BMW X4 x35d new car review
- Comparison test: BMW X4 versus Porsche Macan and Audi SQ5
- Read all the latest BMW news and reviews here
Remember the days when family types with a penchant for performance simply sought out the V8-powered Kingswood? Well this, the sales figures show, is what the Joneses are now calling for: a high-riding, spatially compromised SUV. And a diesel one at that.
Times, they are a changing.
BMW recently enriched its X4 range in Australia by adding a high-powered diesel model known as the 35d. In doing so it has scratched the similarly-minded 30d. Why? Because of power.
The 35d is more akin to rivals from fellow German manufacturers like the Audi SQ5 and Porsche Macan diesel: frugal yet ferocious high-riders masquerading as family-friendly wagons.
The small but growing X4-SQ5-Macan segment garnered around 5000 sales alone in Oz last year, a number that will grow significantly when the Jaguar F-Pace and Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe land later in the year.
Can the power-filliped X4 once again shake up the diesel dichotomy?
What do you get?
The four-tier X4 Australian range starts out with the petrol-powered 20i, priced from $71,100 plus on-road costs, then moving up through the diesel 20d ($74,900 plus on-road costs) and the 35i ($89,300 plus on-road costs). In case you were wondering that's a circa $6500 premium on BMW's X3, the more conventional SUV with which the X4 shares most of its architecture.
By comparison, the like-minded Porsche Macan starts at $91,900, and the upcoming Jaguar F-Pace at $74,340.
Sitting atop the X4 range is the 35d, priced from a not inconsiderable $89,900 plus on-road costs. Being the highest derivative of the family, the 35d is naturally loaded with fruit, fitted standard with BMW's M Sport package. That means standard 20-inch M Sport alloys, comfort access (keyless entry, ignition and electric tailgate), digital radio, 16-speaker Harman/Kardon sound system, internet connectivity and ConnectedDrive Freedom (BMW's branding for its in-car connectivity that includes apps, live traffic updates and emergency call) on top of what the 30d had. Climate control, leather seats, a leather steering wheel, satellite-navigation, Bluetooth phone and audio streaming, Bi-Xenon headlights and LED daytime running lights are also standard fare.
On the performance front the 35d gets adaptive dampers standard, a launch control function (because power) and torque vectoring technology that brakes the inside wheel through corners to keep the car planted and straight.
Safety comprises full airbag coverage for all occupants, well-honed stability and traction control functions, cruise control, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera and 360 degree camera. There's no option for autonomous emergency braking, but you can add a pack bundling 'light city braking' for $900. Ditto blind spot monitoring ($1200).
Re-sale is rated at a relatively strong 61 per cent after three years/60,000km, while servicing intervals are spaced a generous 24 months/25,000km apart. If you want capped priced servicing, BMW offers an advanced one-off payment as part of its condition-based servicing program.
What's inside?
By its very nature, the coupe-like X4 is not quite as practical as a traditional SUV, with a smaller boot and less space for rear seat passengers. For reference its 500-litre cargo space, which extends to 1400 litres with the 40:20:40 folding rear seats down, measures 50 litres and 200 litres less than the X3.
Relatively tight rear door apertures and the sloping roofline also restrict access for those taller than six-foot, while the perched middle pew in the rear is narrow and firm.
It's better news for front seaters, though, who are afforded decent headroom and myriad storage spots for drink bottles and other odds and ends.
A commanding yet sporty driver position is complemented by heavily bolstered front seats and a thoughtfully positioned steering wheel, while decent side mirrors allow an open air forward view. The rear vista is more compromised by the narrow aperture of the rear windscreen.
Clear instrumentation is provided by the driver instrument cluster, which comprises both analogue and digital gauges but misses out on a standard digital speedometer.
The X4's cabin design is a little austere for this price point. Some cabin plastics present a little bland, and while the leather seats are a huge step up from the dog nose-textured trim of base model BMWs, they're hardly stand out.
Standard woodgrain inserts and quality materials at the contact points help raise the bar. But paying an extra $760 for heated front seats at this price point? That's taking the mickey a little.
Under the bonnet
The newest X4 derivative boasts a more powerful version of the 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo diesel engine formerly found in the 30d. Power and torque values have been raised 40kW and 70Nm, to 230kW and 630Nm overall, corresponding with a hastened 0-100km/h time of 5.2 seconds, down from 5.8 seconds.
For reference, the rivalling Audi SQ5 remains the benchmark of this diesel triumvirate with a 0-100km/h time of 5.1 seconds. The similarly-minded Porsche Macan boasts a sprint time of 6.1 seconds.
If diesel is not your deal, the fastest petrol-driven X4, the 225kW/400Nm xDrive35i, will dispatch triple figures in 5.2 seconds. What the petrol cannot match is the oil-burner's miserly fuel consumption, rated at just 6.0L/100km (against 8.3L/100km) in the case of the 35d.
Underneath the 35d's body is an xDrive permanent all-wheel-drive system that's generally rear-biased, but offers a fully variable torque split between the axles, activated by sensors.
On the road, the diesel employs common rail direct injection and two-stage turbocharging with variable turbine geometry to provide smooth pick-up off the line and equally explosive power through the mid ranges and even towards the higher end of the dial – quite unusually so for an oil-burner.
The matching eight-speed automatic is equally adept at different driving styles; providing smooth, almost seamless changes in daily conveyance, but also facilitating explosive bursts of power with well-timed shifts in enthusiastic applications.
The flagship X4 is good for 2000kg worth of braked towing, though the initial feeling is that you feel you could tow a lot more, such is the powerful reserves of torque on offer.
How it drives
With an additional 20cm of travel height over the regular 3-Series, there is only so much electronic wizardry can do in the face of physics. As such, the X4 is capable of flattering its driver through a fast, winding road but it's far from being a sports car.
In daily conveyance the 35d is calm and civilised, abating bumps and outside road noise in a fashion that cements its luxury positioning. Standard adaptive dampers cushion occupants over small-frequency imperfections, while sharper undulations are transferred through the cabin without crashing.
The steering, too, takes on more meaningful weight in its sportiest modes, ensuring agile changes in direction with ample accuracy and feedback. Ventilated front and rear disc brakes do the job without inspiring huge amounts of confidence.
The X4 is shod in Michelin Primacy tyres measuring 245mm width up front and 275mm at the rear. Working in unison with the torque vectoring functions, the staggered wheel widths help the 1850kg X4 hold a clean line through a corner at moderate speeds. What the latest X4 variant is crying out for, in order to really reach its limits, is some proper brakes and M Sport suspension to truly stake its claim.
Rear drive bias in certain scenarios elicits some wiggling from the rear, though not to the same lateral extremes as BMW's sportier sedans and coupes.
A hill-descent control function and hill-holder function means the X4 carries some semblance of off-road ability, though with a minimum ground clearance of just 204mm it's not the sort of vehicle you'd want to take off-road regularly.
Verdict
It turns out you can force a square peg into a round hole. Despite everything that is intrinsically wrong about the 35d, it simply works. Attitude, sportiness and cachet in a practical (we use that term loosely), high-riding body.
But for all its uniqueness, the X4 cannot quite match the SQ5 as an all-rounder, nor the Macan for outright road holding. But from a styling and presence perspective, it stands in a niche of its very own.
BMW X4 xDrive35d
Price: $89,900 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder diesel
Power: 230kW at 4400rpm
Torque: 630Nm at 1500rpm-2500rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic, AWD
Fuel use: 6.0L/100km combined
Competitors
Audi SQ5
Price: $91,700 plus on-road costs
Engine: 3.0-litre V6 twin-turbo diesel
Power: 230kW at 4500rpm
Torque: 650Nm at 1450rpm-2800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic, AWD
Fuel use: 6.8L/100km
Our score: Not rated
Porsche Macan diesel
Price: $91,900 plus on-road costs
Engine: 3.0-litre V6 turbo diesel
Power: 190kW at 4000rpm-4250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1750rpm-2500rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic, AWD
Fuel use: 6.1L/100km
Our score: 7/10
Jaguar F-Pace
Price: on sale July
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 diesel
Power: 220kW at 4000rpm
Torque: 700Nm at 2000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic, AWD
Fuel use: 6.0L/100km (estimated)
Our score: Not rated