Freshened Up, Inside And Out
Beyond the new grille, there are some new taillights and other styling tweaks that help differentiate this facelifted compact BMW SUV from the previous model. The high-performance X4 M and its competition-badged sibling receives similar updates to the head- and tail lights, as well as even more aggressive front and rear bumpers. Similar changes also hit the X4's more upright and square-roofed sibling, the X3 this year.

Inside, all versions the 2022 X4 benefit from an enlarged, 10.25-inch infotainment display. A 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster is an optional extra, with a set of analog gauges serving as the standard setup. The center console borrows from the new 3 and 4 Series, and the dashboard itself gets a slight shakeup, too, with bigger air vents and redesigned HVAC controls.

Mildly Hybridized
The base powertrain, a turbocharged 2.0-liter I-4 that makes 242 horsepower and 252 lb-ft, remains unchanged for the facelift. However, the turbocharged 3.0-liter I-6 in the X4 M40i now has the added benefit of 48-volt mild hybrid tech. Power holds the line at 382 horsepower, but torque sees a 4-lb-ft jump to 369 lb-ft. The added hybrid bits allow the engine to be shut off at speeds up to 99 mph and be started back up smoothly. Regardless of engine, power is routed through an eight-speed automatic transmission to either the rear or all four wheels via xDrive all-wheel drive.

Like their less-powerful siblings, the X4M and X4 M Competition get slight torque bumps, too. Thanks to some improvements borrowed from the current M3 and M4, the standard X4 M now makes 457 lb-ft of torque, up 13 lb-ft from the previous car. The Competition model sees a jump of 37 lb-ft, for a total of 479 pounds of twist. The extra grunt means the standard X4 M can now complete the 0-60 mph sprint in 3.9 seconds, while X4 M Competition model only needs 3.7 seconds to do the same deed—according to BMW.