2021 BMW X4 M Competition Review: Sports Car or Sporty Utility Model?

Auto123 reviews the 2021 BMW X4 M Competition.

The BMW X6 started a movement in 2008, one that is alive and well today at the German automaker: there are as many X-stamped models at BMW as there are days in the week. That first coupe SUV quickly stomped all over its first rival the Acura ZDX, but over the years, the trend in performance-focused SUVs of its kind has grown, to the point where there’s reason to believe that the traditional coupe - the one that sits on the ground, not the one that comes with a higher ground clearance - is on its way out.  

In 2021, BMW still counts the X6 on its roster, but the range of SUVs with sloping rooflines has expanded since 2009; there are now similar X2 and X4 variants. This winter I had occasion to test drive the latter of those, in particular the version that carries another world-renowned badge: the M.

The BMW X4 M debuted last year alongside its flat-roofed counterpart, the X3 M Competition, a model that in its own right impressed me in many ways. This time around, my test drive came accompanied by a backdrop of snow and ice on the ground, as it happened the exact opposite of my earlier test drive of the X3 M Competition in the fall of 2019. So the question was, would the more-aerodynamic X4 perform as well as its platform cousin?

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