BMW X4 coupe-style SUV arriving next year

In a relentless quest to fill every conceivable gap between its umpteen models, BMW revealed today at the Los Angeles Auto Show that next year it would offer the 2015 BMW X4. Based on BMW’s successful X3 crossover, the five-door, slant-back X4 is described by its maker as a “sport activity coupe,” just as it describes the larger X6.

Indeed, the X4 is essentially an X6, only smaller. “It is to the X3 what the X6 is to the X5,” said BMW spokesman Matt Russell. And that is to say that it is an X3 for people who are willing to make practicality concessions in favor of high-profile style, a touch better performance — and a higher price.