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By Jonathan Crouch

BMW's X4 M Competition is a sleek 510hp SUV powerhouse. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 34

If you need lap time but you've a labrador in tow, BMW's X4 M Competition claims to have your back. Think of this car as an M4 SUV - because that's what it is

Backgroundword count: 104

BMW's M motorsport division has lately been specialising in making SUVs. Until a few years ago, there were only the X5 M and X6 M models. But now we also have the awesome XM Plug-in Hybrid and two other contenders, the X3 M Competition and its sleeker stablemate, this car, the X4 M Competition. As you might guess, those latter two models are basically the same car, the X4 variant simply endowed with a lower roof line and a sleeker look. It makes more of a statement in other words. Which, if you're spending around £90,000 on a 510hp SUV powerhouse, will probably appeal.

Driving Experienceword count: 293

The X4 M Competition differs from its X3 Competition stablemate only in its use of a wider rear track. Otherwise, everything's much the same. So you get the brand's 'S58'-series high performance straight-six 3.0-litre twin turbo unit borrowed from the M3 and M4 Competition models, which for our market only comes only in top 'Competition' spec. That means 510hp and 650Nm of torque, figures that no other BMW six cylinder engine in history has surpassed. It's quite a powerplant, with a forged crankshaft, an indirect intercooler, a lightweight cylinder head and twin monoscroll turbo chargers boosting at up to 2.3 bar. Which first means that when you hit the big red starter button, it sounds satisfyingly snarly. And second of course guarantees that it's also very, very fast. Helped by launch control, 62mph from rest is just 3.8s away en route to a top speed which would probably be in the 180mph region if the limiter didn't click in at 155 mph. As with all proper M cars, you use the central screen to set up your preferences for engine response, exhaust note, stability intervention and the change times of the M Steptronic 8- speed paddleshift auto gearbox. Then save your favourite settings into the twin red M buttons mounted on the steering wheel. And in terms of drive dynamics? Well even if you happen to disapprove of the idea of BMW's M division meddling with an X4 SUV, you can't deny that the job has been done properly here - even before you start looking beneath the bonnet. The steel coil suspension has been fully re-tuned, the brakes are uprated, the steering upgraded and an actively locking rear differential added. Plus there's the highly configurable four-wheel-drive system from the current BMW M5.

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