The Beau idéal
The X4 presents something of a quandary to me. How can something that is so near to perfect be unlikable? The X4 is the perfect partner, suave, elegant, a great conversationalist, well-built and an absolute pleasure to be around but has no fashion sense... What is one to do?
Related: REVIEW: BMW X2 xDrive20d – An acquired taste
Styling
Let’s kick off with my one and only gripe with the X4. Although it is subjective, I just can’t like the styling. From certain angles its beautiful and from others it makes one wonder what the designer was thinking incorporating coupé looks on a four-door SUV. There is too much space in the wheel wells and the rear end disappears rather abruptly. Proportion is everything in design and the X4 gets it all a bit wrong, it appears unfinished and often times mismatched.
Other than that, it is typically BMW. LED lighting, diamond-cut 20 inch wheels, a stunning assortment of M additions and the ever-growing kidney grille are present.
The Drive
When I said that the X4 M40d was as near to perfect as it could be I wasn’t joking. This the first BMW that have driven that I can honestly not fault the drive in any way. The engine and transmission are perfectly balanced in power and delivery, the transmission is tuned to near perfection as the gears change seamlessly, almost unnoticed.
The engine is just right, delivering the perfect amount of power and torque in the best possible power band. It is the nicest combination of sportiness and comfort that I have found in a vehicle for a long time.
Despite this being an M package derivative, comfort levels exceeded my expectations. Couple that to the engine and drivetrain and you have a car that you want to drive and spend time in even when its rush hour traffic.
Performance
The X4 is propelled to its limited top speed of 250km/h by BMW’s 3 litre, inline 6-cylinder turbo diesel engine, delivering 240kW and 680Nm. Power is sent to all four wheels via an 8 speed sports Steptronic transmission and BMW’s xDrive system.
As stated before this all makes for a very comfortable day to day driving in Comfort mode and an engaging drive when you flip it over into Sport and make use of the paddle shifters.
Space and Comfort
This is a BMW after all, so only the best is used in the interior. Open the driver’s door and you will be greeted by black leather with red stitching on all the seats, piano black and brushed aluminium and black grey wood grain inlays on the doors and dash.
With this being a crossover, SUV, styled vehicle there is ample legroom front and rear and everyone gets to choose what temperature they would like to have their climate control at.
There is a multitude of storage space in the door cards and centre console and if you need more space, the 525l cargo area can be enlarged to 1430l by dropping the rear seats.
The infotainment system is BMW’s latest iDrive arrangement with wireless Apple Car Play and Android Auto and incorporates voice control and hand gesture control and once you have been using these functions for some time you begin to wonder why these systems aren’t fitted to all cars for the convenience factor.
Safety
There is a full complement of 3 letter abbreviations present in the X4, ABS, EBD, TCS, Stability control, Hill-start assist, Hill-descent control, Tyre pressure monitoring, 6 airbags, Adaptive cruise control, Rain sensing wipers, Heated mirrors, Park Distance Control and the aforementioned rear-view camera make the X4 a very safe and convenient option.
Fuel Consumption
BMW states that the X4 M40d should get 6.8l / 100km. We found that to be almost spot on with combined driving returning 6.7l / 100km and delivering just over 1000km on a tank.
Price
It’s a BMW so it’s not going to be cheap and in this case, you are going to pay for the perfection I’ve described.
BMW X4 M40d - R 1 140 264
The X4 is sold with a 2 year / Unlimited Km warranty and a 5 year / 100 000km service plan.
Verdict
The X4 M40d is probably the best BMW I have driven in quite a while but I am just not a fan of the styling. BMW really does need to go back to the drawing board ,as the X2, X4 and X6 all seem to suffer from the same problem. The quirky design and strange lines will turn buyers away despite these being incredibly well engineered cars.
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