This super SUV will obliterate most performance sedans

BMW M Division’s latest high-riding offering is an absolute barn burner, with Wheels’ independent testing revealing it’s quicker than some of the hottest coupe and sedan metal you can buy.

Officially BMW claim the 1970kg X4 M Competition (much like its X3 sibling) can crack 100km/h from a standstill in 4.1 seconds.

Turns out, that number was conservative at best. During independent testing, the X4 M stopped our VBox’s GPS recorder at 3.7 seconds for its 0-100km/h sprint.

Yup, it undercut the manufacturer claim by a full four tenths of a second – a difference of almost 10 percent.

There are a couple of contributing factors to this impressive time, not least the new S58 engine which shares just 10 percent of the parts with the preceding S55 unit. The 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight-six engine sends 375kW at 6250rpm, and 600Nm from 2600-5950rpm, to all four wheels via an eight-speed automatic gearbox.

4

The task of grappling the tarmac is left to Continental SportContact6 tyres, measuring 255/40/21 at the front and 265/40/21 out back.

Testing was completed by deputy editor Andy Enright at Heathcote Raceway in cloudy conditions, with an ambient temperature of 19.5 degrees Celsius.

It also turns out that there is a bit of a trick to getting the most out of the BMW. Enright found the first attempt in the X4 a bit sluggish, with a 4.4 second time achieved using launch control – taking his foot off the brake when the revs seemed to plateau.

To cut the time down, Enright recommends keeping the right foot buried, and building the revs higher (which happens very slowly) before release the brake and rocketing toward the horizon.

A 3.7 second sprint to 100km/h makes the BMW X4 M Competition the quickest SUV that Wheels has tested, beating some seriously quick competition.

4

A Toyota Supra GTS is more than half a second slower to 100km/h, while Ford’s Mustang R-Spec was a full second slower than this super SUV.

A HSV GTS with a Walkinshaw W557 pack cracked the tonne in 3.81 seconds when helmed by our sister title Motor, while the best Wheels could manage from the HSV GTS-R W1 was a 4.5 seconds

Our performance-focused mates have also run numbers on an Audi RS4 Avant, which managed a best of 3.86 seconds. The X4 M’s coupe sibling the M4 CS was recorded at 4.05 seconds by Motor.

The only SUV that equals the X4 M Competition on acceleration is the Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, though it has a monstrous 522kW/868Nm 6.2-litre supercharged V8 under the bonnet.

When Motor took the American behemoth to the strip it returned a stout 3.7 second sprint to 100km/h.

During this year’s Performance Car of the Year Motor had an Alfa Romeo Stelvio Q in attendance, with their best 0-100km/h sprint in the Italian high-rider stopping the clocks at 3.79 seconds.

The age of the super SUV is well and truly here, so think twice next time you line up against a high-rider at the traffic light grand prix.

4

2020 BMW X4 M Competition performance figures

0-100km/h: 3.7 seconds

0-150km/h: 7.3 seconds

0-200km/h: 13.6 seconds

80-120km/h: 2.3 seconds

160-200km/h: 5.3 seconds

400 metres: 11.9 seconds @ 189.1km/h