SAC for the Road or Track
If the mighty M badge wasn’t enough, BMW has brought the competition treatment to its smaller M SAC, welcoming in the BMW X4M Competition. It’s a small-ish sport activity coupe that’s designed for the track, but does that ruin its everyday usability?
Let’s start with what the Competition gives you over the base X4M. For an extra $10,300 CAD, starting price sits at $95,100, the Competition gets a 30 hp bump which helps drop its 0-100 km/h time by 0.1 seconds, now sitting at 4.1 seconds. Included are some accent pieces in a gloss black paint, including the mirrors, kidney grille surrounds, rear spoiler and more. The Competition gets some upgraded 21” M light-alloy wheels as well as an M Sport exhaust system.
This tester car ignored those gloss black upgrades and opted instead for the M carbon exterior package, included in the added Ultimate Package. This $10,000 option adds the driving assistant plus, park assist plus, a WiFi hotspot, vented front seats, heated seats and the previously mentioned carbon pack. After adding some Red M compound brakes and the Donington Grey metallic paint, this car sits at just over $108,000. We hope that number doesn’t scare you off because she’s a thirsty one. Yes, the numbers show that 10.5 L/100 km can be achieved but really, you may have bought the wrong vehicle if you’re getting that. Open it up, it likes it, you’ll like it, you’ll love it. But that also comes with a price. We spent $180 in a week on gas and didn’t do that much extra driving, it’s just from letting it breathe a little, shouting its presence as it goes. It’s intoxicating.
At the heart of the X4M Competition is a straight-six engine with M TwinPower turbo technology delivering 503 hp and 442 lb-ft of torque. That power feeds into an M Steptronic transmission, followed by a new xDrive all-wheel-drive system which debuted in the BMW M5. This new AWD system allows for two modes, including a rear-wheel biased option for a sportier setup, encouraging some controlled drifts or donuts.
The BMW X4M Competition is a powerhouse that’s truly most at home on the track. A mid-sized SAC family vehicle that will handle any track day you throw at it. You may even forgo the thought of needing a separate vehicle for the track, and maybe now the whole family will join, if that’s something you’re interested in. Sadly, we didn’t get a chance to take it to the track but it meets all the criteria needed, it has loads of power with lively acceleration, a fast changing and responsive transmission, direct steering with the control to get the back end out should you choose to not go for the fastest laps. The transmission is seriously fast, dropping 5 gears by the time you fully depress the pedal. It may sit on that gear for a little longer after, but it’s just waiting for you to clear the apex and get on the throttle again. And then there’s the sound, that roar from the M Sport exhaust system. It makes you want more, if you time it right you get the ever so satisfying blip, and then the crackle as you slow that always brings a grin.
But how often are you really going to take this around a track? Likely, most won’t ever see that hallowed tarmac, but not to worry as this is not anywhere near those hardened track toys that would break your back on public roads, this is still very much an everyday vehicle. Take it out of one of the two configurable M driving modes, leaving it in the standard drive mode, the X4M Competition is tame. With the exhaust baffles closed one can easily talk on the phone without fighting to be heard. Throttle response is eased and the transmission calms down and one could even forget they’re in a hardened M car.
They might not be BMW’s soft comfort seats but there are no complaints to be had with the M sport seats, and you’ll be glad you have them during any hard cornering. These seats are vented, heated, and have memory settings to load whatever adjustment settings, including lumbar support, you choose to help get you to that perfect driving setup. Our tester car was given the Sakhir Orange Extended Merino Leather treatment, and as much as it looks excellent, the consensus seemed to be that it’s a solid red rather than orange. Not important really, anyways. Laced throughout the interior is the glossy carbon fiber trim, which while paired with the (red) orange interior gives it a solid sporty impression. The Seatbelts come with the M stripe which pairs perfectly with the stitching on the heated steering wheel. These details bring it all together.
The infotainment system is excellent, and best of all, provides you with the choice between using the infotainment controller or using the touchscreen. The touchscreen is large and clear, with the panoramic aspect able to provide plenty of information. Paired with the fantastic Harman/Kardon system, the X4M Competition packs a symphony for when the exhaust isn’t the music you’re feeling.
The X4M Competition isn’t perfect, as any car isn’t. We’ll ignore our issue with BMW’s naming but we’d love to see some other changes. We’d love to see some more differentiating this from just being an X4M with a carbon pack, maybe getting the same hood treatment as the M5 Competition or the M2 CS. Another thing is that this vehicle didn’t come with a remote engine start. You can get a remote engine start but it’s through the annoying subscription setup. It has an app that connects to the car but it can’t do remote start, on a $100k car. It makes no sense outside of greed.
Are you looking for an SUV or SAC track monster? Want to take the whole family around the track but a sedan doesn’t do it for you? Going through that mid-life crisis? Or maybe the X4M is no longer good enough now that something better has come along? Well the X4M Competition will fill all those needs and more. It’ll keep the smile on your face, just as long as you keep filling the tank.
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