Thinking of trading
 

I am thinking of trading my 325Ci for a X3. I like the gas mileage of the car, but I miss the ride of the X5. Driving the X5 is out of the question, at least as far as the boss is concerned and I like getting 30mpg.

Has anyone had good luck with the X3?

Probably a good question for the X3 forum.

Are you talking about the existing E83 X3, or the new X3 that is out this month?

I sold my 2003 X5 and my Z4, to move to a daily driver that was more fun to drive than the X5, while having some of the sportiness of the Z4. I didn't want an E70, as it was larger and heavier, moving away from what I wanted. I went with a 535i, 6MT. We still had use for a SUV, so we sold my wife's 325xi and bought a new 2007 X3, 3.0si, 6MT, at the same time. Haven't regretted it at all. It wasn't a direct replacement (I was the primary driver of the X5, she is the primary driver of the X3) but it functionally replaces the X5 for us, and is the vehicle we use on winter road trips. Compared to the X5, we find that the E83 has more luggage capacity, and is more fun to drive, as it is more agile, more 'tossable', has more power, and has a manual transmission. I also think it is more reliable, it is a simpler platform (E46) so there is less to go wrong. It is narrower, and some might not like that, but I am not a small person and I have plenty of room. I think it has similar or slightly less sound insulation than the E53. Downsides are that it is less sophisticated, so things like dual climate zones don't exist, Nav (if you want it) is even worse than the X5, etc. I prefer not to have all the electronics that can fail, so it was a good fit for me. My wife really likes it, as she considered the E53 too wide, and she didn't like the automatic. If you want the latest in back up cameras and so on, you may not be happy with an E83. The E83 did go through several refinements during its life. The early ones rode roughly, and weren't finished as well IMO. Our 2007 is significantly better in those respects than earlier models I test drove.

The new X3 is a whole different beast. It is the same size as the original E53, and is on a new platform. I like the look of it, and would be more likely to buy one than to buy an E70, if I was in the market for such a vehicle. I would not buy one of the first model year, however.

All
i can offer you is my time (3 days as a loaner) driving the new X3. I found the ride VERY stiff and hard compared to my 06 X5 4.8is with 4-corner air suspension. There have been a few articles recently about the X3 (see above). I do remember hearing that the earlier X3's did not have the "si" as part of their name were even harder than the outgoing model. But, it will ultimately be up to the new owner regarding their likes and dislikes.

If you're a family man, I would suggest you look into a used/possibly certified 335i sedan with 6 sp. With a few dollars you can turn it into a virtual beast. If not, go with the coupe. But if you do, ensure it has the sport package which has the larger intercooler to keep the turbos/oil cool. And, if you go this route, ONLY go with GIAC software. They cut their teeth on Porsche and have moved on to BMW's following their lead into the world of turbos. No pigtails; no spoofing! A CAI, exhaust and GIAC s/w and you have the best of all worlds: it sits four comfortably, has a decent trunk, great gas mileage and when by your lonesome....yeehaw!

GL with whatever decision you make.

Trying to get away from the sedan/coupe. I just sold my Mustang because I hate sitting so low to the ground. After driving either truck then sitting in the car I just feel lost! I had the wife behind me last week and I felt that she was going to run me over in the X5.

The only reason I am looking at the X5 is due to ride height and gas mileage. I drive to and from SC from NC every week.

At this point I am just pondering.

Have you test driven a recent model X3?

You may have to reduce your mpg goal, as I don't know of an X5 or, X3 that gets '30 mpg'. Even the smaller, other brand SUVs, eg Equinox, Tucson, et al, don't see 30 mpg in real world driving.
GL, mD

In the past 2 years, our 2004 X3 required a thermostat (which I did myself), while the 2004 X5 chewed through $8K in repair costs, which mostly involved various component failures. I can't stress enough the differences in these two vehicles in terms of cost of ownership, at least in my experience.

The X3 is efficient, simple, better handling and better in snow (both vehicles run on the same winter tires, and similar summer tires).

Very early on in the X3 ownership experience, I had sunroof cassette problems and noise from the t-case. Issues were resolved under warranty. But at close to 7 years in and 73K miles, the X3 has been great overall.

If only the X3 could tow our travel trailer . . . .

I drove the new X3 yesterday... WOW. It reminded me so much of my e53 it was uncanny. It has much more room than I expected, the interior was of excellent quality, and the power (it was a 35i) and ride were probably better than my E53 V8. If it weren't for the looks I'd spring for one over an E70 (I think it's more practical for me), but the E70 looks so damn good and the X3 looks like a Hyundai.

-Cyrus

Does your travel trailer weight over 3500 lbs? Our X3 tows reasonable loads as well as our X5 did, which is to say very well.

Agree completely that the X3 will be simpler, easier to maintain, and cheaper to run than an X5.

Our 2007 X3 3.0si 260 hp 6MT has done 8 litre/100 km cruising on the highway at 120 km/hr, fully loaded, over multiple tanks. That works out to 36 mpg imperial, 30 mpg US. Around town, the worst we have see is 12 litres/100 km (24 mpg Imperial), and most of the time we are averaging 10 litres/100 km with mixed driving. AzNMpower32 has reported 30 mpg US with his 2.5 automatic X3 (well, actually, he reported 8 litres per 100 km).

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...s-mileage.html

Agree that to get 30 mpg US you have to work at it a bit, but it can be done, even with the highest power X3.

Hello. New user there.

Since you mentioned X3 stiffness...

Just turned in my lease '08 E92 with Sport Package and got '08 M-Sport X3si yesterday.

Coming from one sport package straight to the other one, I can tell you that they are of identical stiffness and both are pretty stiff.
Perhaps an X3 without sport package and 19" wheels may be much softer.

What did make my E92 softer, was aftermarket wheels with non-RFT tires. It was a night and day difference.

Unfortunately it is at 3,800 pounds unloaded, so it is well over 4K with gear. Has around 450 pounds of tongue weight. I actually think that with proper weight distribution, the X3 would tow it safely (I have a prodigy brake controller on the X3), but would I'd have more trouble keeping with the flow of traffic on mountain passes for sure.

Our X3 has towed a 3,000 pound camper in the past and it was well balanced and still returned decent mileage. Manual gearbox meant I could always keep it in the right rev range. Notably, even with a fair amount of tongue weight, the X3 barely sagged at all! In fact, ride comfort on my somewhat firm riding '04 is close to perfect when you load up the suspension with a substantial trailer! Remarkable vehicle.:thumbup:

We have an '06 X3 with 42k miles on the ODO. It's been a great ride and we've reached up to 28mpg on nice flat NM roads. It's nimble, sounds great, accelerates well, is smaller but good interior space, seats are firm but comfy - love those seat warmers. Could not get the wife to sell the car for all the tea in China! Firm ride? - yep. Too firm? Ever driven a true sports car? Would not think of towing with it - that's what the big dog Ford is for. We've had zero issues so far. Overall, we'd tell you it's been one of our favorite automobiles to date. Good luck.