THE full sized Sports Utility Vehicle, or SUV as it became known was once the car to own.

It still is in many ways but its fame took a hand. Celebrities, football players and the like took to them like ducks to water and everyone wanted a slice of the action.

The problem was that the popularity and exclusivity factor of SUVs booted the better ones into rarified heights on the price scale and they also started to gain a reputation as gas guzzlers and carbon emitters.

So in came the clever option, the Sports Activity Coupe which combines sporting stance with coupe looks, aimed fairly and squarely at the premium mid-sized segment.

One of the latest is the BMW X4 which combines all the hallmark features of the BMW X range with stunning looks and high performance.  

This is BMW's first car of this type and it is starting to turn heads in the highly competitive marketplace because of its very neat proportions and impressive stats.

The X4's dynamic pedigree is underlined by a wide range of cutting-edge high-performance engines, the xDrive all-wheel-drive system and a high level of standard equipment.

The range features a choice of three diesel engines, a comprehensive package of BMW EfficientDynamics measures and the extensive connectivity provided by BMW ConnectedDrive.

The new BMW X4 follows in the footsteps of the BMW X6, visually combining the character of a Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) with the sporting elegance of a classic coupé to create an unmistakable presence on the road.  

Although based on the same platform as the BMW X3, this is a very different animal.

The driver and front passenger sit 20mm lower and the rear passengers 28mm lower, accentuating the classic coupé feeling.

It is a sensation reinforced by the rear bench seat, which comes with the type of continuously moulded side support normally only provided by two individual seats, but still offers space for three passengers.

And practicality is not forgotten with a load capacity of between 500 and 1,400 litres which, thanks to the standard 40:20:40 split-folding rear seats, can be used in a wide variety of ways.

This car was an X4 xDrive 3.0-litre MSport which exploited the virtues of this design perfectly. It should do as at £45,453 many would have to dig deep to own one.

This one features the larger 3.0 diesel engine which pumps out 258bhp combined with a pleasing 560Nm of torque.

A combination which even to the mildly technically minded says performance all the way,  and it is with 145mph on tap and 62mph coming up in 5.8 seconds from standstill.

Just another fuel guzzler you might think, but definitely not with a combined economy readout of 47.9mpg. And CO2 emissions are not bad either at 156g/km.

Equipment levels are high as would be expected on an X-craft with an automatically opening tailgate, Variable Sport Steering, light-alloy wheels, front and rear Park Distance Control.

The agile handling of this vehicle combined with intelligent xDrive all-wheel-drive system makes this a memorable drive and in my view one of BMW's best models of recent times.