Tested: The 2024 BMW XM Label Is a Super SUV at War With Itself
This high-power plug-in hybrid SUV has a great powertrain in need of a better wrapper.
Pros
- Very, very, very fast
- Effective brakes
- Quite luxurious for something so (supposedly) sporting
Cons
- Jumpy throttle makes it difficult to manage in the curves
- Excessive weight
- Handlingwise, doesn’t feel like a very cohesive package
The new high-end Label version of BMW’s XM plug-in hybrid SUV is a wonderfully hedonistic ode to excess, and we don’t just mean the outrageous looks. All of its numbers are big, including power (738 hp), mass (three tons), and price (nearly $192,000 as you see it here). It’s quick—really quick—and surprisingly stops as well as it goes. But when you put all those attributes together and do some objective handling tests, the 2024 BMW XM Label is … well, it’s kind of a mess.
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If you’ve read our XM Label First Drive, you know the scoop: The XM is BMW’s plug-in hybrid (PHEV) super SUV, and it’s an honest-to-goodness M car in that it isn’t based on another BMW model. The top-of-the-line Label version—it was originally supposed to be called Label Red, but now it’s just Label, an inscrutable change—features a powertrain soon to star in the upcoming M5 sedan: a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V-8 producing 577 hp and 553 lb-ft combined with a 194-hp, 207-lb-ft electric motor. Because Hybrid Math isn’t anything like real math (it requires digging into power curves for the engine and motor, not just looking at peak output), combined power is 738 hp and 738 lb-ft, up 94 hp and 148 lb-ft from the non-Label XM.
Power to Move Quick—and Brakes to Stop Quicker
Even with a 6,033-pound curb weight—a quarter ton more than the slightly smaller X5—that’s serious muscle for movement. The 2024 BMW XM Label shot to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds, three-tenths of a second quicker than BMW’s prediction, and stormed through the quarter mile in 11.6 seconds at 122.6 mph. The throttle is touchy and responds immediately; the XM Label is out to impress with its power. That right-now throttle response is also a detriment, as we’ll explain in a moment.
Deceleration is nearly as impressive. It took the XM Label just 105 feet to stop from 60 mph. That’s not a record, but it’s better than we expected given the SUV’s excessive curb weight. Drama was low, with some thunks from the ABS system and a bit of side-to-side sway.
When the Throttle Jumps, So Does the Chassis
Our handling tests are where things began to fall apart. Take that jumpy accelerator: The near-instant blending of internal combustion power and electric torque made it very difficult to modulate power on the skidpad. We persevered, and the 2024 BMW XM Label turned in an impressive 0.97 g (average) figure.
Getting a good time on the figure-eight course proved trickier. Again, maintaining a steady pace in the curves was difficult. A slight twitch of the foot brought on a massive surge of torque, which set the rest of the chassis a-jumpin’, which we had to correct with steering, which slowed our lap times. The BMW XM Label is happy to slide coming out of the corners, but drifts can easily turn into tank-slappers as the car yaws one way and then the other.
We finally wrung out a 23.9-second lap at an average of 0.84 g. Few SUVs can do the figure eight so quickly, but most of those that do, do it better. The Lamborghini Urus SUV returned a 23.5-second lap time, while the Performante version of same pulled a best-ever-for-an-SUV time of 23.1 seconds. The BMW X5 M Competition did it in 24.1, but its price tag is $50,000 less than the XM Label’s. A line from our test notes sums it up nicely: “This feels more like a party trick than a highly developed M vehicle.” The less powerful non-Label XM felt more cohesive.
Why, BMW? Why?
Our biggest complaint about the 2024 BMW XM Label is our confusion about what it is and who it is for. Editor after editor made the same basic comment: “Ridiculous fun, but why?” The XM Label has an amazing powertrain (and pretty damn credible brakes) that the rest of the car seems determined to beat down. Some cars fight the driver; in our instrumented testing, the XM Label fought itself, with the driver dragged along for the ride.
We’re sure this new XM Label will find many happy buyers; those who love its over-the-top styling, posh interior, and in-your-face presence will no doubt enjoy its exuberant acceleration (and, at some point, be thankful for its mighty brakes). But we expect an M car to be the full package, and the XM Label just isn’t there yet, which is as much of a head-scratcher as the “Label” label. We’re pleased this awesome powertrain (and, hopefully, the awesome brakes) will be featured on the upcoming 2025 BMW M5, where we are confident it’ll find a much happier home.
After a two-decade career as a freelance writer, Aaron Gold joined MotorTrend’s sister publication Automobile in 2018 before moving to the MT staff in 2021. Aaron is a native New Yorker who now lives in Los Angeles with his spouse, too many pets, and a cantankerous 1983 GMC Suburban.
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