It’s true; we were looking forward to discover the BMW X4 M40d – especially as none of our Belgian colleagues had the chance to drive this three liter diesel motorisation so far – but as our core business is testdriving the sportier models of luxury brands we were not expecting something very extraordinary neither had we special plans with this car… Ooh boy, were we wrong!
Text Anja Van Der Borght – Foto’s Yassine Hann
On an ordinary Tuesday morning I went to pick up the BMW X4 M40d still not expecting the bigger picture. But once seated in the car we were impressed by the comfortable seats… cognac brown with beautiful stitching pattern.
After a few kilometres of driving, I immediately felt we should take this car for a bigger challenge. So we deciced to take it to Switzerland and testdrive it through Germany, the kind of country this car is built for.
We sit so high and comfy in this luxury crossover that even after a drive of just under 600 kilometers – with only two small stops for a coffee – we still feel fresh as a pouch. No moving back and forward because of backpain or stiff limbs… a totally different experience comfortwise compared to for instance the Jaguar F-Pace with which we did similar distances but in which we were constantly trying to get the seats in a comfy position but didn’t succeed to get it right for our backs, neither me nor my colleague.
Of course the part of this car we were particularily curious about is the motorisation: the three litre diesel with 326 hp and 680 Nm of torque linked to an 8 speed automatic gear box. Most of the travel distance we drove in Comfort mode which is very comfortable but also very sporty. This diesel really generates enough power in this mode. In Germany we take it to speeds over 200 km/u and till the speed of 210 it stays very comfortable as if you would drive 140 km/u with a more standard car but once over 210 km/u you start feeling the speed in a slight ‘trembling’ of the M Sports steering wheel.
Of course we also tried the other driving modes. As you might expect is the Sport mode synonym with a lot of fun. Once you push the Sport button, you immediately hear a nice, animal like growl coming from the belly of the car. The first seconds you even feel the growl in the throttle. It’s cool to drive once in a while for that specific sound and the extra sportiness the car gets thanks to thefiner graduation of the eight gears to optimise the acceleration process. Even suspension staysvery comfortable in Sport mode but as consumption is somewhat higher we stick to the Comfort and Eco mode. Our average consumption over the drive of 1500 km was 7,4 litres.
Inside we enjoy lots of space, even in the back. Practical storing compartments and the finishing is WOW. Even the safety features that in some cars tend to interfere to abruptly in standard mode are set in a very refined way.
Apart from the back window that is rather small but not disturbing small; there is in fact nothing at this BMW X4 M40d that ennoys us. To that extend that this is the first BMW that would be able to convert us from an Audi driver to a BMW driver in fifteen years.
Price from 73,400 Euros onwards (21% VAT included). Total price of our test car: 90,530 Euros (21% VAT included).
CO2: 170 g/100 km
