WATCH New 2017 BMW X 4 Review. When BMW pioneered the fastback SUV with its X6, it wasted little time bringing out an M version, figuring correctly that buying an X6 isn’t about making a rational choice—it’s about making a statement. And the X6 M makes that statement louder and prouder, a preening, muscular brodozer among SUVs. Unsurprisingly, BMW applies the same logic to the generally not-very-baller compact-luxury-crossover segment. It brought out the X4, basically an X3 suited up in a flashier—and considerably less practical—fastback body that looks like a junior X6. The next logically illogical step was sprinkling some magic M dust on it, thus creating the X4 M40i.
BMW nomenclature has long since passed the point of absurdity, with model designations seemingly created by pounding a fist on a keyboard. The relevant information here is that, compared with the now discontinued X4 xDrive35i, the M40i has more power and a host of sporting touches—but not enough to earn it a full-fledged M designation. (A four-cylinder, xDrive28i version continues but seems at odds with the X4’s more-is-more zeitgeist.)
For the M40i, the already hyperstylized, low-roof, fastback X4 body is fancied up with trendy Ferric Gray metallic accents on the side mirrors, the grille slats, and in the lower air intakes. The same finish also adorns the optional 20-inch wheels (19s are standard). At the back is a diffuser, punctuated by four exhaust tips in black chrome. Inside, there are Sport seats and an M-design steering wheel, and “M40i” is spelled out on the doorsills and in the instrument cluster.
At the heart of the X4’s mechanical upgrades from xDrive35i to M40i is a more muscular version of BMW’s 3.0-liter twin-scroll, single-turbo “TwinPower” inline-six. Greater boost pressure, a forged-steel crankshaft, modified pistons, higher-performance spark plugs, a revised intake, and a specifically tuned exhaust system add 55 ponies to the horsepower count, now 355, and 43 lb-ft of torque, totaling 343. At startup, the turbo six sounds like something in a slammed Honda Civic, but the engine note instantly gets sharper and meaner as the revs climb. Pop this X4 into Sport mode (rather than the default Comfort), and every lift off of the accelerator brings a brash cacophony trumpeted from the quad exhaust pipes, a fittingly bro-riffic touch.
It’s Got the Moves
This engine, however, is less about sound than action. Paired with BMW’s eager-shifting eight-speed “Sport” automatic and rear-biased xDrive all-wheel drive (both standard on all X4s), it flings this little crossover forward with serious verve. Sixty mph comes up in a sizzling 4.4 seconds, nearly a full second quicker than the six-cylinder X3—which is basically the mechanical twin of the old X4 xDrive35i—and tying the Porsche Macan GTS. The M-infused fastback dispatched the quarter-mile in 13.1 seconds at 105 mph, against 13.9 and 100 mph for the still quick X3 35i (and basically right on top of the Porsche’s 13.0 and 105 mph).
Backsound credit by bensound.com
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