乐生活Recently, three new SUVs have been tested successively, which are aimed at the super market segment and very high-end niche, the brand-new BMW X3M/X4M, and Rolls-Royce Curinan. They have gained more profound insights in SUVs.
What is the core of SUV? It is better than the car through, space practicality and flexibility, in this core feature, add some attributes pointing to the extreme, and become those super SUVs. For Curinam, it’s the ultimate luxury and atmosphere. For the new BMW X3M/X4M, it is the ultimate performance and control.
Many people often have an argument: Why buy SUV for performance? This is a narrow understanding of performance. Take the simplest chestnuts, as you know from the Paris-Dakar Rally. Many SUV models of the mini-car group can fly at high speed on flat paved roads or easily over sand dunes. This is the perfect manifestation of diversification.
Another latest news is that Markus Flasch, the new head of BMW M division, told the media recently that the new generation of BMW 3 Series Travel Edition will still not have M models, and similar segment market demand will be met by the brand-new BMW X3M/X4M. In other words, these two cars are BMW M3 travel versions in SUV form.
Imagine that you like high-powered, high-performance cars, but also the demand for family cars. Because of the restriction policy and only one license plate, an X3M / X4M will be the perfect choice.
I mainly test-drive the X4M Thunder version on the highway, while at Ningbo International Circuit, the two cars have been on the track for about half an hour. It’s not very meaningful for these two cars to expand again. I’ll pick up a few points of concern for you to talk about.
Firstly, the problems of configuration, approximation and practicability are discussed. Yesterday I voted on the brand new BMW X4M and Porsche Macan Turbo, and the results were very close. Is the X3M/X4M superior to Porsche and Mercedes-Benz in the same level of competition? Personally, I think it’s very obvious. Although there are different opinions on the appearance, the ubiquitous M logo, wheel hub, brake, surrounded by the whole vehicle M-suite, tail wing, all show a high-performance style, the killing shape of the whole car is incomparable with the ordinary X3, X4. The interior is covered with a large area of Merino leather. Yesterday, I also sent a special micro-blog. The leather is excellent, the touch is perfect, and even the stitching is more "hand-made" than the ordinary model.
Configuration, you can think of all: LCD instrument, touch control screen, head-up display, 360-degree image, 16 speaker Haman sound, steering wheel heating, partition air conditioning, 14-direction adjustable M sports seat… Anyway, the top match is over. The only option that costs 11,000 yuan is adaptive cruise, which I personally think is of little significance, especially for a 510 horsepower grumpy performance car.
Talk about the subtle differences between the two car seats. Although there is no measurement, the intuitive feeling of the X3M seat is a little bit more spacious than the X4M seat, which is more comfortable and soft for people with stronger stature. But in general, the sports seats of the two cars are less supportive when driving hard on the track than I thought, probably because Merino leather is smoother. It would be better if they were made of Alcantara material. In short, the comfort and convenience of daily use, the two performance beasts did not compromise, which is BMW’s original intention to give its omnipotent product positioning.
Another major concern is performance. Higher body center of gravity, can you fly through the bend calmly? Greater self weight, brakes force?
Before answering these questions, let’s talk about the hearts of these two cars: BMW’s brand-new 3.0 Straight 6 Emperor – S58 engine. The base version has a maximum output power of 480 horsepower and a peak torque of 600 NH M. The Thunder version is further adjusted on this basis, with a maximum output power of 510 horsepower, which is stronger than M4 GTS, the ultimate performance machine of the M family.
S58 engine uses a series of top-level technologies, such as 3D printing cylinder head, forging piston, re-optimized crankcase and intake system, 350 Ba constant high pressure fuel injection system, etc. It can be said that it is a masterpiece of BMW engine research and development for decades.
With the support of the new 8-speed M Steptronic automatic transmission, the 100-kilometer acceleration time of the X4M Thunder version is only 4.1 seconds. For medium-sized SUVs weighing nearly 2 tons, this data is quite exaggerated. On the longest straight track in Ningbo, after turning out, the speed of the end can reach 170 km/h or more, and the power is super strong.
And BMW’s core and most skilled control performance, summed up in the X3M / X4M is: the limit of the car is always higher than your courage.
Anyway, I have some track experience, but the technical average, only once because the brake is too late, resulting in X4M pressure over the shoulder, a short loss of grip, approaching the vehicle limit. At this moment, M xDrive intelligent all-wheel drive system and active M-differential lock play a role, only in the moment when I subconsciously correct the direction, the whole chassis system also helps me correct the error, and the vehicle immediately returns to the correct line. Most of the other time, it’s the roll of the body that scares me (relatively low cars and sports cars), but as long as you don’t give oil before bending, the body will be able to cross the bend smoothly along the established route, and the four tires will not emit frightening screams. This dynamic performance is truly amazing.
In other words, the car is strong enough that the driver can not be so strong, but also enjoy very exciting driving pleasure.
The thermal attenuation of the brakes is not obvious, even at the end of each experience (about 10 laps on Ningbo track), it is still enough to deal with full front bend braking, but the body will be slightly unstable, I think this may be related to my late braking point (technical Taicai…). Overall, this non-carbon pottery M brake system is enough to cope with the huge body weight, but if you have a budget, a carbon pottery brake system will be more perfect.
The performance of the two cars on the track is roughly the same, but the limit of X4M will be higher, but the change of body posture of X 3M is smaller and more calm, which I prefer. This is also my subjective feeling. It may also be due to the limitation of driving technology.
To sum up, the power and control performance of the two new high-performance SUVs conform to the benchmarking status declared by the manufacturer. At the same time, there are more complete configurations and luxury experience than the ordinary X3 X4. As for passing, although this test drive did not involve, but earlier years I drove X4 M40i across the grassland Road on the dam, that car had no problem at all. I think today, these two new high-performance beasts will have no problem either. The word "omnipotence" really deserves its name.
