![]() ![]() It was also blessed with an adaptive sport suspension, larger M Sport brakes, a quick-shifting eight-speed automatic transmission and several customizable drive modes that allow you to set everything exactly how you like it.Īlong with the improvement to the X4’s looks comes a decided improvement to its behavior. The M40i I drove was powered by a 355-horsepower, turbocharged inline-six-cylinder engine. Porsche seems to have found a more acceptable shape in its Macan despite overall similar proportions and roofline. By contrast, the latest Mercedes-Benz GLC300 Coupe still looks odd, with a bulbous rear end that doesn’t do it any favors despite providing some decent headroom for backseat occupants. The M40i includes an aerodynamic kit with more aggressive styling bits for the bumpers and sills, plus a “shadowline” exterior trim package that blacks out most of the exterior chrome. I drove an X4 M40i, which is the sportier version of the X4 (a base xDrive30i can be had with a four-cylinder engine and without all the sporty equipment). The more balanced styling is one factor making the new X4 more desirable. The new one is sleeker, proportioned better and feels lower overall. Do the improvements balance out the new one’s remaining shortcomings? It Looks BetterīMW added 3 inches to the X4’s length, including 2 inches to the wheelbase, and the effect on the overall look is a definite improvement it doesn’t have that hunchback look the outgoing model suffered from. Dynamically, the 2018 X4 was a lot of fun in its higher-performance M40i version. It’s back for 2019 with a stretched chassis that adds more length and wheelbase, plus restyled looks that make it a bit less weird than before. So what is it? A tall hatchback sedan? Some kind of sporty SUV that favors the S in the equation more than the U? Then BMW insists you call it a “coupe” - despite the fact that it has four full doors - thanks to its slammed profile. Like the larger X6, it builds off a perfectly good crossover SUV (the X3 in this case), takes away functionality by chopping down the roofline and cargo area in the name of a sporty profile, then charges you more money for the privilege of having less utility in your sport utility vehicle. The Porsche Macan somewhat qualifies as a competitor, but it generally targets a different buyer. Versus the competition: There’s one vehicle the X4 is meant to fight: the equally silly Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe, against which it stacks up toe-to-toe in nearly every attribute but ultimately succumbs to the Benz’s ritzier interior appointments. The verdict: New styling and a boost to the wheelbase make the new X4 slightly less weird, decidedly more fun and marginally more desirable than before.
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