Would you rather have this X5M or a Mercedes-AMG GLE 63?

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Super SUVs are kind of a weird concept at their core.

You’re mixing an SUV, something that’s intended to be large, comfortable, and uber practical

and you’re mixing that with sportscar DNA, something intended to be low-slung, small, light, and inherently compromised

So can this X5M bend the laws of physics to deliver on both, let’s dive under the hood to see

Thundering away is the beating heart of a 4.4L TT V8 and we’re familiar with this S63 from our time in the M5, M8 and others. It’s a brilliantly powerful engine, and in this application it’s tuned to make a whopping 617hp and 553lbft

That hp figure is way up over the “base” X5M, but the torque number stays the same, but don’t for one second think this thing isn’t mind bendingly quick

This thing gets to 60 inunder 4 seconds…quick reminder this is still a mid-size SUV that can take you and your whole family for a weekend camping trip

And if you do go on that trip, the exhaust sound will split trees

Power is great and is the thing that grabs headlines, but there’s a very important letter on the back of this X5, and that letter brings an expectation of elite dynamics and handling

And as we start to talk about dynamics and not just straight line speed this is where we’re testing the opposed ideology of this super SUV

But here’s the thing..they pulled it off!

The brakes are huge and strong

The steering is super accurate and I feel a decent amount from those front PS4S tires

The suspension is an electronically controlled adaptive damper set reading the road and making micro adjustments hundreds of times a second

The chassis is rigiditized and you can see that under the hood

And then when you get to corner exit, and roll on the throttle, you have an eLSD making sure none of that over 600 hp is wasted

Say what you sill about modern BMWs, but their powertrains are FAULTLESS. You’re hard pressed to find a more potent duo than a BMW engine and a ZF 8 speed transmission. The shift logic is perfect, there’s good sounds and drama on shifts, and I never feel like any power is wasted or ISNT getting to the ground…in 5 words or less, “this thing is STUPID fast”

Honestly, I’m amazed that BMW has found some way through front and rear anti roll bars, electronic dampers, PS4S tires, and crazy chassis bracing to wrangle this almost 5500 lb BEHEMOTH

However, in the pursuit of sport, many forgo plush, this is a midsize SUV wearing a BMW badge so there are some expectations on the other end of the spectrum as well

Let’s say you don’t need to race Porsches between stop lights and you simply want to get from A to B in your BMW

Sometimes you just want your car to get you there without a V8 shouting at you or taking a corner at 2 Gs, so how does this X5M Comp soften up?

Well, of course the e dampers dial back in comfort mode, but they’re still kinda of always doing stuff

It never really feels like the car settles down, it feels like it’s always nudging you to drive hard again

That’s of course not to say that it’s not liveable or uncomfortable, but when you buy a 5000 lb SUV with the letter M on it you should know what you’re getting into…and this one has the word competition under that

So, behind the wheel this X5M Comp is insanely quick, it handles better than a lot of mid-tier sportscars - much less mid-size SUVs, and with the comps all getting mSport exhaust it makes all the right noises…and it CAN do the daily thing, but you can tell at its heart it wants to be driven