Test Drive of the X3

[AzNMpower32]

In case anyone else wants to post any drive impressions, this thread is a nice place to do it.

Here's my review, basically a copy of what I wrote on Bimmerfest:

30 second summary:

The 2011 X3: Moving further mainstream.

What's Great:

• Punchy engines; the 35i is more than necessary.
• Noticeably improved interior and passenger space.
• Enough technology to satisfy tech-savvy folks.

Where it falls short:

• More distant, less involving
• Boot (trunk) space not hugely improved.
• Doesn't stand out in any specific way.

The actual review (for anyone who's bothered to read)
The good thing is that I had a great comparison vehicle to drive before the test drive. As I snaked my way through US 522 in Louisa County and then onto I-64, my 2004 X3 and I were one in harmony. On the two-lane country roads, the X3 was at home in the banked corners and once I hit the "derestricted zone" on I-64, I had about 25km of almost free-rein, cruising between 120 and 140km/h. My main purpose of going to the dealer was to pick up parts, so I didn't have massive intentions of test driving the new X3.

First of all, the X3 looked pretty much as I expected........because I saw it at the Greer factory before release, and also in Greenville the day after its official release. The front looks chic and clean regardless of headlight choice without the excess flab of the X5. The rear end still leaves a bit to be desired (and has the wrong colour turn signals) but looks are subjective so I'll move on.

Upon sitting in the interior, there's a lot to like. The interior materials and design have moved onto something befitting a $40k vehicle for the most part. Passenger space front and rear are improved, although BMW seems to be "mini-sizing" many dash structures to create more space. The instrument panel is small, the glovebox even smaller, and the climate controls/preset buttons border on "too small to easily see". Avoid the light wood trim- I know it's real but it's unconvincing. The contrasting leather stitching is a nice detail, but I would appreciate a split-sliding centre armrest like the 3er, as it sits a bit low and back for comfort. The sport steering wheel feels nice, although the buttons have lost their tactile feedback.

I wasn't flattered when the sales rep zinged 5000rpm right out of the gate with a cold drivetrain, but the twin-turbo 6 is not new to me so the forward whoosh of speed is expected and fun. Once I got in the driver's seat, we meandered our way onto the highway. I dipped the throttle, the transmission responded promptly, dropping 2 or 3 gears and acceleration is swift. I capped it at 110km/h; VA state and Henrico police were out in force that day and trying to explain that 306bhp is good for at least 160km/h on a test drive would be futile at best. But the power, response, and technology is there.

But I think the "Joy of Driving" part of the brand got left behind.

First of all like all current BMWs, the basic suspension and seats just don't cut it. The Pirelli P7 tires* were fine and it rides softly, but the standard suspension sags a bit much when pushed. And the same goes for the rest of the car: It's sufficient for most drivers but the end product falls short for anyone who's driven an older BMW.

The electric steering is "good enough" but not great. The whole car feels heavier and less agile despite weighing about the same as the old X3. It's still competent in the bends but if you took the BMW badge away, the overall experience no longer stands out as distinctly BMW.

Certain things I can forgive. The test car only had 80km on it, so I will reluctantly forgive the weak brakes (although they're not significantly upsized from the E83). The 8AT was rough around the edges because the adaptive transmission hadn't figured out its algorithms yet.

But I never felt like a "part" of the vehicle. The driving position wasn't quite bang-on. I felt like I was sitting on a perch, directing the X3 to do things from two floors up. It doesn't do anything badly but it no longer feels fun and exciting. It's no longer distinctive.

Buyer's tip: Add anything with "Sport" or "Handing" as an option, or else those components are very mediocre. Or just buy a 328i sport wagon.

I wanted to test the 28i, but the salesman couldn't find its keys, so this was what I drove. Route included suburban roads and highway in Henrico County, Richmond VA; pavement ranged from Good to Marginal. Weather was clear, outside temp 5,5°C.

*Tires not suitable for snow, despite all-season marking.

[motordavid]

M: Pretty well written review, imo. Thanks.
Pricing is getting a tad lofty for us no lease/no job retired bums...
GL, mD

[AzNMpower32]

Originally Posted by motordavid

M: Pretty well written review, imo. Thanks.
Pricing is getting a tad lofty for us no lease/no job retired bums...
GL, mD

Get the 28i, and just add anything with sport or handling in the title. Heck, skip the xenons if you want. Yet BMWs are pricey thesedays and the reliability/maintain cost factor is getting pretty poor. It no longer stands out in a sea of competitors, so the best choice may be something else.

[motordavid]

Originally Posted by AzNMpower32

Get the 28i, and just add anything with sport or handling in the title. Heck, skip the xenons if you want. Yet BMWs are pricey thesedays and the reliability/maintain cost factor is getting pretty poor. It no longer stands out in a sea of competitors, so the best choice may be something else.

Well, as I wrote when I saw the first pics of the new X3, it's on a wish list for when the current ol' '01 X5 heads out to pasture. But, that may be a couple years from now. It runs well, so no hurry, and I avoid tossing cars for a new Jones, these days. Besides, the CEO just got her new Hyundai Tuck this past Spring, so 'new cars' are low on our spending list.

Fwiw, our '01 X5, pretty well loaded, had a sticker of ~$48Gs back then; we got a thou+ off sticker, $10Gs for an old Jeep Grand Cherokee, and wrote a check for ~ $38Gs out the door. Times, and prices, have changed.
BR, mD

[tekman]

I drove the 2.8 last week and was not overly impressed. Nice vehicle, but less refined options and more like a scaled back slimlined 3 series with next to no options and they still were asking 46K for it. I was originally in the market for a 2008 x5, but the cost difference between those and a new X3 was pretty negligable. Plus the new X3's are so damn close in side to the 08 x5 now.

The only 3.5 was on the showroom floor and boxed in a bit so not really greatly accessible. I sat in the 3.5 and well it was loaded to bear with everything you could want and more. It felt like the X5 as far as overall room and comfort. Still had not gotten a chance to fully test drive it.

Well, I called them a couple days later and had them pull it out so I could try it.

It was great!! It's no 4.8 twin turbo v8, but it has fantastic speed and the flappy paddles were cool to play with while in Sport plus mode. Handled very well in the corners. It was different trying to get used to the new efficiency option in it. The brakes would continue to grab while slowing down, even when my foot was off the pedal. There is some newer technology to use the breaking power of the engine to power some new electrical features. Helps make the engine that 10% more fuel efficient while converting some of the residual energy into a battery store of some kind to help the vehicle use less gas. I didn't fully understand all of it, but it made sense when the sales guy explaned it. I'll be looking into it more.

The ride was much better than the old X3. Smooth where the old version was more rigid and bumpy and muted where the old one was loud. You can stil feel and hear the road some, but not nealy as much as he old one. Freeway driving was responsive and tight, even when not in Sport mode. Engine sound, was slightly muted in the newer one, but you can still hear it reving just fine.

With the salesman riding along, it's not like I could take it for a full corning test, however bobbing and weaving in and out of traffic on the freeway and side roads it was very responsive. Run Flats are standard, but the 18's on the sport model felt quite nice. FYI, the Flappy Paddles are included in the Sport package. They are no longer a charged option.

I've driven a 535i with sport before and this felt better than that one did. I don't have the extensive Bimmer experience that a lot of people on here do, but comparing it to the 3 series, 5 series and X5's I've driven, it was better than the 5 series, and on par with the x5 and 3 series sport models. I have never driven a M Sport so I cannot compare against those.

For a 3.5 Twin Turbo this was more than sufficient for me. I liked it so much I ordered one with Sport Package, Cold weather and Premium package. I opted out of the Nav and I drive. I have Nav for free on my Droid and honestly the Idrive, although improved, is mor cumbersome that it is useful. $2500 for the Nav package and more for the tech package isn't overly worth it for the amount of driving I do yearly.

I also test drove the Porsche Cayenne and the Audi Q5 and although the Cayenne was nice, the v8 in that thing gets crappy gas mileage. It felt nice but for the price I kept feeling like it should be more outstanding than it was. I wasn't overly impressed. The Audi Q5, well let's just say where the BMW looks refined and stylish the Q5 looks cold and unrefined and felt like a plastic box with wheels. The 240 hp of the Q5 was slow off the block compared to the 3.5 BMW and had about the same driving feel as my old 06 Toyota 4 runner. The Audi was nice, don't get me wrong, but for a 47K vehicle it looked and felt like a plastic box lined with leather and felt lining. It also didn't feel as balanced as the BMW when turning or weaving in and out of traffic.

So I did some calling around and I ordered the X3 with the 3.5. Plus, going with a dealer outside the major city I live near, I was able to get them to give me a discount off the MSRP, which the ones in the city were not willing to do because it's so new. So basically I got the 3.5 motor included for 2K instead of 4K and got them to throw in a few little freebies like floor mats and cargo net for free. It's not much of a discount as discounts go, but it was better than the larger dealerships were even willing to offer.

I'll post some picks when it arrives in Mid February.

[JCL]

Congratulations on the new ride, post some pictures up when you get it.

What is happening with the Efficient Dynamics and the charging system is that instead of the alternator charging the battery all the time, and consuming power, it doesn't charge when you want all the power for accelerating, but makes up for that by really charging the battery (with a resulting high parasitic load) when you are decelerating. It really just makes the alternator charging load a variable depending on what else you want the engine to do at the time.

Oh, and you don't get a twin turbo. The new N55 is a single turbo. BMW call it TwinPower because it is a twin scroll turbocharger, but there is still a single turbo, unlike the previous 35 variants.

[Fraser]

Originally Posted by tekman

I drove the 2.8 last week and was not overly impressed. Nice vehicle, but less refined options and more like a scaled back slimlined 3 series with next to no options and they still were asking 46K for it. I was originally in the market for a 2008 x5, but the cost difference between those and a new X3 was pretty negligable. Plus the new X3's are so damn close in side to the 08 x5 now.

The only 3.5 was on the showroom floor and boxed in a bit so not really greatly accessible. I sat in the 3.5 and well it was loaded to bear with everything you could want and more. It felt like the X5 as far as overall room and comfort. Still had not gotten a chance to fully test drive it.

I know that it's very confusing but the 28i is a 3.0 litre, not a '2.8'. Likewise the 35i is a turbocharged 3.0 litre, not a '3.5'.

[CarsRmyVICE]

Congrats tekman, sounds like a great choice. Please let us know your thoughts in february.

[jmweb]

Yeah, give us a review in a few months! I am liking the techy part

[tekman]

Originally Posted by CarsRmyVICE

Congrats tekman, sounds like a great choice. Please let us know your thoughts in february.

Thanks, will do when I get it. The wait is killing me. Still showing in the Order Scheduling status when I sign in. Can't wait until they at least start making it.

Just a few more weeks to go.