Lewis Shaw
Rear-biased all-wheel drive is standard, as is the, um, sportier eight-speed automatic.
In what’s turning into a strong week for rapid, slanty-roofed, SUV things, BMW has followed Tesla’s launch of the X model crossover with a tastier, M-lite version of the X4. It’s called the X4 M40i.
No, it’s not a full-fat M Division model, but if it was, we’d suspect you’d probably become rather vocal. This is BMW’s latest M Performance car, sitting with the likes of the M235i on the My First M-car shelf.
Anyway, besides the angrier M Sport bodykit, the X4 M40i rides on 20-inch rims, within which live upgraded brakes usually optional on regular X4s. BMW’s also fiddled with the steering assistance and adaptive dampers, fitted stiffer springs, and come up with a sportier set-up just for the M40i.
Rear-biased all-wheel drive is standard, as is the, um, sportier eight-speed automatic. Interestingly, BMW will sell you set of optional Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres specifically for the X4. And there you were thinking it might go a little bit off-road.
Gluing ‘40i’ to the bootlid obviously doesn’t mean this is a 4.0-litre X4 – that’s just what the Germans were expecting you to think. In fact, there’s a 3.0-litre straight-six up front, assisted by a single, twin-scroll turbocharger. You get 355bhp with a healthy dollop of 343lb ft. All of that torque arrives at 1,350rpm, and doesn’t clock off until you’re wound past 5,250rpm. Tractable much?
