BMW X4 on the cards

BMW looks set to produce a baby X6 - the BMW X4

It’s being reported that BMW are considering producing a smaller version of the X6 – the BMW X4 – based on the new X3 due later this year

When BMW first launched the X5 more than a decade ago many thought it was a step in a very strange direction for the self-styled makers of the ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’. But we were all wrong and BMW was right. So right that the X5 has not only become a mainstay of BMW’s profitability but has spawned a whole new motoring genre – the ‘Sporty’ SUV.

By 2008 we’d all got used to the X5 It seemed a perfectly rational car; one that gave the best of all worlds for drivers seeking a high-ride, great on-road manners and room for people and stuff. But despite seeing the X5 as a rational and sensible car for BMW to make we once again thought BMW had lost the plot when they bolted a coupe body on to the X5 to create the BMW X6.

But BMW had got it right again – we still can’t really see the appeal – and the X6 has sold twice as many in the last two years as BMW had predicted. Which leads to the crux of this story. BMW – buoyed by the success of the X6 – look set to create the BMW X4, which will presumably mean grafting a small coupe body on to the less than convincing X3.

We can certainly see the logic, and in a race for sales no car maker can afford to ignore a potential niche. But we have to once again say we can’t see either the point or where the potential market is. But we’ll probably turn out to be wrong again as buyers flock to get in an X4 with no headroom, legroom or any sort of room in the back. But at least they’ll be riding high. And paying a big premium for the ‘Style’ of another SAC (Sport Activity Coupe) from BMW.

We are starting to wonder how far BMW can stretch this niche concept on a high-riding SUV ploatform. Will we see and X6 Convertible? An X4 Estate, maybe. Or perhaps even a BMW X2 Shooting Brake>

Don’t rule anything out.