BMW X4 2014 News

The next direction for a score of small, punchy BMWs: power down via the front wheels. When the Bavarians switch ends, they do so with vigour - up to 10 Minis and 12 BMWs over the next few years will be front-wheel drive.BMW last week launched the 2 Series Active Tourer (pictured), its first front-drive car, based on its modular UKL architecture. The platform promises neat interior packaging, fuel efficiency and economies of scale.Front-drive BMW and Mini vehicles will account for 800,000 of the 2 million annual sales the BMW Group hopes to achieve by 2020. To date the group has confirmed three- and five-door Minis and five- and seven-seat Active Tourers.The company's spokesman for 1 and 2 Series models, Kai Lichte, says any vehicle smaller than a 3 Series will use the front-drive platform, which also accommodates all-wheel-drive.In line with this, the existing rear-drive 1 Series and X1 SUV are tipped to move to front-drive at the end of their current product cycles.A further FWD candidate is expected to be the X2, with the same coupe-styled roofline as the existing X4 and X6.Lichte says there has been no decision on the X2. "That's one of the cars we are flexible to decide," he notes.The only junior model not yet confirmed for FWD is the 2 Series coupe, launched late last year, which has earned widespread approval among driving enthusiasts for its dynamics. Spy shots reveal BMW will soon launch a convertible 2 Series and a performance-oriented M2."Reaction to the 2 Series was overwhelmingly positive and we just introduced those cars so we have time to make a decision," Lichte says.Ultimately BMW plans to only have two platforms for all models: UKL for vehicles less than 4.5m long and a common rear-wheel-drive architecture for the rest - ranging in size from the 3 Series compacts to the 7 Series limos.

BMW has announced Australian spec and pricing for the new X4 SUV, just two months after its Geneva motor show global reveal.Due in local showrooms in July, the X4 follows the same “Sports Activity Coupe” formula as the larger X5-based X6, and brings the total array of BMW ‘X’ SUVS to five .Riding on the same underpinnings as the recently refreshed X3 mid-size SUV, the X4 will go head to head with the Range Rover Evoque, Mercedes-Benz GLA, Audi Q3 and the upcoming Lexus NX.The X4 shares its 2810mm wheelbase with the X3, but is 14mm longer overall at 4671mm, 36mm lower at 1624mm and the same 1881mm  overall width.Helping passengers fit within the 36mm lower roofline is a 20mm lower front seating position and 28mm in the rear, and unlike the bigger X6 there’s standard seating for three in the rear. The rear bench splits 40/20/40 and cargo capacity is just 50-litres shy of the X3 at 500-litres.Like the X3, the X4 will be available with a choice of two petrol and two diesel options, with the 135kW/270Nm 2.0-litre turbo petrol X4 xDrive20i kicking off the range at $69,900, $9000 more than the lesser-equipped equivalent X3.The diesels start at $73,400 for the 140kW/400Nm 2.0-litre turbodiesel xDrive20d, and are topped by the $83,900 190kW/560Nm 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbodiesel xDrive30d.The $87,900225kW/400Nm3.0-litre turbo petrol X4 xDrive35i tops off the range, as a performance flagship not available in X3 guise.Like the X3, the X4 is all-wheel drive and eight-speed auto-only, and official combined fuel figures range from 5.2L/100km for the 20d, 5.9L/100km for the 30d, 7.2L/100km for the 20i, and 8.3L/100km for the 35i. Claimed 0-100km/h acceleration is 8.1s for the 20i, 8.0s for the 20d, 5.8s for the 30d, and an impressive 5.5s for the 35i.Helping to justify the premium over X3 models is a healthier list of standard features, with the 20i and 20d including leather sports seats with front electric adjustment and driver’s seat memory, dual zone climate control, 8.8 inch multimedia screen with satnav and 20GB of storage, front and rear parking sensors, reversing camera, automatic tailgate, Bi-Xenon headlights, paddle shifters, the lights package and 19 inch wheels.The 30d adds adds Surround View cameras with 360 degree visibility, 9-speaker audio and adaptive suspension dampers.The 35i range-topper adds the M Sport styling package as standard, with tweaked suspension, 20 inch wheels, several ‘M’ logos and aluminium interior trim. Proximity keys and 16-speaker Harmon Kardon audio are also unique to the 35i.

BMW has expanded its niche-busting range of models with the unveiling of the new X4 SUV in Geneva this week. Like the bigger X5-based X6 SUV, the X4 takes the conventionally-bodied X3 and adds a sloping roofline and sharpened styling to create what BMW describes as a Sports Activity Coupe.Teased in thinly-disguised concept form at last year’s Shanghai motor show, the X4 will go head to head with the Range Rover Evoque, Mercedes-Benz GLA, Audi Q3 and the upcoming production version of the Lexus NX concept.The production X4 rides on the same 2810mm wheelbase as the X3, but is 14mm longer overall at 4671mm, 36mm lower at 1624mm and the same 1881mm overall width.Helping passengers fit within the 36mm lower roofline is a 20mm lower front seating position and 28mm in the rear, and unlike the bigger X6 there’s standard seating for three in the rear. The rear bench splits 40/20/40 and cargo capacity is just 50-litres shy of the X3 at 500-litres. European X4 models are all-wheel drive and are available with either 20i, 28i or 35i petrol and 20d, 30d and 35d diesel drivetrains, but Australian specifications will have to wait until its local arrival later this year. The X4’s pricing is expected to sit above the X3’s $59,000-$76,500 local lineup.This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn Watch the desktop version of the BMW X4 launch video here. 

This time it's the upcoming X4 being pounded around the Nurburgring ahead of sales in the second half of 2014.  

Fans of BMW’s M performance line will need to look elsewhere than the X4 for a high-performance SUV. The German carmaker says it’s unlikely to build an X4M to add to the line-up, with concern it would cannibalise sales from the X6M.“It’s not yet decided, but …  it would always come back to the business case,” BMW product communications manager Bernhard Ederer told Carsguide.“It’s really something of a chess game: what customer are we talking to? Are we talking to someone who's willing and able to afford the X6 -- who would switch to the X4M but to who we could easily sell the X6M? So … I would not bet on there being an M performance version of the X4.”However Ederer suggested there was a strong chance we will see a plug-in hybrid X4, following in the path of the Concept X5 eDrive that was revealed at the recent Frankfurt motor show. “We've communicated in the past that we are planning to offer a plug-in hybrid in each and every model series,” Ederer said.“This is really the next step in terms of our ‘efficient dynamics’ strategy. At the other end we have our i3 and i8 and the i8 … which really show you both ends of the bookshelf and have been made (that way) for a good reason -- to really show what is possible (with hybrid technology).”However Ederer says any plan for the hybrid X4 would depend on customer response and demand. “Obviously for each and every car, BMW has to have a business case. And at the end of the day, the answer to this question will come from the customer -- whether they are willing to accept this car, whether they are asking for that kind of a car.”And there may even be potential for the i3 and i8 to be joined by an SUV under that sub-brand. “Never say never,” Ederer says.  “If it makes (business) sense we will do it.”This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

The X4 is spun from the mid-sized X3 and continues BMW's drive into new market sectors with a coupe-style five-door body.The X4 is expected to go public in the final quarter of the year and Carparazzi says the showroom model will be displayed at the Detroit motor show in January, 2014. It will arrive here late in 2014 and be priced slightly more than the X3.

The BMW X4 is being previewed as a concept car at the Shanghai motor show this month but is already a certainty for production as the German brand stretches its SUV stable.

We know a BMW X4 is coming. Now we have a pretty good idea as to what it will look like, thanks to this leak of a concept version previewing the new crossover. The images show the BMW X4 concept, which the German automaker will most likely present at the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show later this month. As the concept confirms, the new X4 will be a compact crossover with coupe-like styling. It will share its underpinnings with the BMW X3, just as the larger X6 shares its underpinnings with the X5. The body will feature four doors, and inside there will likely be four individual bucket seats.Targeting style and performance rather than utility, the X4 will go up against similar models in the compact crossover segment such as the Range Rover Evoque and upcoming Porsche Macan and Lincoln MKC.This focus on style-conscious buyers should help differentiate the X4 from its X3 cousin, which remains popular with young families. It will also mean that the X4 can be sold at a premium to the X3, which starts at just under $60,000AUD.Engine offerings should mirror those of the latest X3, which means a base X4 xDrive28i with a turbocharged 2.0-litre four, rated at 177 kilowatts, and a more powerful X4 xDrive35i packing a turbocharged 3.0-litre straight-six good for 221 kilowatts.A dedicated X4 M model sharing its powertrain with the next-generation M3 is rumoured, as is a BMW M Performance model featuring a number of go-fast parts from the automaker’s new accessories line. At least one diesel model will be launched as well, though it’s unlikely to make its way to the U.S.With the BMW X4 concept’s unveiling at the 2013 Shanghai Auto Show, which opens on April 19, we could be seeing the production version revealed before 2013 is out. Stay tuned for the official reveal of the concept very soon.www.motorauthority.com 

Just in case you thought BMW had something against even numbers, the German carmaker has slipped another SUV into its line-up, the X4. The announcement was made in the midst of a declaration to spend AU$ 875,000 upgrading the US plant that makes many of the X models.The Spartanburg plant - which has just cranked out its two-millionth Beemer since it opened in 1994 - will also employ an extra 300 people as part of the expansion in production to include the new X4. BMW Australia's Piers Scott says there's not a lot of detail on the X4 but it would certainly come to Australia given the company's SUV success here. "It's coming, it's a vehicle that we have very little information on other than it's a car that we would certainly introduce to Australia, particularly in light of what is rapidly growing demand for our X-range of cars," he says. Mr Scott says the brand's passenger car sales were down last year but SUV sales were up as a proportion of the brand's total. The smallest BMW crossover wagon, the X1, finished the year up 8.5 per cent with just over 2200 sales, while the slightly larger X3 was well ahead of its predecessor. The X5 remains the top-selling SUV (and second only to the 3 Series for the brand overall) but was down 10 per cent, while the X6 sales were down 8.3 per cent and remain small. It is expected the X4 offer a similar alternative to the X3 as the X6 does for the X5 - the X4 is likely to run similar petrol and diesel all-wheel drivetrains to the X3, with overseas reports suggesting an M version is also likely. Mr Scott says the X4 timing for Australia was yet to be determined and overseas reports suggest an appearance in its home market is unlikely before 2013. BMW has already invested AU$729 million in the expansion of the plant for production of the new BMW X3 between 2008 and 2010. The BMW plant produced 276,065 vehicles last year, more than 70 per cent for export to more than 130 markets, a 73 percent increase over 2010, led largely by the new X3, which was up 156 per cent last year to 117,944 vehicles. Since opening in 1994, the plant has produced six different BMW models - including Z3 and Z4 models, as well as the X3 and X5.