Love at first sight looks different, I have to admit. I’ve never been a friend of the SUV genre. And the artificially dynamized high-leg coupés with their buttocks stretched into the air are particularly polarizing.
But let’s be honest: we spend 98 percent of the time sitting in the car and not looking at it from the outside. Driving comfort, the feel-good aroma in the interior – that’s what matters.
Andy Bovensiepen hands over the test car to us at the Alpina headquarters in Buchloe.
And it is this combination that matters to the colleagues in Buchloe: getting to their destination as quickly and comfortably as possible. Our first trip from the company headquarters to our native Franconia shows that the XD4 is almost naturally capable of this.
Company boss Andy Bovensiepen hands over the keys to us personally
We insisted on picking up the XD4 personally in Buchloe. And in return, company boss Andy Bovensiepen insisted on putting the keys in our hands personally.
Source of joy: The quad turbo with the designation B57 originally comes from the M550d or X5/X6 M50d.
So now diesel again – just one floor up. OAL-XD 400 welcomes us with finely scented leather and just under 3000 kilometers on the clock.
BMW operating logic was not touched
Already on the first few meters we find our way around right away. Of course, the BMW operating logic has not been touched and has proven itself and been optimized over many years.
First set all the parameters: adjust the seat and save to memory 1. We keep position 2 free for colleague Naumann, who is significantly smaller – as befits a real racing driver. Turn off the lane departure warning system, which is annoying anyway with constant vibration and unwanted steering interventions.
Well-known BMW logic in the upgraded interior: new instrument graphics, different logo, fine seams.
In combination with the traffic sign recognition, this means that when a speed of 100 km/h is detected, pressing the “Set” button is all it takes to set the cruise control to 108 km/h.
Perfect for long motorway journeys
So you don’t become a traffic obstruction, speed cameras are still no danger, and you save yourself the eternal fumbling to set the desired speed. Little things that make traveling so much more pleasant. Another function of the cruise control also contributes to this.
Practical: Despite the flat roof line, the XD4 swallows up to 1430 liters. There are 525 with five seats.
A long press on the “reduce distance” button in the left spoke demotes it from adaptive cruise control to ordinary – perfect for long motorway journeys.
Let’s get to consumption. Alpina specifies this as 8.6 liters in the WLTP mix. There is no real comparison to the factory BMW, because here the quad-turbo was taken off the market in all models in mid-2020. But after the first 5,000 kilometers or so, we can roughly confirm the value.
790 km range
We are only preparing an initial long-term consumption analysis for the 25,000 interim report, but the calculation results in a range of 790 kilometers with a 68 liter tank capacity.
After a brisk drive home from the race track, it can happen that the on-board computer only shows around 600 kilometers after the next refueling stop, but we have also had a range of 995 kilometers on the display.
Not everyone likes the high rear with the coupe-like finish. Alternative: the brother XD3.
In purely arithmetical terms, this would result in a consumption range of 6.8 liters with just the accelerator pedal up to 11.3 liters with a lead foot. Really not bad for a two-tonne ship with such an unfavorable drag coefficient.
What else did we notice on the first few meters: The 22-inch optional forged wheels (3960 euros) roll surprisingly comfortably, the seats are a dream and the spread between the driving modes is clearly noticeable.
Fiddly climate control
The only real points of criticism so far: on the one hand, the somewhat fiddly climate control. If you want to switch the cool blower on or off, you first have to press “Menu A/C” and then scroll around with the iDrive controller.
In addition, the infotainment has once again thrown the paired smartphone out of the Bluetooth after the phone calls have ended. Basically no problem, because to the new
You don’t have to pick up the phone in violation of traffic regulations to connect, this is done via the iDrive menu. But it’s still annoying and shouldn’t happen at a base price of 89,900 euros.
And that brings us back to our headline for this story: “Flex Time Account.” He’s an excellent long-distance glider, arriving on time is in his blood, but he’s a huge burden on the account. As it currently stands in front of our test car garage, we are in the six-digit range.
Specifications and price: Alpina XD4
• Engine R6, quad-turbo, longitudinal displacement 2993 cm3
• Perfomance 290 kW (394 hp) at 4000-5000 rpm
• Max. Torque 800 Nm at 1750-3000 rpm
• Drive All-wheel drive / eight-speed automatic
• L/W/H 4751/ 2138/1615 mm
• curb weight 2070kg
• trunk 525-1430L
• 0-100km/h 4.6s
• Top 268km/h
• Consumption 8.6L D/100km
• Exhaust CO2 224 g/km
• Price from 89,900 euros
