BMW Gives X3 & X4 Bigger Nose & a Little More Pose. M Models Gain Grunt Too.

Other Models Get ‘Meaningful Enhancements’

The other X3 and X4 models gain ‘meaningful enhancements’. The best of those happen under under the $58,775 X3 M40i and $63,395 X4 M40i’s contorted hoods. Their all-wheel drivetrains gain stealthy 48-volt starter-generator hybridization with an aggressive sport mode energy recuperation rate. That will compliment their slick 382 HP 369 lb-ft 3-liter straight-sixes.

Performance is however unchanged at 4.4 seconds to 60 mph and top end limited depending on the tyres selected at either 130 or 155 mph. We do however expect that the 48V system will bring fuel consumption and response advantages.

Not Much Change in the Regular Range

Below the M40s, the $43,700 FWD entry-level X3 sDrive and $46,695 all-wheel-drive X3 and $52,775 X4 xDrive30is get non-hybrid 280 HP 258 lb-ft 2-liter turbo four-pots for 60 mph in 6 seconds and 130 mph. All get ZF-sourced 8-speed automatics. The old plug-in-hybrids appear to have been culled.

Taking a first look at the newcomers, the first thing you will notice is that the company has failed to resist its fetish of making its kidney grilles ever bigger than before. Albeit this one’s growth is subtle. Blame BMW customers for that — they allegedly complain about the insignificance of the previous kidney. Not sure who those owners are, but anyway! That comes in tandem with narrower, more slanted headlamps, while they tell us that the bumper grilles now conform to a ‘pincer claw contour’…

The taillights have not escaped that München scalpel either. They say that they’re now ‘more aggressive’, while grander exhaust tips ‘convey more presence’. Are the styling tricks a step forward? Or just different? That’s for you to decide!