Spanish publication km77.com continues its series of moose test videos where it makes all kinds of vehicles evade obstacles at high speeds. The latest test subject is none other than the BMW XM, the first car out of Bavaria to have been designed completely by the BMW M division. How did it perform? Not so well.
The car in the video was stock and equipped with a V8 assisted by an electric motor for 653 PS (644 hp / 480 kW). It rode on 23-inch wheels shod in Pirelli PZero rubber and had active suspension alongside four-wheel steering. You’d think all that would give it a competitive edge, but then there’s the curb weight of nearly 2.8 metric tons (6,173 lbs).
Two drivers started the trials by taking the hybrid SUV through a slalom test and ended up with nearly identical completion times – 22.9 and 23.1 seconds. Taking the best result in consideration, it looks pretty good and is actually better than that of the Audi RS 3 or the BMW M340d, for example.
But when it came to the sudden obstacle evasion test a.k.a. moose test, the XM suddenly exhibited plenty of understeer and was unable to return to its lane in time at 77 km/h (47.8 mph). After several repeat attempts and speed decreases, it finally barely managed a clean run at 74 km/h (46 mph), a worse result than the Ford Focus and the Suzuki Vitara showed a while ago.
Commenting on the test, the km77.com team said the XM fared well enough for its size and weight. The drivers pointed out sharp handling, adequate ESP performance and smooth, predictable sliding.