X4 M vs. Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk: Battle to a Draw
Things may have looked grim on the first go, but it turned out all the X4 M needed to come out on top was a different driver.
For BMW M fans who want an M in their lives, but also need the utility of a crossover, the X4 M fits the bill for most. It’s small. It has coupe-esque styling. And it’s handy for hauling a weekend’s worth of fun in the back. Oh. And it has a twin-turbo 3.0-liter inline-six with 473 horses on tap.
So, how does it fare against the 707-horsepower behemoth from America, the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk? Cars.co.za hosts Ashley Oldfield and Ciro De Siena set out to document the battle on a private runway.
“You may have watched our drag race, where the Alfa Romeo Stelvio lost to the BMW X4 M,” said Oldfield. “Fiat Chrysler Jeep said, ‘We may have an SUV that can beat your X4 M. So, I’m now in this: the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk.”
De Siena, meanwhile, is piloting the the X4 M for the first run down the tarmac. The massive power of the Jeep, though, is enough to intimidate him. In short, he doesn’t believe today will be his day.
Right off the line, Oldfield takes the lead in the Jeep. De Siena tries to keep up in the X4 M, managing to gain half a car-length on the white whale before losing most of it at the end of the run. Not exactly how we’d want to see this go, but fear not: a driver switch is upon us.
“I suspect this race isn’t going to go exactly how you think it might,” said Oldfield, now piloting the X4 M. “This BMW is properly quick.”
The Jeep takes the lead once again. This time, though, Oldfield is working his magic with the BMW. It sweeps past the behemoth to take the win in the second and final race of the day.
“[Seven hundred and seven horsepower], and I came back with only [473],” said Oldfield. De Siena is gobsmacked by the win, Oldfield joking the BMW has a “two-pedal throttle system” he happened to find.
Turns out all the X4 M needed was a driver who could get the most out of it. The Jeep’s 11.89-second time is consistent on both runs, yet Oldfield bested De Siena’s run in the BMW by 0.29 seconds. Self-fulling prophecies get in the way of success, it seems.
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