BMW X4

Remember the BMW X6? Yes. The X6 was too focused on being a road car than to be good off road and it's too focused to be tall and heavy to be any good on the road either. It's too cramped, too complicated, and it's too expensive. Now though, while BMW's working on the new model, looks like the X6 has spawned a baby in the lineup and it's called the BMW X4.

2015 BMW X4

The new BMW X4 maybe more of a jacked-up BMW 3-Series saloon or 3 Series Gran Turismo or 4-Series Gran Coupe or whatever the heck BMW's thinking of but on the upshot, the new X4 is shorter and lighter than its big brother, the X6. Like the X6, this is a Sport Activity Coupe that you can expect rear passengers to get cramped by its low roofline even though this jacked-up saloon can seat four people.

2015 BMW X4 interior

On the inside, it's all typical uniform-ish BMW interior because why the designers still stick to the same BMW interior regardless of which model. If there's a game guess which interior is which, I'm guessing that 99% percent of car enthusiasts will get it wrong. If that BMW interior wasn't enough to keep you confused, the iDrive system on it can quite confusing if you're trying it for the first time. It's so bothersome, connectivity may take a few minutes until your devices are linked to this car. It's all too bothering as I've been in numerous BMWs in my life, trying out most of its connectivities.

2015 BMW X4

The X4 is offered with a choice of two petrol engines and two diesel engines; from a 2.0L to a 3.0L. The top-of-the-line 35i has 306PS of power, 400Nm of torque, and it can do 0-100kph in 5.5 seconds but the 3.0L diesel engine-powered 35d develops 313PS of power, 630Nm of torque, and a 0-100kph time of 5.2 seconds, 0.3 seconds faster than its petrol equivalent. That all sounds fine but those figures are a load of rubbish because whichever spec you'll be choosing, you will always get cranky and grumpy because of its harsh ride and its understeer issues. Yes, it has xDrive all-wheel drive system so it's well balanced and precise when driven carefully even when wet but when you turn it hard, you'll get the feeling that you expect from playing a game of tug of war until you got...dropped and your opposing team wins. Don't even think about being rugged either because the X4 is...more of a semi-rugged rather than a rugged SUV but despite its xDrive system, crossing on the hills offroad is like the same thing happened to the X6. Bummer. Dirt, snow, it's all in that scenario.

2015 BMW X4

The X4 starts at 45,600 for the base xDrive20d model and you can expect this price to spike when you lavish it with some optional extras and some accessories but is it worth it? With or without, it's still just a game of eenie meenie miney moe to settle the differences but if you can't afford a terribly confusing X6, why not give it a try? Who knows, you might be sharing the same miserable life as you'd expect from the X6. In essence then, this is just another one of BMW's wrongs that cannot be rewritten right.

Photo: BMW AG