If you’re having a hard time keeping up with all the SAVs, GTs, Gran Coupes and Active Tourers, here’s a spoiler alert: the BMW line-up is about to get bigger still.
Barely had we finished writing about the maker’s Geneva Motor Show additions, including the new 2-Series Active Tourer, before we received an e-mail advising us of yet another debut, this one the Bavarian maker’s latest Sports Activity Coupe, the X4.
Think of it as a downsized version of the X6 and, as BMW has changed the definition, this Coupe actually has four doors. Make that five with the big rear hatch.
We’ll have to wait until next month’s New York Auto Show to see this one in the sheet metal – which may give us a chance to digest all the other recent BMW offerings. But here’s what the maker is telling us ahead of time.
Scheduled to be produced at the BMW plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the new X4 is probably better compared to the similarly sized X3 Sports Activity Vehicle. It’s a mere 0.6 inches longer, at 184.3 inches, but also about 1.5 inches lower, at 63.9 inches in height.
(BMW will bring 2-Series Active Tourer to the US – eventually. Click Here for the latest.)
The X4’s more sporty character is enhanced by larger air intakes and a front fascia designed to lower the vehicle’s visual center of gravity, BMW explains. There are also new LED foglights below the more conventional twin round headlamps.
The coupe-like roofline reaches its peak above the front seats then swoops downward, flowing into the power tailgate. The accent, or swage, line sweeping along the sides of the new X4 split in two, a new look for BMW.
(Click Here for the latest from the 2014 Geneva Motor Show.)
Inside, passengers sit about an inch lower than in the X3. While there’s a bench for three in back, it offers the sort of bolstering normally found in split bucket rear seats. Up front, the driver has access to the latest version of the BMW iDrive controller – which now gets a touchpad to further enhance control of the infotainment system.
A sport leather steering wheel, paddle shifters, variable sport steering, Park Distance Control and that power tailgate are standard on all versions of the X4.
Power comes from a choice of two TwinPower turbo gas engines, including the 240-horsepower 2.0-liter inline-four in the X4 xDrive28i, and the 300-hp 3.0-liter inline-six in the X4 xDrive 35i.
A number of M Sport options, including aerodynamic and suspension enhancement kits, will be available. So will a full-color Head-Up Display system.
The X4 xDrive28i will start at $45,625, the X4 xDrive35i at $48,925 – both figures including delivery charges. Production will begin this spring.
(Maserati delivers a winner with Alfieri Concept 2+2. Click Hereto check it out.)
