Published:
2 September 2014Three trim levels are offered, comprising of SE, xLine and M Sport. All are well equipped, with the entry-level SE models featuring dual-zone climate control, cruise control, a DAB tuner, iDrive with sat nav and DAB, Bluetooth, heated seats and all-round parking sensors. Upgrade to an xLine model and you get bigger alloys, chrome detailing, a sports automatic gearbox and front sports seats.
The M Sport trim gets 19in alloys, sports suspension and an aerodynamic bodykit, while the M40i gets a heavily reworked 3.0-litre petrol engine and numerous M Division revisions.
Better to start this from the back, because that’s where the BMW X4’s differences chiefly play out and where we chided the original BMW X6 for being so wasteful with the available space.
Firstly, the X6’s novelty 2+2 configuration has not been revisited. Instead, the new model gets a much more conventional 40:20:40 split folding rear bench that’s equipped to accommodate a third occupant.
Secondly, those in steerage will likely find the imposition of a designer’s pen strokes less noticeable. That plunging roofline still negates some of the headroom that would be available in the BMW X3, but with the ceiling gouged out to good effect, BMW has managed to find a slither of daylight to insert between it and our tallest testers.
The bulky collision of D-pillar and rising shoulder line means that the X4 deals more in bolt-hole shade than SUV airiness, but that much was to be expected.
