The first thing you notice about the new X4 is that it’s a bit bigger than the BMW X3 and you tend to forget that it’s big but it reminds you that it’s big-bodied when you take any corner. I call the BMW X4 the rebel, the misfit, because it’s one car that I think looks and feels different to the rest of them. Obviously, the car still has all the characteristics of a BMW and there are some upgrades as well when it comes to the technology.
The first thing that’s fascinating is the key for the car, it’s the digital key that is different from the normal key, however, it only comes with the comfort model and above. The key has similar characteristics to your normal smartphone, I think it’s the smartest mobile phone out there. The key tells you if your car is locked or not – it also tells you if you have left your lights on or not. Even though you can’t lock your car from the key if the car is far, it still gives you the information. The next slide is the fuel range gauge, it lets you know how much fuel you have in your car. The next slide becomes more interesting – you can set up the temperature of the car before stepping inside the car, for instance during winter mornings you would want to get into a warmer car – this is where you can set it up and you can also set it up to different temperatures for different days and times.
Eventually, I figured out the motion feature on how to lower the volume or take it higher. You place your elbow on the armrest and point out towards the display and it will pick up the motion. Another feature I like is if there is an accident on the road, you are warned about it about 5km before you reach it. Also, with that pop up of information, you can use the motion feature to push it away when you have done receiving the information about the accident. The car’s technology helps you drive better and also helps you off the road when you can’t see what’s in front of you. The BMW X4 has 360 cameras all around and that helps with driving off-road. When the car sees that you are struggling with your surroundings – there is a duplicate of the car that appears on the display that shows you where you are at that point with the current location as well.
The technology that BMW has is greater than some of the luxury car makers out there, also the sound system is always on point, on any model you will get a decent sound because they use Harmon Kardon. BMW iDrive system is part of the package and incorporates a 6.5-inch display and iDrive controller. The system offers navigation as well as Bluetooth, MP3 and USB functionality. BMW’s standard features include a leather multifunction steering wheel, 3-zone climate control air conditioning, automatic tailgate, cruise control with brake function, ambient lighting, electronic parking brake, and manually adjustable seats.
The model I had was a 2.0-liter, 4-cylinder turbo petrol engine in the X4 xDrive20i with 135 kW and 290 Nm of torque which is mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission. Fuel consumption is claimed at 7.8 L/100km and this derivative is capable of sprinting from zero to 100 kph in 8.3 seconds before reaching a top speed of 215 kph.
BMW X4 xDrive20i (Standard) – R843 000. BMW X4 xDrive20i M Sport – R887 900. BMW X4 xDrive20i M Sport X – R887 900. BMW X4 xDrive20d (Standard) – R843 000. BMW X4 xDrive20d M Sport – R887 900. BMW X4 xDrive20d M Sport X – R887 900. BMW X4 M40i – R1 132 800