It sits in an unusual niche, the BMW X4, being part SUV and part coupé.

Those unusual looks do compromise rear headroom slightly, but there’s still enough space for four to travel in comfort, and five should be reasonably happy.

There’s no compromise in the way the X4 drives. The brakes are superb, stopping car and caravan from 30mph in just 10 metres. That’s well over a metre less than most rivals.

Stability at speed is up with the very best. At 60mph the X4 tows straight and true, and we only noticed some slight movement from the caravan towing at 70mph. Lifting off at speed caused no issues, as the data from the caravan’s Al-Ko ATC sensors confirms.

In the lane-change test, the caravan became a little wayward on the third and fastest run, but the BMW had no trouble pulling it straight again.

The hill-start test also proved straightforward. The electronic parking brake held car and caravan still on the 1-in-6 slope, then released smoothly and left the powerful 2.0-litre engine and the xDrive four-wheel drive system to do the rest.

As a solo drive, the X4 is quick and sporty, with crisp handling that you wouldn’t expect of such a big and heavy car.

It’s also a practical tow car, with a reasonable boot that coped with almost every item in our testing load of holiday luggage. The presence of a trailer stability system is another point in the BMW’s favour.

However, the X4 is expensive, especially when you consider that the mechanically similar and roomier X3 can be bought for considerably less.