2024 BMW X5M Competition LCI _ REVIEW on AUTOBAHN

The Dynamics of a BMW X5 M60i: A Review

As I sat behind the wheel of the BMW X5 M60i, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation. The car's performance capabilities had been touted as impressive, and I was eager to put it through its paces. However, my enthusiasm was quickly tempered by the presence of an obtrusive sound that seemed to emanate from the engine itself. It was as if the car was trying too hard to replicate the sound of a V8 engine, but in doing so, had ended up sounding like nothing more than a cheap imitation.

The sound was particularly jarring when I first turned the car on, with a loud, artificial note that seemed to pierce through the air. It was as if the car's manufacturers had taken every cliche from a sports car's soundtrack and mashed them all together into one ear-piercing cacophony. The noise continued to build in intensity until it became almost unbearable, and I found myself wincing in discomfort as I tried to focus on the road ahead.

However, when I finally managed to silence the sound by turning off the engine, the car's performance capabilities truly shone through. The steering was light and responsive, with a precise feel that allowed me to carve through corners with ease. The car's handling was impressive, with a suspension setup that seemed to seamlessly absorb even the toughest road surfaces. But while the X5 M60i handled beautifully, there was still something about its driving dynamics that didn't quite sit right with me.

The steering itself felt a bit unusual, with a strange resistance that made it difficult to pinpoint exactly what the car was doing at any given moment. It wasn't unpleasant, per se, but it did feel a bit unnatural, as if the car was somehow cheating by hiding its weight and agility behind a veil of electronic wizardry. And while the sound on the outside was never truly impressive – it was more like a weak imitation of a real V8 engine than an actual performance soundtrack – there were moments when I could appreciate the car's exhaust notes, which had been subtly modified to produce a more muted, less jarring sound.

Hardware-wise, the X5 M60i was equipped with all the right bits and bobs. A proper suspension setup, coupled with an active M differential at the rear, allowed for impressive handling and traction – particularly when pushing hard on four-wheel drive sport mode. And while it wasn't always easy to get the car to slide and dance through the corners as I'd like, there was something undeniably appealing about its willingness to do so.

But as much as I admired the X5 M60i's performance capabilities, I couldn't help but feel that they were somehow compromised by its handling dynamics. The sport steering felt a bit too light around the center, and then suddenly became heavier – which made it difficult for me to adjust my driving style accordingly. It was a strange feeling, like being trapped in a perpetual seesaw of light and heavy, where I couldn't quite trust what the car would do next.

In terms of performance, we measured 9.33 seconds over the quarter mile, exactly as fast as the standard X5 M model we tested last year – but it was still 210 mph short of the competition, which left me feeling a bit underwhelmed. Perhaps that's just me being picky, though; after all, the real fun lies in pushing this car to its limits and seeing what kind of antics it can get up to.

One aspect of the X5 M60i that did seem well-suited to daily driving was its quietness. Even at high speeds, the cabin remained eerily silent – thanks in part to new catalytic inverters installed beneath the exhaust system, which significantly reduced the noise level. It made the car feel surprisingly refined and comfortable, like a more subdued version of its more aggressive siblings.

Of course, there's always the X5 M60i Competition – a behemoth of a car that dwarfs this M60i model in terms of sheer performance. But even so, I couldn't help but feel that it would be overkill for most drivers. The M60i already offered plenty of grunt and power, and while its handling was certainly impressive, I found myself wishing for a bit more finesse and nuance in the driving experience.

Ultimately, I think BMW's designers have struck upon something special with this latest iteration of the X5. While it may not be perfect – and there are still moments when it feels slightly stiff or unrefined – it's clear that they've worked hard to create a car that can balance both everyday practicality and high-performance fun.

As for the facelift, I think BMW has done themselves proud once again. The changes are substantial, with new bumpers, lights, and even some subtle tweaks to the engine design itself. But in the end, it's still just an X5 M60i – a car that will continue to delight its owners with its performance capabilities, even as it continues to grow and evolve over time.

And so, I'll give this latest iteration of the X5 M60i four and a half stars out of five. It may not be perfect, but it's a seriously impressive effort – one that cements BMW's position as a leader in the world of high-performance SUVs.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat's up ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this POV review by autotop now my name is Max and today I'm going to show you around the all new 2023 BMW x5m competition uh which has had a little update both styling wise and a couple mechanical updates as well so today I'm going to show you around it and then we'll take it for a drive towards the utaban for an aaban blast now uh what have they changed styling wise there is quite a big difference actually pre facelift compared to this new styling we have new headlights a much more aggressive front end you can see that Grill is kind of well XM like in its shape and then a lot of black stuff around that to make it even more aggressive big air intakes uh down there and down the side as well and then wheels and tires we've got these 21s at the front 22s at the rear 295 section tire at the front 35s at the rear which is quite large and then uh we've got melet Pilot Sport 4S rubber around that which is very nice behind that we've got the M compound brakes which actually are pretty good initial bite is really good and performance seems to be holding up pretty well although they do start squeaking a little bit after uh some proper use but they seem to be holding up pretty well which is nice uh they did make little changes to the braking system itself but not to the uh calipers or the discs or uh stuff like that we've got regular coilover Springs not air suspension on the x5m which is great that means that you have a lot more control because BMW wants this car to be very very sporty and uh well I think it's a bit too sporty to be honest I think it's a bit too harsh a bit too firm for a big SUV but this is the best setup if you want to achieve that goal so they did change some stuff in the suspension it's a little bit softer than the pre-facelift but like by a small margin because the x5m has disappeared so you only have a competition now so they don't have like the difference between the regular x5m and the competition anymore so I think they needed to make this a little bit softer to still be able to get the customers that want a little bit of a softer setup uh like as a daily maybe stuff like that uh we do have new Wheels which I quite like then we we have this matte Frozen gray as BMW calls it very well I like it it's a cool color for the car it it's a nice contrast with all the black stuff around the car uh I I mean I would not choose this for my own car but I think it looks kind of cool it it's definitely very aggressive very mean car uh at the rear as well it it does look really good I think the rear light design of the new X5 is very very good uh we've got uh the exhaust quad tail pipes of course in black and then we have a split tealgate which I love I think that's so cool you can sit on here of course when you have to change your boots or you just want to hang out we also have a cover here which you can stow away by pressing a button and then it comes up which is kind of crazy and then you can choose if you want the automatic setting or not uh but yeah that is kind of cool I love the fact that you have a split tailgate and you can just hit that button and they both close up which is nice and then we move on to the other big change I mean The Styling is quite a big change I think especially the front it's a big difference compared to the prefacelift but also this is a big change the mechanical updates for this car because we no longer have the old S63 engine we now have the s68 which is the new version of the 4.4 L V8 biturbo engine with mild hybrid support as you can see the purple caes running uh in the rear there so we have a integrated starter generator 48 volt mild hybrid system uh that gives you a little bit of a boost as well uh when you need it but it has the same power 625 horsepower 750 newm uh torque available from 1,800 RPM which is kind kind of crazy and uh well other than that we've got a new strut brace here we've got a Shear plate underneath we've got a new fortification around the exhaust as well uh to make it all even stiffer we've got new engine mounts I think we've got a new crankshaft we've got the transmission oil system has been upgraded the transmission mounts have been upgraded oh it finally quiets down these these V8 BMW really they have have to cool them a lot when you stop driving it takes a while and it's very loud but uh anyway uh We've also got changes to the internals of the turbos themselves and we've got changes to the oil sump and the oil pump so yeah actually quite a big uh update here which is nice I always like it when the facelift brings a lot of new stuff so performance 0 to 100 3.9 seconds toop speed 290 with the optional M driver speack uh which is nice that's a proper performance for this big SUV what does it weigh I think like 2400 kilos it's quite a heavy car of course and then interior wise we have the new iDrive 8 system with the dual screen not a fan of still haven't gotten used to it and uh yeah I still long for the old system we have this really tacky M striping thing on the dash as well a lot of carbon fiber do like that shape that is quite cool and the massive seats super comfy very supportive that is all a okay uh soundwise there is a big difference uh when you close the valves so if I go to M2 mode which is like the you have to wait now which why do I have to wait for like 3 seconds before I can hit it so when you hit M2 and there's a a traction control off setting in there it asks you to confirm so you press it once and then I have to wait to actually confirm that I want it used to be just tap it twice it's very annoying um anyway you can actually hear the valve opening and closing but you can hardly hear a difference in sound levels and that is because there's a lot of fake sound being pushed through the speaker so the idle sound you now hear I don't I know if you guys can hear that it's like it hardly changes and then if you give it a little bit of throtle you do get a bit of a burble and it seems on the outside it actually seems like it's a bit louder but on the inside the fake sound just completely takes over and I really don't like that but you'll hear more about that when we take it for a drive now we still have the ZF 8-speed gearbox which apparently they also made some changes to to Quicken up the shifts and as you can hear this it's just too much for me I'm going to try and not be annoyed by this the entire review but it's just it takes over and you have that that fake sound on the shift as well I don't like it and when I turn it off you have a it sounds like a V8 in the distance you know I like this much better I think it's it's much better to drive it's less annoying uh if they could just make this sound of a little bit louder I think you're there you don't need all that drama all that fake V8 sound you don't need it anyway uh driving Dynamics are very impressive with this car they have really been able to uh to make this thing handle very impressively it's it hide it it hides its weight really well it's just a steering that's a bit weird I mean sport steering right now and that means that it's kind of light around the center and and then you have like a certain point where it gets heavier but it's it's a weird resistance it doesn't feel very natural which is a shame sound on the outside especially under load is yeah it's not great there is some sound but it's never been this car strong shoot of course uh sound this engine really yeah it does not have the most charismatic sound or character of course Hardware wise you've got that proper suspension setup and you have an active M differential at the rear uh that also torque vect c s so they really did their best to make this car handle as good as it can and to to get the power down you can actually you know push it and slide it uh if you're in four-wheel drive sport it's not very natural it it's kind of starts skipping over its Tire uh because it's so heavy and high up of course but you can do it and uh yeah it is a testament to how well BMW sets up these SUVs so here we go on to the Alan and again you know that fake sound is super loud oh listen to that difference that is so stupid oh my God I feel like modern BMW M marketing is aimed at like 11 year olds oh that is hilariously idiotic I think so 100 to 200 performance we also measured that of course and we did 9.33 which is exactly as fast as a BMW X M uh but it is 210 slower than the pre-facelift x5m competition we tested I'm just going to turn it off oh this is so nice this is what I want in a fast SUV you know cruising continents well it is very quiet they also installed some new catalytic inverters in this exhaust I'm not sure with what ball it's probably to make it even more quiet than it already was because yeah there's no sound coming from this exhaust now but I still prefer this over that fake sound but I think for the video this might be a bit more entertaining right because you can actually hear the Reps you do need a bit of space to get that 290 uh top speed but it will do it and yeah I I do think as I said I think they did make it a little bit too stiff again I know yeah I'm not sure if x5m competition customers all really like that but for me when I drive this car like on a daily basis uh with a lot of variety in surfaces and Roads and speed bumps and you know everything combined I always feel like they're a bit too harsh a bit too stiff uh a bit a bit jiggly and they they throw you around a bit which is not the case with an X5 m60i which is you know the new M performance version of this engine so uh the that sits below I think that car has a much better balance for daily driving the the power is you know more than enough but it combines that with a much more comfortable suspension setup and it also sounds better so yeah I think for daily driving the m60i again is the one to have uh but if you want to extract that last bit of performance from your X5 yeah or if you just want the the biggest and baddest and fastest version then you know get an x5m but on a daily basis I don't I don't actually think you need it I do like the control you have in this car it feels it feels very controlled and it feels very balanced and yeah it once you're on it uh it can be rather enjoyable to drive and uh quite a a cool experience to throw around this car and uh see what it can do and in terms of facelifts you know and as far as facelift go this is a pretty pretty good one it is a pretty hefty one so there you have it facelifted x5m competition uh we are at the border so fun is over hope you enjoyed this video you can subscribe by clicking the big button in the middle you can also check out this video or this playlist see you the next one byewhat's up ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this POV review by autotop now my name is Max and today I'm going to show you around the all new 2023 BMW x5m competition uh which has had a little update both styling wise and a couple mechanical updates as well so today I'm going to show you around it and then we'll take it for a drive towards the utaban for an aaban blast now uh what have they changed styling wise there is quite a big difference actually pre facelift compared to this new styling we have new headlights a much more aggressive front end you can see that Grill is kind of well XM like in its shape and then a lot of black stuff around that to make it even more aggressive big air intakes uh down there and down the side as well and then wheels and tires we've got these 21s at the front 22s at the rear 295 section tire at the front 35s at the rear which is quite large and then uh we've got melet Pilot Sport 4S rubber around that which is very nice behind that we've got the M compound brakes which actually are pretty good initial bite is really good and performance seems to be holding up pretty well although they do start squeaking a little bit after uh some proper use but they seem to be holding up pretty well which is nice uh they did make little changes to the braking system itself but not to the uh calipers or the discs or uh stuff like that we've got regular coilover Springs not air suspension on the x5m which is great that means that you have a lot more control because BMW wants this car to be very very sporty and uh well I think it's a bit too sporty to be honest I think it's a bit too harsh a bit too firm for a big SUV but this is the best setup if you want to achieve that goal so they did change some stuff in the suspension it's a little bit softer than the pre-facelift but like by a small margin because the x5m has disappeared so you only have a competition now so they don't have like the difference between the regular x5m and the competition anymore so I think they needed to make this a little bit softer to still be able to get the customers that want a little bit of a softer setup uh like as a daily maybe stuff like that uh we do have new Wheels which I quite like then we we have this matte Frozen gray as BMW calls it very well I like it it's a cool color for the car it it's a nice contrast with all the black stuff around the car uh I I mean I would not choose this for my own car but I think it looks kind of cool it it's definitely very aggressive very mean car uh at the rear as well it it does look really good I think the rear light design of the new X5 is very very good uh we've got uh the exhaust quad tail pipes of course in black and then we have a split tealgate which I love I think that's so cool you can sit on here of course when you have to change your boots or you just want to hang out we also have a cover here which you can stow away by pressing a button and then it comes up which is kind of crazy and then you can choose if you want the automatic setting or not uh but yeah that is kind of cool I love the fact that you have a split tailgate and you can just hit that button and they both close up which is nice and then we move on to the other big change I mean The Styling is quite a big change I think especially the front it's a big difference compared to the prefacelift but also this is a big change the mechanical updates for this car because we no longer have the old S63 engine we now have the s68 which is the new version of the 4.4 L V8 biturbo engine with mild hybrid support as you can see the purple caes running uh in the rear there so we have a integrated starter generator 48 volt mild hybrid system uh that gives you a little bit of a boost as well uh when you need it but it has the same power 625 horsepower 750 newm uh torque available from 1,800 RPM which is kind kind of crazy and uh well other than that we've got a new strut brace here we've got a Shear plate underneath we've got a new fortification around the exhaust as well uh to make it all even stiffer we've got new engine mounts I think we've got a new crankshaft we've got the transmission oil system has been upgraded the transmission mounts have been upgraded oh it finally quiets down these these V8 BMW really they have have to cool them a lot when you stop driving it takes a while and it's very loud but uh anyway uh We've also got changes to the internals of the turbos themselves and we've got changes to the oil sump and the oil pump so yeah actually quite a big uh update here which is nice I always like it when the facelift brings a lot of new stuff so performance 0 to 100 3.9 seconds toop speed 290 with the optional M driver speack uh which is nice that's a proper performance for this big SUV what does it weigh I think like 2400 kilos it's quite a heavy car of course and then interior wise we have the new iDrive 8 system with the dual screen not a fan of still haven't gotten used to it and uh yeah I still long for the old system we have this really tacky M striping thing on the dash as well a lot of carbon fiber do like that shape that is quite cool and the massive seats super comfy very supportive that is all a okay uh soundwise there is a big difference uh when you close the valves so if I go to M2 mode which is like the you have to wait now which why do I have to wait for like 3 seconds before I can hit it so when you hit M2 and there's a a traction control off setting in there it asks you to confirm so you press it once and then I have to wait to actually confirm that I want it used to be just tap it twice it's very annoying um anyway you can actually hear the valve opening and closing but you can hardly hear a difference in sound levels and that is because there's a lot of fake sound being pushed through the speaker so the idle sound you now hear I don't I know if you guys can hear that it's like it hardly changes and then if you give it a little bit of throtle you do get a bit of a burble and it seems on the outside it actually seems like it's a bit louder but on the inside the fake sound just completely takes over and I really don't like that but you'll hear more about that when we take it for a drive now we still have the ZF 8-speed gearbox which apparently they also made some changes to to Quicken up the shifts and as you can hear this it's just too much for me I'm going to try and not be annoyed by this the entire review but it's just it takes over and you have that that fake sound on the shift as well I don't like it and when I turn it off you have a it sounds like a V8 in the distance you know I like this much better I think it's it's much better to drive it's less annoying uh if they could just make this sound of a little bit louder I think you're there you don't need all that drama all that fake V8 sound you don't need it anyway uh driving Dynamics are very impressive with this car they have really been able to uh to make this thing handle very impressively it's it hide it it hides its weight really well it's just a steering that's a bit weird I mean sport steering right now and that means that it's kind of light around the center and and then you have like a certain point where it gets heavier but it's it's a weird resistance it doesn't feel very natural which is a shame sound on the outside especially under load is yeah it's not great there is some sound but it's never been this car strong shoot of course uh sound this engine really yeah it does not have the most charismatic sound or character of course Hardware wise you've got that proper suspension setup and you have an active M differential at the rear uh that also torque vect c s so they really did their best to make this car handle as good as it can and to to get the power down you can actually you know push it and slide it uh if you're in four-wheel drive sport it's not very natural it it's kind of starts skipping over its Tire uh because it's so heavy and high up of course but you can do it and uh yeah it is a testament to how well BMW sets up these SUVs so here we go on to the Alan and again you know that fake sound is super loud oh listen to that difference that is so stupid oh my God I feel like modern BMW M marketing is aimed at like 11 year olds oh that is hilariously idiotic I think so 100 to 200 performance we also measured that of course and we did 9.33 which is exactly as fast as a BMW X M uh but it is 210 slower than the pre-facelift x5m competition we tested I'm just going to turn it off oh this is so nice this is what I want in a fast SUV you know cruising continents well it is very quiet they also installed some new catalytic inverters in this exhaust I'm not sure with what ball it's probably to make it even more quiet than it already was because yeah there's no sound coming from this exhaust now but I still prefer this over that fake sound but I think for the video this might be a bit more entertaining right because you can actually hear the Reps you do need a bit of space to get that 290 uh top speed but it will do it and yeah I I do think as I said I think they did make it a little bit too stiff again I know yeah I'm not sure if x5m competition customers all really like that but for me when I drive this car like on a daily basis uh with a lot of variety in surfaces and Roads and speed bumps and you know everything combined I always feel like they're a bit too harsh a bit too stiff uh a bit a bit jiggly and they they throw you around a bit which is not the case with an X5 m60i which is you know the new M performance version of this engine so uh the that sits below I think that car has a much better balance for daily driving the the power is you know more than enough but it combines that with a much more comfortable suspension setup and it also sounds better so yeah I think for daily driving the m60i again is the one to have uh but if you want to extract that last bit of performance from your X5 yeah or if you just want the the biggest and baddest and fastest version then you know get an x5m but on a daily basis I don't I don't actually think you need it I do like the control you have in this car it feels it feels very controlled and it feels very balanced and yeah it once you're on it uh it can be rather enjoyable to drive and uh quite a a cool experience to throw around this car and uh see what it can do and in terms of facelifts you know and as far as facelift go this is a pretty pretty good one it is a pretty hefty one so there you have it facelifted x5m competition uh we are at the border so fun is over hope you enjoyed this video you can subscribe by clicking the big button in the middle you can also check out this video or this playlist see you the next one bye\n"