The luxury SUV is one of the hottest categories on the market right now. To cash in on that growing demand, automakers who had previously focused exclusively on supercars and sporty sedans have or are in the process of launching worthy SUV competitors. Brands like Lamborghini, Maserati, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo, Bentley and Rolls Royce have already released luxury SUVs while Aston Martin has one planned for late 2019 and Ferrari targets its launch for 2022.
But there are a lot of buyers who don’t want to drive SUVs. They want something sportier and better handling. Something like the BMW X4 M40i. It’s not quite an SUV and it’s not really a sports coupe. It’s somewhere in between. Based on the X3 platform, the X4 marries the best of both worlds, and to capture that character, BMW (and Mercedes Benz for that matter) are calling it a Sports Activity Coupe of SAC.
Now according to BMW staffers, there are two basic types of X4 customers. The first are the dads—fathers who don’t really want to drive an SAC but are forced to by their circumstances or family situation. Then you have the well-to-do young couples who see SACs as cool and a perfect reflection of their fashionable, sporty lifestyle.
So what is this Sports Activity Coupe all about? To be honest, the fact that it is half SUV, half sports coupe means this BMW works hard to extract the best attributes out of both styles but ends up with slightly compromised packaging.
Yes, they have a certain look. You either like them or you don’t. I lean towards the latter. From the front, the X4 comes across as a sporty SUV, not unlike the X3. And it looks quite good. But swing around to the rear end, and you will notice that chunky tail section that resembles a triple layered hamburger. Designers have tried exceptionally hard to keep that rear section—from the C-pillar aft—stylish, but the fact that they have essentially dropped a coupe top half onto an SUV bottom half will work for some and not others. Indeed you could say this exterior is polarizing.
Ask the marketing types how X4 sales are going and they’ll start throwing surprising figures at you like over 20,000 per year in Europe and North America combined. The U.S. might only account for around 25% of that number or 5,100 sales, but the X4 is still on American customer’s radar, not least because the vehicle is built in Spartanburg, South Carolina. And it’s behind the wheel that you find out why.
Shodded with huge 21-inch wheels, and sitting high off the ground with its futuristic, muscular SUV-coupe silhouette and throaty straight-6 engine, I felt like I was in a scene from a Mad Max movie.
The X4 M40i spec we tested sounds and handles like it belongs with Mad Max behind the wheel. Pumping out 355hp from a twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter, straight-6 cylinder engine, the X4 sprints from zero to 60mph in around 4.6 seconds.
This engine, like most of BMW’s powerplants, is a gem that delivers beefy acceleration and linear power delivery while generating an operatic exhaust note. With its flappy paddles nicely positioned, the 8-speed automatic gearbox shifts quickly and effortlessly in all modes, permitting you to exit bends quicker than an SAC should be able to—partly thanks to the car’s tsunami-like torque and all-wheel-drive grip. Engage the DSC switch to turn off stability control and the differential becomes more active, assisting turn-in response. Switching off DSC fully activates the diff lock and literally launches the car out of corners while freeing the driver to induce power oversteer.
You never tire of this superb powertrain with that engine and transmission perfectly mated like sausages and sauerkraut. To provide flat, sporty cornering prowess, the suspension has been stiffened up, a fact that renders ride quality a little rough and thumpy.
Steering is weightier and more responsive in Sport + mode and the top-spec M40i model thankfully had the M Sport brakes as standard with a larger master cylinder and blue calipers, a combination that worked well to pull up this heavy SAC.
While a driver might maintain a commanding view of the road thanks to that elevated ride height, rearview is compromised by the sizable D-pillars and narrow rear window and luggage space are restricted for such a big car. The interior is stock BMW and offers luxurious appointments and comfortable seats. But the gesture-control system on the infotainment setup can be fidgety to use as it reacts to minor hand gestures that are not aimed at the screen.
Priced at around $60,000, the decision to buy this BMW comes down to aesthetics and how much you like driving. If you like the exterior look of the X4 then it belongs in your garage. Because you’ll love its on-road performance and handling.
