Xoutpost.com - View Single Post

bmrboi2 · #1 02-29-2016, 09:07 AM

I have been wondering about the new X3 for a while.

Low and behold, the husbands 5-series went in for a ballast replacement and we had one in our driveway for about 5 days so I gave the husband the X5 and piddled around in that for the 5 days.

Initial assessment. It was nicely equipped. Collision BS and Lane Departure warning, Comfort Access, Navi, Heads up, LED lights and Cold Weather PKG. Pretty much loaded.

It was zippy, comfortable and love love love the new I-Drive. It was roomy for 4 6ft adults.

The steering was overly touchy and had no weight to it. The X5 has a much better more grounded feel when driving at highway speeds. The suspension was mushy and felt like it had too much play/roll in curves. After driving for a while, my thighs started going numb. I adjusted the seats and to no avail, downright uncomfortable for long drives. (We're both 6ft tall and 160 & 175 lbs) I could never get the steering wheel in a perfect position.

They moved the power lock switch to the doors. Not liking that at all. Comfort Access only works from the front doors. The pano roof only opens halfway and not fully into the roof like the X5. The power tailgate doesn't open high enough even with adjusting it all the way up. The sound system was not bad. I don't like that they moved the tweeters from the triangle where the mirror mounts to the door. It looks naked or like you are in a base model.

The 4 banger. Snappy little shit but lacks refinement. It jerked and bucked around and was not smooth at all in stop and go traffic. That may have something to do with the transmission as well. "Sport" mode opened it right up but it never lets you forget it is a 4cyl and only avg 24-25mpg @ 80mph. I don't know what BMW was thinking with putting a 4cyl in a BMW. The straight 6 is proven amazing engine. I imagine this vehicle would be much much much better with a 6cyl and M-sport package.

I guess I've been spoiled with the features and touches that the X5 has. It is inherently better then the X3 could imagine being. I really wanted to like it but it really wasn't good in comparison to the X5. Parking it was easy and the automatic PDC when you are pulling into a space and front view camera were awesome.

This is a useless post but it solidifies why the E70 X5 is leaps and bounds better in so many ways. I got back into my 8 y.o. 140k mile fully equipped X5, fired it up and just smiled. It excelled in EVERY one of my areas of complaint in the X3 except for the updated I-Drive.

Sponsored Links

Sponsored Links