BMW X5 M Competition Sports SUV: India Drive Review

Imposing looks. V8 engine. And a badge to send a chill down your spine. That is the all-new BMW X5 M Competition. The even more potent avatar of the powered up X5, the Competition gives you an addition twenty-five horses over the ‘regular’ X5 M. The good news is that unlike the past, India gets the juiced up version, and not just the BMW X5 M. I have already spent a substantial amount of time with the new BMW X5 M Competition earlier this year in Arizona. And the first thing I can report is that we get exactly the same car. The fact that my test car today is a fiery orange monster (as opposed to the dark blue I drove last time) just helps get my adrenaline flowing.

The looks are imposing, with the blacked out bits, the high gloss paint, and the more aggressive bumpers, skirts and aerodynamics – over a regular X5. Unlike the X3 M which also drove in recently. The X5 M looks way sharper and more lithe, despite being bigger. The proportions of the X5 lend well to the M avatar too. The look is definitely more aggressive, and all the blacked out bits look super sexy – making the hulk look a bit more lithe too. It gets larger air intakes, aerodynamic mirrors, a rear diffuser and two pairs of twin exhaust tailpipes, the M-badged gills on the side panels, a rear spoiler, and it is 21-inch wheels up front, 22-inch at the rear. And do I really need to tell you I simply LOVE the colour on my test car? I spent a whole week with it – and could not stop taking pictures of it almost every one of those seven days! Oh, it is called Toronto Red – though it’s more tangerine. You have an option of grey, white, two black finishes, a bright blue and a dull gold.