BMW to introduce X4 Sports Activity coupe

BMW will showcase several new-to-America models at the New York International Auto Show next month, but the vehicle making its first appearance on the world stage will be the X4 Sports Activity Coupe.

Perhaps you’re having trouble sorting out how a Sports Activity Coupe differs from a BMW Gran Coupe or regular coupe. Judging by the images we’ve seen, the X4 appears to be a somewhat taller and puffier version of a 4-door sedan. Not quite crossover and not entirely a conventional car, the X4 seems to be a slightly different hue for BMW’s growing palette of model lines.

BMW says it sought to combine “the performance and capability of a premium sports activity vehicle with the style and elegance of a traditional coupe.” If you said the company had created a scaled-down version of the X6 to mine another market niche, few could argue with your analysis.

The X4 xDrive28i, which starts at $45,625, features a 240-horsepower 2-liter 4-cylinder engine capable of moving the vehicle from zero to 60 miles per hour in six seconds. The top-end X4 xDrive35i starts at $48,925 and is equipped with BMW’s 3-liter in-line 6-cylinder, which can get it to 60 m.p.h. from zero in 5.2 seconds. Both models transfer power to the wheels through an 8-speed automatic transmission and an all-wheel drive system.

BMW will also display the Concept X5 eDrive for the first time in North America. The plug-in hybrid features a twin-turbo 4-cylinder gasoline engine working in concert with a 95-horsepower electric motor. BMW says the vehicle can drive up to 19 miles in electric-only mode, drawing power from its lithium-ion battery pack, at speeds up to 75 m.p.h. It is rated at 74 miles per gallon on the European testing cycle. BMW has not said whether the X5 plug-in is planned for production.