Review: 2017 BMW X4 M40i
BMW “Sports Activity Coupe” is a Blurrer of Lines and Changer of Minds
When BMW dropped off a 2017 X4 M40i for us to review, we took a long, hard look at it. We had the keys, the window sticker…and preconceived notions about it.
If you were to have asked us what we were looking at, we wouldn’t have said a red crossover or used BMW’s own vernacular and told you, “A Melbourne Red Metallic Sports Activity Coupe.” We would’ve said, “This is the answer to a question nobody asked.” BMW makes conventional sedans in three sizes (as well as four-door Gran Coupe and M sedans). The X1, X3, and X5, while marketed as Sports Activity Vehicles, have rooflines that are largely upright, front to back. Initially, we thought the $67,495 X4’s coupe-like profile would make it not just an SUV/coupe combo, but equal parts visually dramatic and practically limited – more “could’ve” than “should’ve.”
Then we drove the X4.
That’s all it took to change our minds.
As soon as we got into the Saddle Brown Nevada Leather driver’s seat, we pointed the roundel up front toward the sweeping curves of Central Texas’s Loop 360. That meant getting through a chunky metal stream of stop-and-go lunchtime traffic first, though. Even on pockmarked, ruined pavement, the X4’s ride quality was gentle. The wind outside lightly knocked on the door to our left to let us know it was there, but never banged its fist. Reading the white-on-black gauges was as easy as it was unnecessary; our eyes went to the head-up display more often. The pull from the straight six up front was strong, even though we had the Driving Dynamics Control system set to its sensible-shoes Comfort setting.
Our eagerness to open the X4 up built with every stop light we caught – which seemed to be all of them. Every 45 mph speed limit sign made a little part of us inside die an even slower death.
Finally, relief came in the form of an open road. So did release. We put the X4 into Sport mode, switched the traction control into its Dynamic setting, and let all of the twin-turbo 3.0-liter I6’s 355 horses (and 343 lb-ft of torque) out. We communicated with the throttle through our right foot; its responses were as urgent as our requests. Curve or straight, incline or decline, low speeds or high, the eight-speed Sport Automatic was always in the gear we needed it to be in.
Eventually, it was time to turn around and head back to the land of stop signs and strip malls. Before we set off on the return trip, we gave the Sport+ setting a chance to show us what addition it could make to our driving experience. We floored the right pedal from a dead stop. The number on the speedo swung further to the right as the pressure we felt pushing us into the seat grew. Acceleration was brisk and proof that powertrain engineers hit a sweet spot with the engine’s output. The exhaust, which hummed a thick, low, guttural tone that became an instant sonic addiction at idle, shouted a clipped brap! with every pull on the right shift paddle. Body lean was sedan-like, keeping Ss from becoming stresses. The gears banged firmly into place with every upshift, the transmission abandoning its civility for the sake of speed. We had no qualms with the decisions its computer brain made in our time of want.
We also used the X4. Any concerns we had about its practicality vanished when we got out of the front row. Although the seating position in the back was almost bolt upright and devoid of any recline function, headroom was plentiful for someone around 5’10”. Legroom was a little tighter, but the X4 wound up being a lot more comfortable in the second row than we initially thought it would be.
The cargo area was also surprisingly spacious. On paper, the X4 has 17.7 cubic feet of room behind its rear seats. In the real world, that translates to more than enough capacity for two people to pack everything they need for a three-day out-of-town trip. We were headed from Austin to San Antonio, Texas to attend the media launch of the all-new 2017 Jeep Compass. By the time we hit the road, we had loaded an overhead-compartment-sized suitcase, two briefcases (one small and one full-sized), a shopping bag full of automotive cleaning supplies, a tripod, a camera bag, two overnighters, and a garment bag into the very back of the X4. We were impressed – and even had a little room to spare.
Our week with the 2017 BMW X4 M40i was informative and mind-changing. Before it came out, we can’t remember asking what it would be like if BMW made a small SUV look like a coupe, but BMW sure came up with a hell of a powerful, satisfying, and useful answer to that question anyway.
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