2024 BMW X5 xDrive40i M Sport is Driver’s Delight!

“BMWs are Driver’s Car.” You must have come across this saying if you are interested in automobiles.

What does this mean? This is a question which comes to the minds of many other automobile enthusiasts like me. Now I am more than happy to tell you guys my interpretation of this popular belief through my brief experience with BMW X5 xDrive40i M Sport.

The Looks

From every angle, the car is a stunner in terms of looks. It boasts an iconic large kidney grille at the front which opens only when it needs ventilation and stays shut the rest of the time. It gets illuminated to grab as many eyeballs as possible in the dark. 

The vehicle gets massive 21-inch Y-Spoke M Sport alloy wheels which are exclusive to this vehicle and have an eye-catching design. The icing on the cake here is the massive blue-coloured callipers on all four wheels which enhance the look of the wheels by creating a contrast look. The vehicle also gets chunky Pirelli rubber which juts out a little at the rear because of its wider profile of 315mm as compared to the slightly slimmer 275mm width of the front tyre. These wide tyres not only give the SUV immense grip but also look cool. The SUV also gets soft-closing doors for added convenience and it works flawlessly well.

The design of the entire side profile remains very similar to the pre-facelift model and gives the SAV a bold and muscular stance. Stealing the show at the rear are signature split tailgates for better utility and easy access. The boot carrying capacity is 650 litres and can be increased to 1850 litres by folding the rear seats. The vehicle also has 3D taillights with elegant BMW branding and dynamic swiping indicators. 

Features and Comfort

The car's interior is loaded with tons of luxury, comfort, and convenience features. It gets twin curved displays: one 14.9-inch for infotainment and another 12.3-inch unit for instrumentation. The instrument cluster is fully configurable and changes its layout and colours depending on the driving modes. However, I did not like the fact that this car does not have any physical controls for AC and seat ventilation is all embedded in the touchscreen which is distracting at times.

Other than that, the screen is very smooth to operate I didn't notice any lag whatsoever. All the features like Android Auto, AppleCarplay, 360-degree camera, 4-zone climate control AC, 16-Speaker Harman Kardon Surround Sound System etc work flawlessly. 

Since I have the M Sport variant, it comes equipped with BMW comfort seats which provide electric adjustments for shoulder support, lumbar support, under-thigh support and more and are supremely comfortable. The rear-row seats disappointed me a little with their fixed recline angle, and lack of under-thigh support for tall passengers.

Sheer Driving Pleasure

Now let’s address the most important aspect of this review: the driving experience. First of all, I engaged the ECO PRO driving mode which is the least powerful model of the SUV and as the name suggests, focuses on the economy. In this mode, I felt the throttle response to be lethargic compared to the other two modes. Suspension setup and steering response are all very comfort-oriented in this mode. This mode is useful to get familiar with the car when driving for the first time.

Then I switched to the COMFORT mode and instantly felt the improved throttle response. This is the mode you’ll be using the most in day-to-day usage. It has enough grunt on the tap to comfortably overtake anything in the city traffic. Just like the ECO PRO mode, the steering response remains light and the suspension is tuned to provide comfort.

After driving the car in these two modes for a while, I finally pressed the Sport driving mode button. The SAV finally started using all its 375 horses and 520Nm from its inline six petrol burner. The car's overall behaviour changed dramatically. The throttle response was precise, acceleration became brisk, and the steering wheel got so much weight to it and the air suspension became stiff making the body roll fly away.

All in all, this 2200kg behemoth started behaving like a sports car. I was surprised with the performance of this SAV, how can something 4922 mm long, 2004 mm wide, and 1745 mm tall enter and exit corners at 100km/hr with this much confidence? I got answers to all my questions and understood how and why BMWs are known to be "Driver’s cars." 

Verdict 

The car is priced at Rs 1.09 Crore ex-showroom which is very very expensive! But it justifies every single rupee spent on it with its sheer driving pleasure. Other than driving, the front seat comfort is as good as any sofa. It is loaded with features like a big panoramic sunroof, gesture controls for the infotainment screen, a decently comfortable second row of seats, and a very large boot space. The vehicle is also equipped with an all-wheel drive system, so if you plan to be adventurous with it, you easily can.