I see little need for a facelift, the current X3 doesn't look THAT bad. What they need to work on is the interior, IMHO.

I think plastic bumpers are a good idea, especially for an SUV. True, it doesn't look as great, but particularly here in the city where your front and rear bumpers get chipped and scratched by other drivers in parallel parking no matter how careful you are, it's nice not to have a painted bumper.

MD, good luck with the X3 search for the Missus. It'll fit her nicely with X-drive and all. She will def. love driving much more than the daFridge.

Sithjedi333, I agree on the practicality of black bumpers and I'm also surprised by the quick facelift, albeit a mild one.

DaFridge:
Drying out and melted...
'03 CR-V, EX AWD, ASA wheels, plus1 tars
but, a pos,imo. We are looking and considering.
BR,md

That's a fine-looking 3-car garage, MD. Is that a private road to your house?

B: Thanks...garage is deep, too, but like any space it is Full of stuff: 2 cars, 3 m'cycles, overflow wine racks, golf crap, etc.

That blacktop is our drive which leads in from a lil'priv. road, off of another priv road, from the reg road that climbs the mtn from down below.

Our HOA covers the other two roads, but our drive and our lil' single lane common road we share w/ 4 other houses, is our prob. We all chipped in and spent 16K last summer for a redo on the blacktop. It will not last long as the roadbed was never done properly: just cut out of wooded slope so lots could be sold and custom homes built.

My tale of woe from the mtn. :D

In my next life, after hitting the big lotto, I'm gonna have a 5 or 6 or...car garage! BR,D

my local stealership (Sterling BMW in Newport Beach, CA) typically paints the bumpers on most of their X3s... It's night and day.

The X3 is an ugly car either way, with our without the facelift. I honestly don't see much difference in it at all.