Published:
7 April 2023Inspect our telemetry figures and you could be forgiven for thinking the top-ranking X7 was an all-out M product rather than one that’s merely laced with M-car cues. Laden with fuel and driver, and therefore weighing the best part of 2750kg, our test car launched to 60mph in 4.2sec, passing 100mph after 10.4sec. Those numbers are in the vicinity of what we extracted from the F10 BMW M5 only one generation ago and they underscore the X7 M60i’s status as something of a Q car.
The M60i’s in-gear performance proved no less severe. In kickdown mode, 30-70mph went by in just 3.7sec, though perhaps the 2.0sec taken to lunge from 30-50mph in third gear was more eye-opening still. An 80-100mph time of 3.9sec in fifth gear also shows that, even approaching triple figures, the car’s M-derived twin-turbo V8 engine still has the guts to get on top of what must be considerable drag. Of course, these days we’re accustomed to performance statistics that belie the sheer bulk of modern performance SUVs, and in objective terms nothing the X7 M60i does is groundbreaking.
Perhaps what makes this BMW’s speed feel so surprising is that outright performance is not its defining characteristic. The 4.4-litre motor hasn’t been tuned for top-end fizz or aural fireworks and in truth you will find neither of those things here, despite the presence of an M60i-unique sports exhaust. What it does well includes pleasingly sharp throttle response, thanks in part to its new 48V mild-hybrid system, and full-to-bursting levels of easy-access torque. It’s that combination of fine throttle response and effortless roll-on acceleration accompanied by a soft eight-cylinder burble that makes the X7 M60i such agreeable company. And the new gearbox, whose natural and unobtrusive calibration means you seldom need to tee up any particular gear yourself with the paddles. It’s an exceptionally slick powertrain, and one that lurks in the background until you really ask something of it.
