First drive: BMW X4 M40d - provocative on principle

And yet it drifts. Actually, the xDrive all-wheel drive does everything with its nimble and clever administration work, so that the X4 certainly does not leave the stable path of the controlled circular drive, but is roughly provocative and with a DSC in off-mode the crispy butt of the promenade mix can then be removed persuade to lunge. Not long, but depending on your courage and will, with up to 90 ° cross-travel angle - if you stay fully on the punch, you will experience the magic of the xDrive drive, the front wheels gradually gain more power and pull the load close to a three-digit speed on the right track.

Will buyers of the new X4 ever want to use this conscious and martial-looking drift? Doesn't matter. An SUV, sorry, an SAC, has to be able to take part in such fun. Why else would you have spent years absorbing all the folklore of driving dynamics if you don't understand a little “fun” every now and then? And the new X4 M40d certainly knows how to have fun! But let's start at the beginning!

BMW X4 M40d - Provocative, just for fun.

The birthplace of the new BMW The BMW factory in Spartanburg, South Carolina, USA. Not only is it the largest BMW plant in terms of area, it is also the BMW plant with the largest vehicle output. From the X4 to the X4, all crossovers, sorry SAVs, are manufactured in this modern factory. So successes non-stop. “Made in Germany” is to be understood more as a kind of meta level.

The simple reason for the success story of the BMW X models? This is no different with the X4 than with his brothers: The stomach beats the brain. These are the emotions of car buyers. If the purchase decision for a car would be purely rational, we would drive all station wagons with diesel engine or hybrid petrol engine. Instead, the X4 starts with its deliberately provocative form. An SUV with the space of a four-door coupe? A four-door coupe with the ground clearance of an SUV? No matter how you see it, BMW breaks twice with the conventions and now already offers the second generation of a vehicle class, the utility value is far below a classic, but also very staid station wagon. There, the stomach, heart and brain are not entirely in agreement. Does that make sense? Make sense?

SUV sounds slow, boring and of course unsportsmanlike. The term Sports Activity Coupe should promise much more. And BMW delivers!

While the new X4 can not only force itself into the drift on the irrigated orbit on the Performance Center track or test it on its manageable talents on the manageable performance course, the region between South and North Carolina only offers less than an hour away from the BMW plant, also a scenic opportunity for horseback riding. Tight hairpin bends, changing bankings and patchwork pavements reveal the potential of the X4. Whoever thinks that in America it would always be straight on the highway in four lanes, is wrong. Black Forest, Alps or Eifel offer no more entertaining ways. On the contrary. The sheer size of the US is simply the only real playground to experience a car. The M40d overrides one on demand with an interaction of dominance in the sprint or maneuverability while cornering carving.

The six-row in the M40d plays the ideal cast and is, at least until the end of August, the highlight in the delivery program. Its 326 hp are a word, its 680 Nm the winning argument. The ease with which the X4 M40d cuts through the landscape is simply amazing. It is whoever keeps himself under control, and on public roads in the USA it is definitely recommended to travel with less than 7 liters. The M40i, which will be available from the end of August, will be the top performer with 354 hp, but will have to line up behind the diesel with its torque. Anyone who does not want to put up with less than six cylinders will get a 30d with 265 PS and 620 Nm at the same time - probably the almost modestly applicable, and golden middle ground in terms of BMW X4. BMW also offers four-cylinder diesel with 190 and 231 hp and four-cylinder turbo gasoline with 184 or 252 hp. A hybrid version? A plug-in hybrid? An iPerformance variant? Certainly absolutely necessary, but so far not mentioned in the press kits!

Three lines for luck

BMW offers the new X4 in three trim levels, each of which influences the appearance of the SAV. The driven M Sport X model is outspoken as a dynamic, yet to impress masculine by off-road talent. The Frozen Gray varnished BMW kidney (is that still a kidney in size?) and the similarly painted exterior mirrors set beautiful contrasts, especially in connection with the flamenco red finish. However, the only correct line, no matter which trim line you choose, is on the irrigated orbit as soon as the X4 becomes the cross driver 😉

Always on

The new 10.25″ touchscreen for the Professional navigation system is the linchpin of the multimedia world in the X4. BMW now understands, like no other in the industry, how to offer customers all the options for operation. Voice, gesture, touch or classic iDrive controller control, all functions of the extensive system can be learned quickly and you are connected to the vehicle at any time via the app and BMW Connected. Office documents can now also be opened and anyone who is “driven” in a traffic jam by the clever traffic jam assistant with its Stop & Go function can quickly check their emails or the last presentation before the meeting. Both in terms of the touchscreen and the head-up display, which has grown by 70%, BMW is clearly in the absolute top league - and therefore on a par with the fascination of the bi-turbo in-line six.

Provocative, provocative, prosperous. 

Such a SAC (Sports Activity Vehicle) is one of the nonsensical vehicles that you can buy for money and good word. And the most successful. With the BMW X4 and its bigger brother X6, BMW has played the trendsetter for a vehicle class that can not be explained seriously or with arguments. Everything that the X4 M40d can do from a driving dynamics point of view, a 435d GrandCoupé can not get any worse. Rather better. Off-road, an X3 20d would not be any worse, better yet, especially with the full-fat level of engine design, and the deliberate limitation of the nonsensical body concept of automotive history, the X4 is what it represents. A driving sex appeal. Especially in flamenco red.

BMW X4 M40d

All photos: Manufacturer