BMW X4

The BMW X4 Offer Amazing Performance In a Sedate Package

There’s nothing currently on the market quite like the BMW X4. Then again, it doesn’t really look like a traditional BMW, either. It’s billed as a hybrid SUV, but the tag doesn’t really fit. It’s not a traditional sedan, but the manner in which BMW has integrated the hatchback into a very conventional rear end is quite innovative. BMW purists aren’t sure about the X4. It has lots of competition in the performance SUV class from marques like Porsche, Audi, and Mercedes, but it isn’t an upright, boxy style like a typical SUV, and it doesn’t have the classic understated style that BMW is known for, either.It’s a hybrid, for sure, and it needs to be judged on its own terms.

The BMW X4 delivers performance that trumps its somewhat utilitarian silhouette. It goes from 1-100 kilometers an hour in a blazing 5.8 seconds, and there’s still a lot more headroom in both the eight-speed optional automatic gearbox and the turbocharged six-cylinder diesel engine to keep going. Even the base model with a six-speed manual can blast past any speed limit you can find. Since the BMW X4 weighs a hefty 1820 kg, you wouldn’t expect that kind of performance off the line, but the diesel six-cylinder is capable of 190kW of power and 560Nm of torque. The BMW X4 doesn’t guzzle fuel to achieve this kind of performance, either; it can go 100 kilometers on just 5.9 liters of fuel in combined urban/highway driving.

The BMW X4 is a well rounded crossover SUV, with models ranging from 4.99 - 5.99 million baht. A turbocharged diesel six-cylinder would be out of place in the American market, which favors more cylinders and regular petrol in order to achieve performance. Americans would probably favor the X4 xDrive28i, which features a 2,000 cc turbocharged petrol engine that cranks out 240 horsepower and 350Mn of torque instead. It can’t compete with the turbocharged six cylinder in either performance or fuel economy, but it’s less expensive to purchase and easier to find fuel for in North America.

One aspect of the BMW X4 that purists will recognize is the interior. BMW interiors are never roomy. They’re more like a comfortable cockpit than a big open space, and the X4 continues that tradition. BMWs look downright plain compared to competing marques like Mercedes and many Japanese carmakers. It’s ergonomically perfect, with nothing flashy but absolutely nothing that looks cheap on display anywhere. The car is only 4,648 millimeters long, 1,915 mm wide, and a low-slung 1,622 mm tall, but there’s no hint of crowding either in the front buckets or the rear sculpted bench seat. Unlike many other crossover SUV models, and even earlier models of the X series, the X4 has a very low ground clearance for a four-wheel drive car, so it handles more like a sports car than a runabout.

If you’re in the market for a five-door performance car, the BMW X4 has raised the bar for everyone, even current BMW drivers that aren’t quite ready for anything new.