This BMW feels at home on highway...or the racetrack

This review first appeared in the April 2024 edition of the Cruisin' News, "Oregon, Nevada and California's classic auto news & marketplace."

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Sacramento, California --Here's something you can take to the bank: Any time you have a motor vehicle with the word "competition" in the model name, it's going to scoot like a scalded cat.

And that brings us to the tested 2024 BMW X5 M Competition midsize sport-utility vehicle.

Under the hood: a 4.4-liter twin-turbo turbo V-8 rated at 617 horsepower.

Say it with me: WOW!

There are thoroughbred race cars running on racetracks worldwide that have lower horsepower ratings than that. So, right away, I'm intimidated.

Things got worse when I glanced at the bottom line on the tester's sticker: $141,445. DOUBLE WOW!!

OK, so it doesn't necessarily look like a road warrior when it's parked at the curb, although the beautiful "Boston Green Metallic" paint job looked as cool as anything I've seen at Indianapolis in May.

The only clue I get of things to come are the thick 21-inch Michelin tires on the front and 22-inchers on the rear.  Those look racetrack-ready.

Stepping into the opulent, ultra-luxurious interior, I fire it up and pull from the curb ... and darn near take out the neighbor's mailbox. Super-powerful acceleration, accompanied by a deep rumble.  It takes me a couple trips around the neighborhood to master the pressure needed on the accelerator to sanely keep the SUV between the lines.

On the highway, the tester is a monster. The smallest of blips on the throttle blast me past fast-moving traffic.  On the surface streets, I can slide into tight spots easily because it appears everyone around me is standing still.  Fun?  Oh my, yes.

The perks that came with my tester rival anything found on a Mercedes-Benz, Lexus or, dare I say it, a Rolls-Royce.

Some features of note include heated/cooled cupholders, park distance control, high-gloss roof rails, carbon fiber trim and four-zone climate control.

There is a price to pay for the power: fuel mileage comes in at only 13 miles per gallon in the city and 18 mpg on the highway ... as if the buyer of this vehicle is going to be worried about gas prices, right?

One other thought: This X5 model has so many bells and whistles on it that any buyer needs to spend serious time reading the owner's manual in order to master everything.

In sum, driving this incredible machine was a weeklong trip to Motoring Fantasy Island. Needless to say, I enjoyed the trip.