Range Rover Sport vs BMW XM

What's the difference?

The Range Rover Sport P460e Dynamic HSE is a cool and classy premium five-seat SUV. It’s comfortable, refined, powerful and efficient with excellent safety and thoughtful practicality.

If you’re in the market for a luxurious SUV and your budget sits just under $200K this car should be on your shopping list but we’d recommend careful assessment of its value proposition across standard features and cost-of-ownership relative to its highly credentialled rivals. 

It’s pretty obvious the XM is designed to impress people with big wallets and an appetite for a techy experience that’s also not without a few green credentials. The ability to motor around as a fully-electric vehicle for up to 80km or so is a big plus and the electric-ballroom interior vibe is hard to ignore, as well.

But from our perspective, the full-fat, twin-turbo V8, while offering startling performance, is perhaps a lost opportunity to follow some of BMW’s competitors into the engine-downsizing space. Then again, when you floor the throttle and 2700kg hurtles forward like a big dog on a short chain, you can see where BMW is coming from.

Perhaps the biggest letdown is the ride quality – or lack of it. While it’s understandable BMW wanted the most dynamic version of the XM it could manage, the end result plays against the vehicle’s otherwise long suit of hyper-luxury. Doubtless, BMW would argue that to soften the chassis would have been to introduce a chink into a no-compromise product. But, perhaps, sometimes a sensible compromise is the way forward.

Gerry McGovern may have left his role as Jaguar Land Rover Chief Creative Officer (under mysterious circumstances) late last year but his design fingerprints are all over the current Range Rover Sport.

A clean, confident and tightly wrapped exterior reflects his focus for SUVs on large, relatively unadorned surfaces, a high waistline and a curved, sloping nose. 

A coefficient of drag (Cd) of just 0.29 also supports his team’s consistent focus on aero efficiency.

The interior treatment gives off a clearly discernible echo of Land Rovers and Range Rovers past with a compact angular hood sitting over the compact digital instrument display and the flat lower dash section enhancing a feeling of simplicity.

Perforated semi-analine leather seat trim (in Ebony on our test car) dials up the luxury feel, as does the sleek 13.1-inch media screen and soft-touch materials across the dashtop as well as in and around the doors.

Worth noting piano black surfaces across the front centre console might look slick in the showroom but in day-to-day life they attract fingerprints like Chopper Read before a police interview.

There’s nothing subtle about the way the XM looks. It probably pulls up just short of brutalist (or maybe not) but even those who find its slabs and angles attractive have to admit that it’s bold.

The now-trademark giant nostrils set the mood and the rest of the exterior suggests some kind of armoured transport for presidents rather than wheels for the school run. Doubtless, this will hardly be seen as a fault by those in the market for such a thing.

The real surprise here is that the XM does not share a bodyshell with any other production BMW. Sure, the V8 petrol engine and wheelbase are common to other BMW and M models, but the sheet metal is the XM’s and the XM’s alone. That in itself, is quite a statement of intent.

At just shy of 5.0m long, more than 2.2m wide and a bit over 1.8m tall with a 2997mm wheelbase the current Range Rover Sport is a large five-seater. 

Its wide-track, high-roof stance and the dash’s away slope means there’s lots of room up front  and storage aplenty.

A deep box between the seats is covered by a padded lid and a dual cupholder unit in front of it is able to slide away to reveal another handy space. A wireless charging pad sits in front of the gearshifter.

The top of the centre console forms a flying buttress which leaves another useful storage area underneath.

Generous bins in the doors (neatly outlined by bright metal trims) are big enough to hold large bottles and there are two (upper and lower) glove boxes on the passenger side.

There are also individual front centre armrests swinging down from the inner edge of the front seats, their angle adjusted via a twisting rotary dial.

We’re not convinced by the multimedia package with a relatively complex line-up of screens and functions proving at times a struggle to navigate. 

Physical controls for the ventilation system, rather than in-screen adjustment would be a good start.

But what we loved was the heated windscreen which is part of the Cold Climate Pack fitted to the test car. A cold winter morning’s foggy windscreen cleared in an instant is a huge safety plus.

Move to the back, as you’d expect for a car measuring close to three metres between its axles, there’s lots of room.

Sitting behind the driver’s seat set to my 183cm position I have plenty of head, leg and shoulder room. 

The rear seat’s breadth means three adults can slide in there quite easily. But the centre position isn’t sculpted and padded like the outer two and a driveline hump in the centre of the floor limits footroom, however power recline functionality (with controls in the doors) adds extra flexibility.

The reason for the non-sculpting in the centre spot is a hefty fold-down centre console housing a lidded storage compartment and a pair of flip-out cupholders.

The door bins are generous, there are hard-shell map pockets on the front seatbacks and adjustable ventilation control at the back of the front centre console sits above the seat heating dials. Nice. 

The boot swallows no less than 647 litres with the 40/20/40 split-folding rear seat upright which grows to a healthy 1491L with it folded and there are numerous helpful additions back there including hooks, lighting, a netted pocket, storage cubby and 12-volt power socket. Boot-mounted buttons to release the rear seats are handy, too.

The same control panel contains a height adjustment feature for the electronic air suspension to make loading and unloading easier and Land Rover also deserves a medal for including a full-size spare wheel rather than a space-saver or inflator kit.

In this case that means a monster 23-inch alloy rim shod with the same tyres as the rubber doing the work under the car. Bravo!   

Power and connectivity options include two USB-C sockets, a 12-volt outlet and a wireless phone charging pad in the front, another two USB-Cs in the back and a second 12V plug in the boot. So no problems with charging capacity for phones and other devices.

Braked trailer capacity is 3.0 tonnes (750kg unbraked) and one of the Range Rover’s party tricks is the ability to swing the tow bar into place or back out of the way at the touch of a (you guessed it) boot-mounted button. Exposed shins everywhere are grateful.

Given the vast exterior dimensions and a weighbridge ticket the wrong side of 2700kg, it may come as a surprise to learn that the XM is strictly a five-seater with not even an optional third row.

That said, the uber-SUV Lexus LX in flagship, Ultra Luxury, trim offers just four seats in deference to the VIP clientele it’s pitched at, but also comes complete with reclining rear seats and a passenger’s side footrest which the XM can’t match.

Staying in the rear seat, there’s lots of legroom and plenty of space under the front chairs for feet. A lot of that is down to the wheelbase the XM shares with the BMW X7, and even behind a tall driver, there’s lots of space. In fact, compared with a BMW X5, there’s a full 150mm of extra legroom.

The pew itself flows into the door trims for a lounge effect which looks great with the contrasting light-coloured trim, and the centre arm-rest folds down to reveal a pair of cupholders. Extra storage space can be found in fold-out pockets in the rear of each front seat which also house a small, lidded panel that opens to reveal USB ports and power sockets. Dual-zone climate controls are also part of the rear-seat experience.

The gee-whizz stuff hasn’t been ignored, either, and the prismatic roof lining is nothing if not a talking point. But would a panoramic sunroof have been of more value to many buyers? The ambient lighting is a nice touch, too.

Up front, the view is dominated by the giant, twin curved animated dashboards. They deliver information and lots of it, to the point where it can almost seem a bit overwhelming.

The head-up display helps simplify things, but there’s absolutely no doubt there’s a lot going on in this cabin. Again, this is modern luxury motoring, but it remains that the menu system will take time to learn, even if the touchscreen function gives you an option on how you control things.

Multi-adjustable front seats are part of the deal and there’s an M-spec steering wheel which is heated. And although it features plenty of buttons, isn’t as daunting perhaps as the multi-spoked equivalent in some high-end AMGs of late.

The stereo system is also worthy of a mention, being a Bowers & Wilkins unit with roof mounted speakers and no less than 1500 watts of power. Digital radio is part of the package.

Even though it doesn’t offer a seven-seat option, luggage space in the rear of the XM is hardly class-leading. Cargo volume with rear seat up is 527L and 1820L with it folded.

Much of the wheelbase is devoted to rear-seat stretching room and although the batteries for the electric motor are positioned under the rear seat, the floor of the cargo area seems quite high.

The XM is one of those 'no options' vehicles. That is, you pay the basic price, you get one with the lot. The aged leather and even the optional 23-inch wheels and tyres are no-cost options, so it’s clear where BMW is aiming the thing.

As well as the plug-in driveline, all-wheel drive and all the M driving focus, the XM features plenty of tech including massaging front seats, heated seats all around, a high-end stereo, heated and cooled cupholders, four-zone climate-control, wireless phone charging and twin, curved info screens for the driver measuring 12.3 and 14.9 inches. The novel roof lining also features 100 pin-point LEDs for effect.

The cost of such detailing is a not insubstantial $302,200. That figure does, however, undercut two of its main rivals, the Lamborghini Urus ($395,888) and the Aston Martin DBX ($356,512).

It’s also worth mentioning that the XM is not even BMW Australia’s most expensive model; in fact, it’s fourth on the ladder.

The Range Rover Sport Dynamic HSE P460e is powered by a 3.0-litre, turbo-petrol, inline six-cylinder engine sending drive to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission and four-wheel-drive system including a two-speed transfer box for high- and low-range running off-road.

A permanent magnet synchronous electric motor, positioned between the engine and transmission, is powered by a 38.2kWh lithium-ion battery located under the rear floor.

The motor’s roughly 160kW of peak power contributes to overall outputs of 338kW and 660Nm, the 2.7-tonne SUV claimed to sprint from 0-100km/h in a spritely 5.5 seconds.

Here’s where the XM starts to justify its price-tag. While the use of an electric motor to boost a petrol engine has allowed some manufacturers to reduce the capacity of the latter, no such restraint has been shown for the XM. Instead, it gets the full 4.4-litre, twice turbocharged V8 that we’ve come to know and love from this brand.

It’s not that this is the engine’s first date with hybrid technology, but the mild hybrids that have come before it can’t match the XM for sheer brutality when both power units are unleashed.

The petrol V8 can muster up 360kW and 650Nm which, when boosted by the electric motor, jumps to a total of 480kW (combined) and 800Nm.

While the petrol engine drives through an eight-speed torque-converter automatic, the electric motor also drives through the transmission, an arrangement that is a bit different to some hybrids which use the petrol engine for the rear axle and the electric motor to drive the front wheels.

Of course, the requirement for the XM to feature permanent all-wheel drive, regardless of what power unit is running at the time, forces this layout.

Speaking of all-wheel drive, The XM’s version of BMW’s 'xDrive' layout has been specifically tuned for this vehicle and includes torque vectoring as well as a limited-slip rear differential.

The system has the ability to vary the torque split front to rear, with the default rear-bias giving a more sporting feel on good surfaces. An active rear differential also helps give the car a rear-drive feel.

As well as modes for 'Hybrid', 'Electric' and 'eControl' modes, the XM sticks with the M tradition of offering two M buttons which can be configured to set the parameters for steering, driveline, chassis and, in the case of the hybrid XM, the degree of braking regeneration offered.

Four-wheel steering is also part of the XM’s repertoire and, interestingly, there’s no air suspension here; just conventional steel springs.

But it does feature an electrically-adjusted anti-roll bar system which aims to strike a happy medium between what the driver wants and the road conditions demand.

Claimed combined cycle (urban/extra-urban) fuel economy for the Range Rover Sport Dynamic HSE P460e is a miserly 1.6L/100km, the 3.0L inline six emitting just 38g/km of CO2 in the process.

It’s important to note that the official number is predicated on the car’s battery being charged consistently.   

Land Rover says pure-EV range on the combined WLTP cycle is 118km, noting a real world number of “up to 96km” is more realistic. Maximum electric-only speed is a lofty 140km/h.

Maximum DC charge rate is 50kW which Land Rover says will deliver an 80 per cent charge in 40 minutes. A 7.0kW AC wallbox will take you to 100 per cent in five hours and a 2.3kW domestic socket will have you waiting 15 hours for a full charge. Home and public charging cables are included.

We recharged at a 150kW pylon and as expected the peak rate went to around 45 kW and it took 30 minutes to half fill the battery. Using the supplied home charging cable on a three-pin outlet for a roughly nine-hour stint delivered a 50 per cent battery top-up. 

Over around 300km of city, suburban and highway running we spent most of the time in Hybrid mode which leaves it to the powertrain’s brain to switch between pure-electric and internal combustion power, rather than the dedicated EV setting. 

Overall result was 6.1L/100km, which is pretty great for a full-size, 2.7-tonne SUV.

A 71.5-litre fuel tank (which requires a minimum 95 RON premium unleaded inside it) equates to a real-world range of around 1170km using our on-test consumption figure.

A 25.7kWh lithium-ion battery provides the power for the electric drive. It’s mounted under the rear seat and can produce a purely electric range of between 82 and 88km (based on WLPT test protocols).

Charge time from a conventional wall-box is said to be about four hours but, interestingly, the XM has no provision for DC fast-charging.

Fuel consumption (combined cycle) is an EV-typical 2.7 litres per 100km, which equates to a low 61g/km of CO2.

Once you’ve depleted the battery on a highway journey, expect the petrol V8 to consumer somewhere between eight and nine litres per 100km at cruising speed.

Using EV mode means zero-emission operation but, as with any electric car, how the power is generated to recharge it determines its real-world green-ness.

Applying a Sport badge to a 5.0-metre long, roughly 2.7-tonne SUV is a brave call. But there’s no doubt the Range Rover Sport Dynamic HSE P460e is rapid in a straight line. 

Zero to 100km/h in 5.5 seconds is quick for a car of this size, and just so you know, it has the ability to storm on to a maximum velocity of 225km/h. It will even hit 140km/h in EV-only mode.

The 3.0-litre, turbo-petrol six feels and sounds suitably brawny without upsetting what is an impressively refined drive.

Throttle response is as smooth as it is urgent, the eight-speed auto is slick as butter and the option of manual shifts via wheel-mounted paddles is welcome when you want to get more involved.

The front seats manage to combine long-distance comfort with firm location and the continuously variable adaptive suspension smooths out imperfections with uncanny ease.

The layout is double wishbones at the front with multi-links at the rear and the Sport’s calibration keeps in planted and balanced in corners despite its high-riding SUV form.

Noise from the enormous 23-inch rims, shod with 285/40 Pirelli Scorpion MS rubber is minimal and we didn’t come close to challenging their grip strength. Road feel through the steering is pretty good, too.  

Brakes are big ventilated discs all around (400mm fr / 370mm rr) and they’re well up to the task with regen braking in support at slower speeds.

This test was on-road only, but for the record this car’s approach angle is a maximum 33 degrees, breakover is 24.5 and departure is 30, with a handy wading depth of 900mm.

Despite its substantial footprint the Range Rover Sport is surprisingly easy to park, with sensors, multiple cameras and screens helping to keep things low-stress.

And it's worth noting none of the Range Rover’s advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) functions intrude beyond their intended purpose in day-to-day driving, which is always welcome. 

While any M car is supposed to be rapid and dynamic, it’s also true that the over-arching perception of big SUVs is that they’re comfortable and plush. None of which explains the ride in the XM.

Regardless of how you fiddle with the settings, the ride is always brittle. Those big tyres with their minimal sidewall somehow manage to find every crack and join in the road, and it’s these sharp-edged imperfections that thump through to the cabin the most vocally.

It’s enough to make you wonder who this car is going to appeal to. Will it take to race tracks? Almost certainly not. So the whole point of these suspension settings might be a bit lost on some people.

Performance, meanwhile, is insanely rapid for something that could pass as a bulk carrier. The biggest giveaway to the mass is the transmission’s earnest attempts to keep everything moving by feeling a bit hyperactive on downshifts.

Using the ratios is always going to be the strategy, but with all that torque, maybe it’d be nice sometimes for the trans to hang on to a taller gear and let the boost blow it towards the next corner.

The sound track? Polarising. Even if it doesn’t convince you that Hans Zimmer (who developed the various electronically-synthesised noises the XM makes) should stick to winning Oscars, the augmented sounds are background noise rather than the main event here.

Even the petrol V8’s naturally stirring backing vocals have been electronically tweaked with debatable results.

That said, it’s nice to have something to listen to that isn’t the insistent tyre roar which becomes even louder on coarse-chip surfaces.

Steering effort is light but there’s not a lot of feedback in terms of actual feel. In fact, it’s borderline detached and only the sheer speed of the rack confers any athleticism.

Also, the rear steering seems to come in a few milli-seconds after the front has started to turn. And for all that all-wheel-steering agility, this is never a car that shrinks around you.

As well as the usual passive safety features, the XM also hides the latest active safety gear. In fact, BMW reckons the XM has more driver assistance than any other M car before it.

Those elements start with the 'Driver Assistant Professional' which bundles active cruise-control with stop-go ability, steering and lane-keeping control, automatic speed limit assist and active navigation.

Parking assistance is also featured which incorporates a reversing assistance function, front, rear and panoramic camera views with a 3D view built in.

BMW’s 'ConnectedDrive' includes an emergency call function in the event of a crash or other emergency.

No ANCAP assessment so far.

Land Rover covers the Range Rover Sport with a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, which is in line with premium competitors like Audi, BMW, Lexus and Mercedes but lags the mainstream market with an increasing number of brands at seven, eight and up to 10 years conditional. The warranty for the hybrid battery is six years/100,000km.

Roadside assistance is included for five years, service is recommended every 12 months/20,000km and a five-year service plan will set you back $3900.

That’s a solid average of $780 per workshop visit, which is marginally more expensive than a BMW X5 M60i ($714) over the same period, but substantially cheaper than the Audi SQ7 ($920) or Porsche Cayenne S ($1135) and less than half the cost of the Merc-AMG GLE53 ($1684).

Land Rover has a long-standing network of 74 dealers across the country including all state and territory capitals as well as key rural and regional centres.

Like a lot of manufacturers, BMW knows consumers can be leery of EV tech when it comes to the cost of battery replacement. So, as well as the five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty on the whole vehicle, there’s also eight years or 160,000km of cover for the high-voltage battery.

Servicing intervals are based on how the car has been used and it will inform the owner when a service is required.

A servicing package is included in the purchase price and BMW even throws in three years of roadside assistance.