Item: BMW X4 2014-2018
Rating: 3.5

We suspect the reason for the BMW X4's creation is because of the Porsche Macan

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Another day, another niche filled with the BMW X4. On the wall of the BMW product planning office, the big chart – whose boxes are arranged by vehicle size along one axis and body styles along the other axis – gets another tick.

This time, the fat marker pen signifies the arrival of a car that is roughly the same length as a BMW X3 or BMW 3 Series but has the benefit of being both a 4x4 and, of a fashion, a coupé.

The X4 was previewed by a thinly veiled concept of the same name in 2013
Matt Saunders
Road test editor

How much benefit that provides is what we are here to discover. The new car is the X4 and it’s arriving in the UK now in a range that is composed entirely of four-wheel-drive powertrains and predominantly diesel engines.

There is no direct predecessor to the X4, but BMW has had a decent recent history with SUVs. That began with the BMW X5 in 1999, at a time when BMW also owned Land Rover, perhaps proving to itself that there was plenty of room for more than one premium large SUV in the group’s line-up.

An X3 duly followed, and then the BMW X6 and BMW X1. The reasons for the X4’s creation is several-fold, but chief among them, we suspect, is a machine called the Porsche Macan. The Macan’s underpinnings have some cross-group architecture but it is a deal more svelte and dynamic than the Audi Q5 from which it is ostensibly derived.

Hence the X4, which is underpinned by BMW’s own X3 but aims to do a similar job to the Porsche in being more dynamic than other vehicles in the range. Let’s see if it can achieve that aim.

Verdict

We suspect the reason for the BMW X4's creation is because of the Porsche Macan

Model tested:

Rating: 7

Used BMW X4 2014-2018 review

Good

Spacious cabin

Great driving position

Performance and grip

Bad

Challenging looks

Price is on the high side

Not a Porsche Macan, dynamically

DESIGN & STYLING

“The sporting elegance of a classical coupé” is what you’re meant to see here. Do you? We’re not convinced that an SUV can look much like a classical coupé at all, and even if it can, whether the BMW X4 represents the best of the breed at doing so.

Our testers, bystanders and onlookers were all largely agreed: this is not a particularly handsome car. That’s a pity because you can say what you like about the BMW BMW X6, but for all those who call it vulgar there are those who will not deny its presence and visual dynamism. The X6 is to the BMW X5 what the BMW X4 is to the BMW X3, which itself hints at some reasons why the X4 is, aesthetically, less pleasing.

BMW set its SUV ball rolling in 1999 with the X5
Nic Cackett
Road tester

The X6 had more cabin space to sacrifice in pursuit of a sloping roofline. And the X6 – as standard, anyway – seats only two in its rear cabin, whereas X4 buyers are more likely to demand three.

Still, plenty of unattractive cars have found myriad buyers and what’s more important is the hardware beneath. The X4 is only 14mm longer than the X3 on which it is based but it sits 36mm lower, while its occupants are sited 20mm lower in the front and 28mm lower in the back.

There is a streamlined line-up, too, with only three diesel engines – all driving through BMW’s xDrive four-wheel drive system. They’re the 20d, available in six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic forms, and the auto-only 30d and 35d. While heading up the range in much the same vein the X6 M does is the X4 M40i which uses a 355bhp, 3.0-litre, six-cylinder petrol engine.

Up until now, all of BMW's four-wheel-drive models have hitherto used the same four-wheel drive system to distribute power across their axles, thanks to all of them having a similar mechanical layout.

They’ve had a front-mounted, longitudinal engine, with a gearbox sitting longitudinally behind it. Behind that, between the gearbox and the propshaft, has been a multi-plate clutch, with the rear propshaft spearing from the back of it, and another shaft pointing forwards for the front wheels.

Power distribution is split 40 per cent to the front and 60 per cent to the rear under normal conditions, but it can go up to 99 per cent either way when slip is detected. The X4 gets just such a system.

However, just to complicate matters, the BMW i8 has electric motors to power its front wheels. Meanwhile, the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer has a transversely mounted engine and is usually front-wheel drive, so the forthcoming four-wheel-drive version of that will get something else again.

INTERIOR

Three trim levels are offered, comprising of SE, xLine and M Sport. All are well equipped, with the entry-level SE models featuring dual-zone climate control, cruise control, a DAB tuner, iDrive with sat nav and DAB, Bluetooth, heated seats and all-round parking sensors. Upgrade to an xLine model and you get bigger alloys, chrome detailing, a sports automatic gearbox and front sports seats.

The M Sport trim gets 19in alloys, sports suspension and an aerodynamic bodykit, while the M40i gets a heavily reworked 3.0-litre petrol engine and numerous M Division revisions.

The wheel and pedal alignment is close to perfect. The steering wheel is a good size, well located and very adjustable
Matt Saunders
Road test editor

Better to start this from the back, because that’s where the BMW X4’s differences chiefly play out and where we chided the original BMW X6 for being so wasteful with the available space.

Firstly, the X6’s novelty 2+2 configuration has not been revisited. Instead, the new model gets a much more conventional 40:20:40 split folding rear bench that’s equipped to accommodate a third occupant.

Secondly, those in steerage will likely find the imposition of a designer’s pen strokes less noticeable. That plunging roofline still negates some of the headroom that would be available in the BMW X3, but with the ceiling gouged out to good effect, BMW has managed to find a slither of daylight to insert between it and our tallest testers.

The bulky collision of D-pillar and rising shoulder line means that the X4 deals more in bolt-hole shade than SUV airiness, but that much was to be expected.

Likewise, the luggage capacity has been restricted. The huge automatic tailgate yawns open to reveal an appealingly flat, square floor of a boot that holds 50 litres less than that of an BMW X3. Seats down, the difference is 200 litres, making the X4 inferior to a Skoda Yeti in the overall lugging-stuff stakes.

All of which is easy to not give a hoot about when sat up front on your tod. From the driver’s seat, beneath the highest point of the roof arch, the car seems plenty spacious enough and the driving position is more low-slung than in most SUVs.

The gleaming architecture ahead is carried over from the X3, which means that it’s confidently and concertedly premium but not, even in its most expensive garb, particularly luxurious.

The ergonomics, made familiar by steering wheel heft and a stubby gearlever, are fine, as is the view out. Unless, that is, you want to look over your shoulder at what’s beyond the flanks, in which case the rear quarter blind spot is prodigious.

Most of the items that we’d consider essential are included in the now-standard BMW Business Media system, which comes with a 6.5-inch infotainment screen, Bluetooth (including audio streaming), USB interface, satellite navigation and DAB tuner, as well as the iDrive controller to move swiftly and satisfyingly between them.

However, if that lot seems inadequate, rest assured that enhancement is only a tick away. The upgraded Professional nav system (£900), which among other things — notably, real-time traffic information — delivers the larger display that properly fills out the screen-shaped hole in the X4’s dashboard.

The head-up display costs another £895 but BMW’s line-of-sight presentation is exemplary. A Harman Kardon surround-sound speaker system clocks in at the same price.

ENGINES & PERFORMANCE

The BMW X4 is offered with a choice of three engines, all diesels. The range starts with the X4 xDrive20d, featuring BMW's all-new and decidedly more refined 187bhp 2.0-litre engine.

In manual form this version pushes the X4 to 62mph in 8.0sec and on to 132mph, returning 52.3mpg combined and CO2 emissions of 143g/km. Next up is the pricier xDrive30d, but it’s faster, too, sprinting to 62mph in 5.8sec and on to 148mph. It returns 47.9mpg and 156g/km of CO2.

BMW says that xDrive can shift power from one end to the other in less than 0.1sec
Richard Bremner
Senior contributing editor

The range-topping xDrive35d competes the 0-62mph sprint in a striking 5.2sec, tops 153mph and is barely less economical at 47.1mpg and 157g/km.The xDrive30d and xDrive35d come with an eight-speed automatic transmission; this is an option for the six-speed manual xDrive20d.

The BMW X4’s ‘N57’ 3.0-litre turbodiesel straight six is smooth, quiet, responsive, powerful, torque-laden, free-revving and frugal. This is a powerplant without a weak spot. And it’s the mid-range diesel option, remember. BMW stands ready to go one better than this, for buyers willing to upgrade to the 309bhp 35d.

The fact is, though, that you don’t need a 35d to feel like you’ve got a fast X4. Fitted with launch control, our test car never took longer than 5.9sec to pass 60mph from rest, in several runs in opposing directions.

On the road, the X4 is always ready to forge forwards. The ZF automatic gearbox is so good in D that you seldom feel the need to use the wheel-mounted paddles, since it shifts intuitively and smoothly but also allows the engine to show off its remarkable tractive range on a frequent basis.

Want to take off from below 1500rpm? No problem at all. Need to rev above 4500rpm for a spot of overtaking? Easy-peasy, assured as you like. Its operating level is beyond ample or authoritative: the X4 simply uses its performance in the most convincing way to hide its bulk and give a truly sporting impression.

You can also count truly impressive refinement in the car’s favour. Unlike some V6 turbodiesels, BMW’s in-line six is never remotely coarse, at idle or start-up or when working hard. Drive in unhurried fashion and, as our touring economy test confirmed, the car will also close in on 45mpg.

Twenty years ago, that kind of economy from a mid-sized SUV that’s faster than a hot hatchback would have been considered outside the realm of possibility. Today, it’s situation normal. Normal, that is, for a six-cylinder diesel BMW.

RIDE & HANDLING

BMW clearly had a more laid-back dynamic compromise in mind for the BMW X4 than Porsche did for its Macan, so the X4 rides as gently as any BMW M Sport-suspended SUV – and a good deal more gently than a steel-sprung Macan.

The more troubling facet of the X4’s handling is that, because it has a less sporting edge than the Porsche, it also has less of a point of difference from, say, an equivalent BMW X3 or a BMW X5.

The X4 will predictably and safely understeer when pushed, with the safety systems on
Matt Prior
Editor-at-large

Were an X4 buyer to come to the car from either of the neighbouring, more established BMW 4x4s, he might struggle to identify what he’d given up all that extra practicality for, exactly.

The X4 grips strongly for such a big, tall car. Its steering response, body control and resistance to understeer are all well above those of the SUV class average. But so are those of an M Sport X3 or X5.

BMW could have developed the car’s dynamic appeal, without sacrificing too much on refinement or ease of use, in the balance, weight and tactility of the primary controls. But alas, the firm fits a variable-ratio sport steering rack as standard – and it’s still a flawed system in our book.

The assistance levels of the power steering are continually ramping up and down to deliver increasing directness of ratio off-centre without demanding greater steering effort at the same time. The upshot is that, at all times, the steering feel is monotone and lacks any sense of connection to the front contact patches, or feedback about how much lateral load the tyres are under.

Ride quality is quiet and absorptive in Comfort mode, assuming adaptive damping is fitted, but it lacks the close, progressive initial damper response that characterises comfortable-riding cars of this size. Sport mode is tauter but still not broadly suitable for UK country roads.

An xDrive30d M Sport version we tested set a 1min 20sec lap time of MIRA’s dry handling circuit. Both a Porsche Cayenne diesel and BMW X5 M50d are a couple of seconds slower. The X4’s grip levels are high and its body control is very tidy.

But it would have gone faster with a more neutral balance of grip and a driveline geared more to throttle steering. When the X4’s tyres let go, its nose runs wide in non-negotiable terms and the car can’t be coaxed into a neutral cornering attitude with a timely lift or a prod of either pedal.

As with most 4x4s, tyres will be the factor that limits how far the BMW X4 will get off road. Michelin Primacy 3s are not the stuff of Camel Trophies, but the rest of the car’s basic off-road potential isn’t too shabby.

An X4’s ground clearance is 204mm, and its approach and departure angles of more than 20deg are respectable. There’s hill descent control, too, which BMW has had since the days when it owned Land Rover. What’s more, xDrive four-wheel drive is standard.

MPG & RUNNING COSTS

We suspect the reason for the BMW X4's creation is because of the Porsche Macan

The idea of paying a premium for BMW’s idea of a jauntier, pseudo-coupé bodyshell is well established, and a walk-up of about £3600 from the equivalent X3 to the entry-level 20d SE ought to surprise no one. That difference is consistent across the X4 range, which shares the SE, xLine and M Sport trim levels.

BMW expects its 2.0-litre engine to dominate the UK’s BMW X4 sales, taking about 60 per cent of the volume – although the 3.0-litre version tested here will make up a proportionally higher part of the mix than it does for the BMW X3.

A downward price realignment wouldn't go amiss
Nic Cackett
Road tester

Along with its lower price, the four-cylinder car’s efficiency advantage is significant, offering (in automatic guise) 54.3mpg and 138g/km of CO2 compared with 47.9mpg and 156g/km for the straight six.

As mentioned, though, an admirable touring figure of 44.5mpg suggests that, with plenty of consideration, the BMW lab readings ought to be achievable on the road.

The X4 comes generously equipped, with a powered tailgate, front and rear parking sensors, heated front seats, 40:20:40 split rear seats, performance control, 18-inch wheels and BMW’s Business Media pack all fitted at SE level.

However, that won’t prevent more than half of all X4 buyers in the UK opting to pay an additional £3000 for M Sport, which adds the stiffer suspension and sports seats, plus the exterior trim confetti and 19-inch light-alloy wheels pictured.

We're not overwhelmed by the M Sport's added trim or suspension trickery, so we'd be inclined to choose SE trim – and with the four-cylinder 20d engine that makes the X4 a sub-£40k buy.

VERDICT

Verdict

We suspect the reason for the BMW X4's creation is because of the Porsche Macan

Model tested:

Rating: 7

Used BMW X4 2014-2018 review

Good

Spacious cabin

Great driving position

Performance and grip

Bad

Challenging looks

Price is on the high side

Not a Porsche Macan, dynamically

We’ve become accustomed to rating fast SUVs by the cleverness of their compromise.

The potential of their pace and handling prowess – a revelation half a decade ago – now passes almost for a customary achievement. Only by ticking a multitude of boxes thereafter can the car be considered a more wide-angled success.

Occasionally exceptional but too often ordinary. A worthy effort, though
Matt Prior
Editor-at-large

In the BMW X4’s case, the concept of a Sports Activity Coupé seems far less cock-eyed than it did with the BMW X6. Familiarity now makes it easier to buy into and, with gains in practicality, much easier to live with.

BMW has further greased this affinity with a range of good powertrains, a solid interior and the required dash of exclusivity. But too many of its rivals strike a superior trade-off between flexibility, comeliness and dynamic pedigree.

The X4 ranks as a middle-of-the-road option – better than the X6 but probably no more desirable, and second in our estimation to the cheaper BMW X3.

Aside from its disappointing diesel engine, the Porsche Macan is everything the X4 wants to be.

Matt Saunders

Title: Road test editor

As Autocar’s chief car tester and reviewer, it’s Matt’s job to ensure the quality, objectivity, relevance and rigour of the entirety of Autocar’s reviews output, as well contributing a great many detailed road tests, group tests and drive reviews himself.

Matt has been an Autocar staffer since the autumn of 2003, and has been lucky enough to work alongside some of the magazine’s best-known writers and contributors over that time. He served as staff writer, features editor, assistant editor and digital editor, before joining the road test desk in 2011.

Since then he’s driven, measured, lap-timed, figured, and reported on cars as varied as the Bugatti Veyron, Rolls-Royce Phantom, Tesla Roadster, Ariel Hipercar, Tata Nano, McLaren Senna, Renault Twizy and Toyota Mirai. Among his wider personal highlights of the job have been covering Sebastien Loeb’s record-breaking run at Pikes Peak in 2013; doing 190mph on derestricted German autobahn in a Brabus Rocket; and driving McLaren’s legendary ‘XP5’ F1 prototype. His own car is a trusty Mazda CX-5.