Chunky Yet Subtle | 2024 BMW X5 M LCI Review
Many kilometers in an E61 535d has left a nostalgic feeling for what makes a BMW a BMW for me. Mirror that feeling to recent, controversial decisions by the brand and after reading this review you’ll see why I ended up relieved.
Life cycle impulse, or LCI, is somehow synonymous with facelifts by the Munich-based brand and no other brand. And if you usually read only half a sentence, like I tend to do, you might have missed that we’re talking about the 2024 BMW X5 M LCI in the article. The updated X5 M Competition has been around in pre-LCI-form since 2019.
So what's changed since this big car with its big engine, and big price tag came to life? If you ask yourselves this a few months from now, you can say, yet again, that Donald Trump is the president of the United States. But let's not dwindle on wordplay or politics for too long, although I'm convinced Mr. President would appreciate the X5 M mucho. Who doesn't like a 625 hp and 700 Nm drivetrain though?
Nostalgia & Progressions
Intimidation is a strong personality trait of this X5 M Competition and that's mostly due to the extensive use of blackened surfaces on the car's facia. BMW's latest design trends have protruded here and demanded the presence of a rather large grille. New headlights have also stemmed from the brand's new design language and feature sharp DRLs. Run your eyes along the body, the changes remain very conservative and only an altered hip stands out. New colors are available though, like this matte grey finish dubbed BMW Individual Frozen Pure Grey. Another way of spotting LCI is via the rear lights, which have been revamped entirely and radiate a vibe fitting for the premium brand.
Contrary to changes in the car's facia, the 2024 BMW X5 M LCI's interior can be called a haven of nostalgia, or conservatism so to say. Most noticeable updates include new ambient lighting and the cross-gamma curved infotainment screen. As for the rest of the car's interior, BMW has left this almost untouched. As if they understood that this generation of X5 is a cultural relic that reminds us of times gone by. Times when chunky, beefy things were a brand identity and design cue at the same time. No surplus of lines and details, just obnoxious comfort.
List
Want more technical details on changes in the X5 LCI compared to its predecessor which was launched during Trump's first reign? Look no further, as the next few sentences should encompass that.
Hidden inside the top-tier X5's revised 8-speed M Steptronic transmission is, for the first time, an electric motor that pushes another 12 hp and 200 Nm onto the drivetrain. Yes, a mild-hybrid but one that tickles in the right way and not just the politically correct way. Also new is a reinforced crankshaft shoved in there by the engineers, who also deemed it necessary to optimize the air intake. Although I wonder if this was just a side effect of that new grille. M xDrive is revised to collaborate with the Active M Differential more. Thus allowing the well-known 4WD Sport modus, allowing drifting that is assisted by the car’s systems.
Driver Assistance also leaps with automated parking and automated driving aids, some optional. Standard upgrades include front collision systems now detecting pedestrians as well, supposedly because we didn’t test his. And Lane Departure Warning is now also capable of steering corrections, of which luckily you can adjust the level of the corrections’ severity in the setup menu.
X5 with a grim side
If there’s one thing the X5 M LCI is still good at, it’s being an X5. Comfy, practical, and very German quality. It’s so good at it actually, that you could be forgiven for forgetting about the monstrous performance potential this car ‘hides’. And that is so good at being a normal car is a big plus, transforming a family car into a two-faced machine like this isn’t always successful. Sure, the stiffer suspension and 22-inch compromise some of the comfort. Yet this is done marginally.
But in all honesty, this X5 is so good at being a normal car that it took me a while to figure out how to misbehave in it. See, the € 157.550 (BE) price tag and the fact that we test on public roads, limit us somewhat. And also guilty here is the hard-to-work-with performance settings. Guess what works best in terms of those settings? Everything turned up to the highest setting or lowest in terms of ESC. It was also necessary to switch to manual gear selection, as the M Steptronic has the bad habit of using very little of the available torque. Also, a downside to the non-DCT transmission is the seemingly slow reaction time to downshifts.
Other than the few remarks above, the performance on offer is beyond absurd for a car this size and weight. Did I mention the X5 M Competition weighs in at 2475 kg? Yet, 3.9 seconds to a hundred is achieved time and time again. In any weather and even with four adults.
Perhaps most impressive is the agility the car shows on winding roads, which it covers as it weighs only a fraction of its weight. And despite the AWD setup, the steering doesn't feel disconnected. At play here is the improved marriage between M xDrive and the Active M Differential. With MDM engaged the rear-wheel-biased drivetrain often releases the front axle of its propulsion obligations, giving the ones who drive it that tad bit more of a connected drive.
Safe Haven
So is the 2024 BMW X5 M Competition something I'm positive about? Without a doubt and that's not just because of nostalgia. Although, in all honesty, that did play a big role in me wanting to test the car. BMW and BMW M are faced with big challenges with the changes in the industry, yet they still hold to their identity with this X5. Power in surplus, luxury in abundance, presence in overkill, and smiles for days, the LCI hasn't changed a winning team. It only made it better.
