Three overall driving modes will control the nature of the XM’s motivation. Hybrid, Comfort and Electric are relatively self-explanatory, while steering, suspension, throttle response, gearbox response and more will all be configurable in the usual ways. Speaking of suspension, unlike some of its SUV kin, the XM features a spring and adaptive damper suspension setup rather than airbags, while also being the first M car to feature an all-wheel-steering system, improving manoeuvrability at low speeds and stability at high speeds.
Okay then, let’s get to those looks. Even after BMW’s recent form, this is a doozy. It’s big, bluff, gaudy and audacious, with monster light-up kidney grilles highlighted in bronze, slab sides and a truncated rump. They’ve even had the audacity to call on the M1 as an influence, with the accent band flowing forwards from the ‘Hoffmeister Kink’ a nod to the ‘70s supercar’s own black body band. At the back, stacked exhausts will deliver a familiar V8 woofel, while enormous 23-inch wheels come shod in a 315-section tyre. The wheels do without the traditional BMW ‘propeller’ badges, while at the back, a centrally placed enamel item is nowhere to be seen. Instead, in another nod to the M1, haunches in the rear glass contain the symbol on both sides. BMW wants to take sales from the Lamborghini Urus with the XM and if that car has done so well on its also difficult-to-digest looks alone, BMW will have no problem shifting these.