Stealth Mode Activated

The X3 M is the performance-SUV segment’s most focused offering but will its stealthy approach deter buyers?

- Terence Steenkamp

The ribbon of tarmac ahead snakes left, then right, before upstate New York’s lush greenery engulfs it in the far distance. We might have found the US’ most bendy road … and the speed limit is a miserable 45 mph.

That crawl pace is made more frustrating when the engine ahead pumps out 375 kW and will power the next-generation M3. I’m at the helm of the new X3 M Competition and sticking to the 70-odd km/h speed limit, the warning from new M GmbH boss, Markus Flasch, of state troopers at every turn front of mind.

Soon enough, the road straightens and clear visibility to the verges where Ray-Ban-donning cops might hide (we actually met one wearing aviator-inspired eyewear, his accent, and easy-but-alert demeanor instantly reinforcing stereotypes) means I can risk dumping the throttle. The response from the new S58 twin-turbo engine is fantastic, the sound building from the quad pipes purposeful though still socially acceptable, and the ZF-sourced torque-converter transmission firing through its eight ratios with alacrity. This instant-then-relentless stream of acceleration, coupled with the promising balance in tighter turns on that restricted road, bodes well for our stint later on the private Monticello Motor Club’s 21-turn track at full blast in the mechanically related X4 M Competition.

But first, what is the X3 M? Well, a latecomer to the party, certainly. The segment for mid-size performance SUVs has grown apace ever since Porsche first unveiled a Macan Turbo (which has since been put on hold pending the launch of the updated version), Mercedes-AMG added the GLC63 to the mix and Alfa Romeo installed the Giulia QV’s 2,9-litre V6 in the lofty nose of the Stelvio. Jaguar’s recently joined the festivities with the F-Pace SVR, Land Rover has launched a Range Rover Velar SVAutobiography and Audi, well, continue with the relatively modest SQ5.