We found it to be a pretty handy
South Island GT, able to cover distance in comfort with the added ability to
venture a little off the beaten track
There’s nothing quite like a couple
thousand kays compressed into a few days to really get to know a vehicle. We
had the chance to head South in BMW’s new X4, and jumped at it, taking the
‘truck’ from Auckland to Queenstown via the West Coast to drop it off for
Beemer’s Alpine xDrive Experience.
The X4 is based on the X3; it’s all but the
same size but rides a little lower to the tarmac, 36mm to be precise, while
inside the seats are mounted lower too. It’s a mid-sized SUV, according to BMW,
but after a long tour we found it to be a pretty handy South Island GT, able to
cover distance in comfort with the added ability to venture a little off the
beaten track. It’s also dynamic enough to let you enjoy those mountainous
stretches as they snake up and through the passes and down into the valleys
while the powerful twin-turbo diesel gives it enough pace to deal to the
tourist traffic and it offers a reasonable touring range too.
The
X4 is effectively a smaller version of BMW's X6
Petrol engines are now the clear favourite
for BMW car buyers, but when it comes to SUVs, the range is dominated by oilers
to the extent that even the sporty X4 range is diesel-only, with no turbopetrol
variants offered here. The entry level is the 20d with BMW’s new 2.0-litre four
making 140kW and 400Nm of torque. It can crack 100km/h in 8.0sec and return a
claimed 5.4L/100km.
BMW NZ has gone for the top spec 35d to
head the range here with its twin-turbo 3.0-litre six outputting 230kW with
630Nm tapped between 1,500 and 2,500rpm. It’s good for a claimed 0-100km/h
sprint of 5.2sec while imbibing 6.0L/100km and it complies with EU6 emissions
standards. The fuel use average might be achievable if the drive mode button is
glued to the Eco Pro position, but tap into the 230kW peak too often and it
will drink. We were seeing instantaneous fuel use in the 30s climbing up some
of the more interesting passes. That said, we averaged 9.4L/100km for our
Southern jaunt which covered just under 2,000km.
The
X4's appearance is enhanced by the familiar twin round headlights and LED fog
lights underneath
The forced six sure does crank out the
torque though and there’s no waiting around for it, the twin turbo arrangement
getting things done early. And it likes to rev too. As the torque tally begins
to drop off seemingly around 3,000rpm, the horsepower kicks in with 200kW
rising to 230 at its peak at 4,400rpm. Impressively for a big mill, it still
remains lively up to 5,000rpm. While it’s not a sporty sound- BMW has so far
resisted engineering a fake sound for its engines - it doesn’t rattle like a
tractor either. Quick cruising is a real forte, short straights are sufficient
to overhaul tourist class dawdlers and usually only with a downshift from top.
The standard eight-speed auto has the X4 sipping diesel at a rate of around
5.0L/100km at 100km/h on the flat, according to the instantaneous readout, with
the six spinning almost silently at just 1,500rpm.
The
rear end, complete with L-shaped LED lights in exclusive X4 design and
diffuser-look styling, likewise highlights the outstanding dynamic ability of
the new BMW X4
The X4 utilises the talents of BMW’s xDrive
all-wheel-drive system to shuffle the torque appropriately while all models
also gain the advantage of ‘Performance Control’. That’s fancy speak for BMW’s
active diff with its mechanical planetary gear set and an electronically
controlled multiplate clutch that splits drive left to right at the rear axle.
It uses an array of sensors measuring yaw rate, wheel speed, steering angle and
engine torque and with its own control unit, it can react quickly to the
situation at hand. The xDrive system normally distributes power 40:60 front to
rear but can vary that up to 100 per cent each way.
