crazy showboat-y uh the same can't be said for something like a urus you know but this feels like it handles and performs almost every bit as good as the lamborghini urus for half the price and you can blend in at the same time or you get a crazy color like this which i absolutely love and it looks fantastic as well seriously bmw killed it with the x5m i'm in love with this thing could be a perfect daily driver for the future well guys i hope you enjoyed this video like always please browse the channel and subscribe the next video we're going to do a full point of view drive of this car showing you what it's like from a first person point of view and also go over a lot more of the ambient lighting as well as the tech and show you uh some features that we didn't talk about in this video alright guys make sure to turn your notification bell on so you don't miss the next video look forward to seeing you next time you\n"