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BMW X3 - First Day Impressions
After a 3 months wait since I placed my order just after Thanksgiving, I now realize more than ever why I fell in love with this design ever since I first read about it and test drove it last Fall. Why? Because I just finished driving it for the past several hours after taking it away from the dealer earlier this afternoon. Like many here, I have tried to read nearly every post on this message board during my wait for my X3 2.5i. Many of the posts back in December and early January helped influence my choice of colors and options, as I kept taking in feedback learned from others here and incorporated that knowledge into my specific order. I realize from this board that there are 12 different combinations of colors/options that different people swear by! Personally, I think there are no "wrongs" in the decisions that each of us who chose to purchase an X3 have to make as we navigate our way from reading the brochure to having the keys placed in our hands. So, I hope that others here refrain from making a critique of the things I now write in the hope that these words may help benefit others as I know I have benefitted from this site in the past. 1. Black Bumpers. I happen to live in a city (Boston). Where I live, bumpers get nicked. They get nicked all the time. Because of this, I am so glad that the X3's bumpers come in non-glossy plain black. Over the course of several years of ownership, I am absolutely convinced that the X3's bumpers will stand the wear of time far better than any of the painted bumpers. I've read dozens of posts criticizing the black bumpers as not up to "premium car" standards. Well, I for one applaud BMW's decision on this one. The black bumpers made me more interested in the vehicle, not less. The other day I took the dealer's limo shuttle from downtown to the showroom. A woman was commenting that she was going to pickup her new 5 series which was having its front bumper replaced for the 3rd time because of unsightly scratches. Listening to her made me glad I was about to receive my new X3. 2. Outside colors. I chose Titanium Silver. But frankly, I have come to conclusion that the X3 looks great in each and every one of the colors offered. I know that most people here think Silver Grey looks best with the black bumpers. Others think one of the other colors is better. I say every one's choice is the right one for them! I chose light Silver because I plan on holding on to this car for at least 5 years. And I am convinced based on my prior vehicle that light silver hides scratches and other imperfections better than any of the other more darker colors. I think the black bumbers, black interior, dark privacy glass (ordered option), and black roof rack rails set off against the Titanium Silver provide wonderful complements to one other. After spending the past few hours with those choices, I am feeling perfectly happy with those decisions. And encourage others to just choose whichever color combos they personally like the best. 3. Sensatec/Leatherette. I decided not to pay for leather after seeing first-hand what the sesatec/leatherette looked like and felt. Sure, the leather is wonderful. But I am on a somewhat limited budget, and wanted to use the savings to fund other options such as the sunroof and heated seats. 4. Non-premium package. I am part of the definite minority which ordered a 2.5i without getting the premium package. Although the PP is definitely worth the bundled price, I decided against it for the following reasons: (a) I strongly prefer manual climate control over automatic climate. The knobs on the manual system are easier to adjust while driving, and provide for far greater control of how much air to send to the different registers (windshield, chest, or floor); (b) I didn't need the luxury of power seats as I will be the primary driver of this vehicle; (c) I didn't want the extra storage bins and nets as I think the vehicle seems more fancy without the elastic nets on the back of the front seats and next to the front passenger's left leg; and (d) I used the money instead to pay for the Navigation option. 5. Navigation option. This option is absolutely fantastic. A friend who is really into handheld gps navigation was stunned this afternoon by just how well BMW integrates the navigation system into the vehicle. Of primary importance, the Z4 and X3 are the only beemers that have the pop-up screen in the dashboard. This elevated location is far superior than the lower placed units in the 5 or 6 or 7 or X5 series. You can almost see the screen without having to take one's eyes off the road; a slight glance to the center is all that is needed. There is no need to look "down", to look away from the road as one has to do in the more "premium" beemers. The display and graphics and integration with the radio are absolutely superb. The new (as of 2003) dvd based system is far superior to the old cd based units. The system responds very quickly, and contains a tremendous amount of very useful information. This option is the sleeper of all those offered. I strongly suggest that anyone on the fence to go ahead and get it. Give up on some of the other "frills" if necessary. The navigation is one of the best of its kind in any vehicle. Yes, a touch screen ala Lexis would make it better. But it is great in its current form. 6. Panorama sunroof. Simply stated, this option is amazing. All the harping about X3's v. RX330's v. the 35/45's in my opinion fails to incorporate a simply fact: if you like sunroofs, if you want a hardtop that offers 75% percent of the benefits of a convertible than the X3 is currently the only game in town. 7. Overinflated tires/harsher ride. Thanks to others who helped teach us recently that over inflated tires may have much to do with the overly harsh ride that many experienced during test drives. Sure enough, my dealer over inflated my tires by almost 5 psi. We lowered them to normal levels and the ride all afternoon felt great. It felt great even on dozens of new england roads that have potholes/ruts due to the winter months. Personally, I think all the talk about too stiff a ride is way overblown. And I am not used to "sporty" rides...I traded in my five year old Honda CR-V! 8. Standard stereo. After much debate, I decided to go with the standard stereo, and, after one afternoon I can testify that the sound is simply fantastic as is. I am sure the Premium Stereo is worth the extra $650.00. But don't pay for it simply to get a great sound, because the standard stereo already fits that bill nicely. The head units (the knobs and dials and display in the dash are identical between the two; the separate amplifier in the back left side of the cargo area is the main difference. To clarify some misperceptions, both systems come with two subwoofers: one located under each of the front seats. Both systems come with tweeters and midrange in the front doors. Both systems come with midrange in the rear doors; but the premium stereo adds an extra tweeter in the rear doors. I am 99% sure the wiring and housing is there for standard stereo owners to add the extra tweeter in the rear doors after delivery, as the two systems have the same (identical) wiring harness within the entire vehicle. 9. 2.5 v. 3.0 horsepower. For those who want to pay for it, there is no doubt that the X3 3.0 with 225 horses is a phenomenal combination. And I like many others here was very concerned about ordering the 185 horse version without the ability to test drive it. Reading the intitial ownership posts starting about 3 weeks ago eased my concern. And that concern is now completely unfounded based on this afternoon's driving on both local and highway roadways. The horsepower to weight of the X3 (185 hp/4000 pounds) is almost identical to the similar ratio for the X5 3.0 (225 hp/4700 pounds). The X5 3.0 is a "best seller". Hardly anyone complains that the X5 3.0 is underpowered. I am now convinced that the X3 2.5 is something we simply should all stop being worried about. This afternoon I insisted on "test driving" my vehicle to simply prove to myself that the 2.5 had ample juice before I agree to hand over the cash. Within 15 minutes I headed back to the dealer to complete the deal. If you want a screamer, then get the X3 3.0. If you want something that is more than good enough, well, the X3 2.5 is more than good enough. 10. X3 price too close to that of the X5. I personally think this "debate" is terribly misguided. Sure, the X3 3.0 price with options comes fairly close to the X5 3.0. But that is comparing apples to oranges in that the X3 3.0 engine provide far greater performance (again, horsepower to weight ratio) than the X5 at 3.0. The fair comparison of an X3 3.0 is placing it against the X5 4.4. And the X5 4.4 costs a great deal more than the X3 3.0. 11. Miscellaneous. For the curious, the X3 2.5i non-premium package does come with: (a) the center console and armrest; (b) two cupholders, one in the center console and one on the passenger dash underneath the right side vent, and (c) four lashing points in the rear cargo area. The only difference with the premium package 2.5 and the 3.0 is that these lashing points are fixed rather than sliding. 12. Time to delivery. My VIN # was set in mid-January. The vehicle finished production on Feb. 5. The vehicle arrived in the states at the NJ port on Feb. 25. The vehicle stayed at the Vehicle Processing Center (at the port) from Feb. 25 until March 7. Just slightly over 4 weeks from finish of production to arrival at my local dealer. Hope the above info is useful to some. For those who read this site and have decided against buying the X3, good luck to you. For those here who have decided to go with an X3, I encourage you to keep the faith which will be rewarded within the first day's worth of driving! |
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