BMW X4 2018 Review - International

An acquired taste

You either get the BMW X4 or you don’t. And plenty of people don’t, judging by anecdotal evidence I’m confronted with.

Yet for the people who do get it, they really do get it. They swear by its un-X3-ness. By its ‘sporty’ advantages over the boxier version of the same chassis architecture. By how sleek it looks. And, perversely, even by how so many people don’t get it.

For all of its challenging philosophy, though, the first-generation BMW X4 was a surprisingly good SUV, in the modern, soft-road idiom. And the second-generation is all that, and more.

It is refined beyond its initial ambitions, it has speed and assurance and handling that the Gen I could scarcely have imagined possible and it’s upgraded in pretty much every single area that matters except, obviously, why the world needs such a thing in the first place.

The new BMW X4 islonger, wider and sits on a longer wheelbase, with more rear legroom. It has more luggage space, it’s cleaner through the air and it uses less fuel.

The BMW X4 range will start with five engines before adding another two later on, and it hopes to follow the first generation by having an unholy number of its sales tagged with M badges, which is where the money is.

Also, most of the 200,000 BMW X4s already built were highly specified, so BMW moved the new one to a choice of three: an xLine package, an M Sport X package and an M Sport package, plus it can also tap into the Individual range of bits and pieces, too.

On the road

We spent time in two X4 variants: the BMW X4 xDrive M40d, which won’t be sold in Australia, and the mid-level BMW X4 xDrive 30i, which will cost about $85,000 here.

Firstly, the fun stuff: the fastest diesel is indeed fast, strong and unburstable but, in the end, not quite fun.

It’s massively competent and quick in a straight line to the point where it slips beneath five seconds in the sprint to 100km/h, but not quite fun.

The turbo 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine delivers 240kW of power at 4400rpm, but the soul of the car comes from the 680Nm it crushes out from 1750rpm and holds for another thousand revs.

That’s the whole crux of the argument, with the torque wave swamping every overtaking opportunity or corner exit, but taking any steering delicacy or handling nuance with it.

But it’s awfully impressive in what it does well. There is strength everywhere, as you’d expect, and the noise levels have been improved to the point where it sounds slightly sweet now, as well as muscular.

That can be improved even further by cracking open the bypass valve on the exhaust by pushing a centre-console button or moving to Sport mode.

The trouble with that is it becomes unpleasantly droning on constant-speed runs, like highways, so it’s best kept for around-town overrun burbles and pops or for twisting mountain roads.

There’s little doubt that BMW gets more precise, clean, fast and smooth gear-shifting out of the core ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission than anybody else in the car industry, and that continues here.

It’s beautifully matched to the potent six-pot diesel, coping with all that torque without apparent effort or hiccup. It snaps through crisp shifts when drivers want to push on or use the paddle-shifting manual mode and it slips them through calmly and quietly at any other time.

It provides the entire powertrain with a classy pivot point, a reliable and flawless link between the engine and the all-wheel drive system that twists the axles.

The X$'s tyre sizes have also grown, with 245/40 R20 front and 275/40 R20 rear rubber flanking a four-link front suspension and a five-link rear-end. (If this is starting to sound similar to the layout of the X3, you know why...)

It’s an arrogant highway rumbler, overtaking with disdain, hurling you back and eating its way into holes that barely exist.

It’s a little firm over lumpy bits of road, though, and as ever the dynamic modes are too firm for bumpy work and the suspension works best when left to its own devices in its default mode.

The noise reduction has been helped by the move to an acoustic windscreen across the board, while there are also active louvres for the grille to keep air from swirling around in the engine bay when it’s not needed for cooling.

The ‘M’ bit of the badge bestows upon the diesel its own suspension set-up, its own steering set-up, some unique design elements and its own blackened exhaust tips. Better to get in first, probably.

There’s also an M diff lock on the rear axle, stronger anchors with four-piston front callipers and the options of adaptive suspension and 21-inch wheels and tyres. Of course, being BMW, there are about 4.9 million other options you can tick as well.

BMW claims this X4 gets itself to 100km/h in 4.9 seconds and that’s not the half of it. It feels faster than that, if anything, and its rolling acceleration feels bullock-strong.

Perhaps the biggest achievement is how few hints of coarseness enter the cabin from all that effort.

There’s a pleasantly deep mumble at idle and when it’s cruising and a heft bellow when it’s bruising out all that torque and not a single unwanted tremor makes its way to the seats or the steering wheel.

That limited-slip rear differential helps it to both turn into slow corners briskly and punch out of them again, sometimes with so much enthusiasm that you shake your head with respect for the achievement.

There’s so much weight here (with 1895kg of mass already there before people or fuel are squeezed on board) that it never feels alive or flighty, but it’s crushingly competent.

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Petrol power

The same can kind-of be said for the mid-level petrol-powered X4, except that it feels a bit lighter on its feet and more cheerful in its character.

It doesn’t try to bully its way through problems with sheer torque because it isn’t dripping with sheer torque. It’s better than the entry-level 20i, which battles on with only 290Nm of the stuff and it tops out at 135kW.

We tested the BMW X4 30i, which is the same core engine (and the same 1720kg dry weight) but with the outputs pushed up to 350Nm of torque and 185kW of power.

It’s enough to make a two-second difference to 100km/h compared to the 20i, with the more expensive car getting it done in 6.5 seconds.

There’s a throwback feel to the engine that defies the age of turbos, in that its engine performance climbs in a nicely linear way until it reaches 5200rpm and all of its power finally arrives. It stays around at a flat line for 1300rpm and then you’re basically into the rev-limiter.

It tops out at 240km/h (the 20i can only eke out 215km/h), and does it all with bags of warmth and character.

It’s smoother in its delivery than the diesel, quicker to pick up and drop off revs and happier to spin into its upper reaches.

Entirely pleasant in its demeanour, the 2.0-litre petrol motor is a high-tech piece of kit, ranging from variable valve timing and lift to a twin-scroll turbocharger to direct fuel injection. It’s a good engine that on occasion feels like it’s an understudy happily filling in for the lead actor.

Its handling is a bit more fun, on taller profile 225/60 R18 tyres all round, and the higher sidewalls do plenty of work to help the ride quality, too. People rarely pick the smaller tyre sizes in cars like this, and they’re missing out.

The 30i’s steering feels lighter, more accurate and more helpful, as though it lacks the overdone gravitas imbued into the big diesel’s system. Though it lacks some of the fancy electrickery of its expensive brother, it actually comes with a healthy spattering of fun.

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Come inside

Both of these X4s are outstandingly competent in pretty much every situation, though, except trying to carry as much luggage as an X3.

Like all BMW X4s, it has grown up and grown out without growing heavier.

The 4752mm overall length is 81mm longer, its 37mm wider (1918mm) and its wheelbase is 54mm longer (2864mm), while its just 3mm lower than before (1621mm).

That wheelbase stretch has added a bit to the front seat footwell, but mostly it’s been used to deliver 27mm more rear legroom.

For people who care about such things (and BMW assures us that such people do actually exist), the X4 now delivers 204mm of ground clearance, 500mm of wading ability, 25.7 degrees of approach angle, 22.6 degrees of departure angle and a 19.4-degree ramp-over angle. You know, for all those tricky roads into wineries and golf courses.

It’s a dedicated five-seater, too, and its 40:20:40 split-fold rear seat now has push-button operation and delineates a 525-litre cargo area. That seat folds down to create a 1470-litre space, while the tailgate is push-button, key or kick operated.

The range has a new option in a version of the 7 Series’ enormous trick key, with its 2.2-inch digital screen. Even from a continent away, it can be used to see the fuel level and range, to lock or unlock the doors, close its windows or turn the heating on or off.

The interior is one of the major areas of improvement, adding to a list that includes a more comfortable ride, more reassuring grip and handling and reduced noise levels.

There is now a fully digital instrument cluster – though BMW retains its affection for fixed semi-circles in the middle of the screen for the tacho and speedo. That alone reduces the visual options BMW can deliver compared to, say, Audi, Mercedes-Benz or even Volkswagen.

The infotainment screen stands (literally) up at 6.5 inches, though the optional Navigation Professional setup brings a 10.3-inch touch-screen unit along with it, and the optional head-up display is full colour, fully adjustable for brightness and height and has a 70 per cent larger screen area than before.

It also brings with it an enormous range of driver assistance systems, including (as is BMW’s way) an optional Driving Assistant Plus package that combines steering and lane control from zero to 210km/h (or almost the top speed of the 20i version).

It also dials in active side-wind assistance, cross-traffic warning, crossroads warning and a setup to help drivers slot into parallel and 90-degree parks.

The 360-degree surround vision set-up not only makes it easier for parking, but also lets drivers see a real-time 3D image of their car and around it on their smartphones.

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The verdict

The new 2018 2019 BMW X4 is a far better car than its predecessor. That much is clear. But it’s still an opinion polariser. That much is also clear.

And there are now more reasons to justify it than just being ornery or wanting a cut-down X6.

But there aren’t too many reasons here to justify not just taking the circa-$10K-cheaper X3.

How much is the 2019 BMW X4 xDrive M40d?
Price: TBC
On sale: Not for Australia
Engine: 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder turbo-diesel
Output: 240kW/680Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic, AWD
Fuel: 6.4L/100km
CO2: 170g/km
Safety rating: TBC

How much is the 2019 BMW X4 xDrive 30i?
Price: $85,000 (estimated)
On sale: September/October
Engine: 2.0-litre inline four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 185kW/350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic, AWD
Fuel: 7.2L/100km
CO2: 164g/km
Safety rating: TBC