Driving across the American West in technoexcess with the BMW XM

News Summary

  • So you get your showoff car and, well, another showoff car that's an electric vehicle.The XM is a plug-in hybrid, so you could spend most of your time behind the wheel in electric mode.
  • I've driven both over long distances, and the XM delivers on a long road trip while saving the person behind the wheel about $75,000—that's less than the price of the 2023 BMW i4 M50.
  • Throw in some drowsiness, and you're a danger to yourself and everyone else on the road.At one point in my trip, I became quite tired.The back of the XM takes the powerful luxury of the driver's seats and rounds off the edges.
  • Your sense of seat comfort may vary, but a chair that keeps you exactly where you should be while reducing slouching is the key to a successful road trip.It also helps that the front seats are heated and vented—and they have a massage feature.
  • Switching lanes feels a bit more fun, but overtaking is where you get the rush.Comfort-wise, the sport seats offer a far better long-term driving experience than what I've found in some other luxury vehicles.
  • The battery pack had a few miles of charge on it, so I didn't feel guilty about leaving the XM's rear climate control running while I slept.So yes, the back seat is comfortable, and it's nap-certified.
Enlarge/ Big power, big cactus, mostly big price tag.4 with Im barreling down Interstate 10 in Arizona toward California in the BMW XM, the latest luxury performance SUV from the German automaker [+3744 chars]