Introduction
the X3 is one of BMW’s big Sellers and it’s not hard to see why for one it’s an SUV which is the form factor of choice for a whole lot of car buyers then there’s the size it’s large but still manageable and though it is expensive in absolute terms in the world of luxury Vehicles the X3 in a Sweet Spot question is can this fourth generation X3 offer enough to interest [Music] you let’s start with the way it looks
Exterior Design and Styling
opening remarks it’s not as polarizing as the latest few BMWs have been and will’ll find wider acceptance there’s a link to older x3s in the long Bonnet STS and upward sweep of the glass house but the tight skinning devoid of too many cuts and creases is New Age BMW the X3 looks well- defined and muscular without relying on overt cues to establish it as such not to say that the X3 doesn’t have its shouty bits the iconic kidney Grill occupies significant real estate on the nose and for added effect features diagonally arranged bars and it glows too the LED outline for the grill might not be to all tastes but it does give BMWs an unmistakable light signature the headlamps that slickly sweep back with the Bonnet line are also home to cool blue detailing notably India gu the X3 only in M sport guys edgy detailing for the flush set front bumper side skirts and 19in wheels do their bit to up the show value the new X3 also Sports new Footwear ditching run flat tires for standard tubeless ones more on that in a bit the latest X3 positions the rear number play low down on the bumper a treatment we’d seen on the x3’s Coupe cousin the X4 which interestingly isn’t due for replacement with this generation chunky tail lights the taper as they move inwards give the X3 a distinctive tail end and what will also grab your attention are the roof spoiler and wind deflector that line the rear wind screen the latest X3 might not look it but it has grown a crucial few millimeters in every Dimension it’s now marginally longer wider and taller than its German compatriots though a Mercedes GLC has the slightly longer wheelbase do you like the way the X3 looks and would it be your pick of the midsized SUVs let us know in the comment section below and if you haven’t already please do subscribe to the autoa India Channel and hit that Bell icon to be notified every time we have a new video
Entry and Cabin Experience
[Music] up the x3s doors can be locked or unlocked with the standard key a tap of an NFC card or a transferable digital key on your mobile [Music] phone in either case your first point of contact are conceal door handles that are good for Arrow but don’t feel quite as nice to hold as a grab type handle would you will however appreciate how easy the X3 is to get into and the general Ambience inside of course you’ll find a lot of elements shared with other BMWs but BMW has done enough to give the X3 scabin a personality of its own for instance this textured look on the dashboard top now this is something we’ve not seen in any of the other models it’s got this fabric feel to it it looks quite unique uh but I’m not sure how easy it will be to keep clean in our Dusty conditions but that’s something we’ll only learn over long-term Usage
Interior Design and Features
Now you get 12.3 in digital dials a 14.9 in touchscreen as we’ve seen on other BMWs as well as this interactive bar which is uh part of the ambient lighting package but perhaps what makes the biggest difference to the x3’s interior is the wraparound look the way the dashboard flows into the doors as well as this ambient lighting treatment that is very nicely done you’ll actually see the x3’s interior in its best light at night the ambient lighting effect is really cool also interesting other material choices inside now interestingly only the leather on the steering is real leather everything else that you see that looks like leather is actually a man-made material the textured material on the dash I spoke of earlier is made from recycled polyester but I’m not quite sure of a few elements such as the cream upholstry will be a pain to keep clean and these Plastics lower down don’t feel fitting for a car of this price even the islandlike panels on the front doors with haptic controllers for side air vent flow and lock unlock buttons look better than they are to actually use BMW hasn’t held back on equipment though
Infotainment and Technology
now talking off the features the 12.3 in digital dials are nice and vibrant and also change theme with the different modes however they don’t offer as much customization as we’ve seen on the latest lot of Mercedes screens but what the X3 has going for it is head-up display and you get a lot of customizations and that works really well so you don’t really necessarily have to look at the screen at all times you’ll get much of the information in Clear Sight using the head-up display alone [Music] then you have the 14.9 in touchcreen it runs BMW’s latest os9 softw that we’ve only seen on the X1 so far now it is a very smooth and Slick screen but as we’ve noted in the past it is just packed in with way too much so it’s almost like an option overload not ideal when you want to quickly get to a feature on the go unfortunately even climate control is via the touchscreen while the temperature settings are hardcoded onto the main touchcreen you’ll have to go to another additional menu just to access the blower settings and that is a pain point the touchcreen is also your display for the Cris 360° cameras as well as augmented reality navigation that overlays directions onto the camera feed though it only works with the onboard Maps auto parking is included too and a highlight in its own right is the 17 speaker 750 W Haron Garden sound [Music] system
Seating, Comfort, and Storage
the front seats get my thumbs up because they are adjustable in a whole lot of ways there is manual adjust for thigh support there’s Lumber adjust on your seat side there’s also side bolstering adjust which is something healthy occupants like me will find useful there’s also seat ventilation which is a very handy feature that’s been included for India the X3 does pretty well on in Cabin storage so you get large front door pockets and there’s enough room for a big bottle and a whole lot more you also get a nice box between the front seats and it’s also home to a 12vt charging socket the other interesting element on the X3 is what BMW calls the jewelry case now this open storage area is lined by ambient lighting and it looks really nice at night you have a wireless charging pad so your phone is in clear side there’s an other bay with two usb type-c chargers as well as two cup holders all within easy access what is disappointingly small is the glove box
Rear Seat and Passenger Experience
onto the back seat the X3 is easy to get into and as you can tell I’m pretty comfortable on space now I’m just under 6 ft tall the front seat is set to my driving position and I’m pretty well catered to on knee room enough space to the front seat uh headro is just about adequate for someone of my height but average sized adults will be very well catered to now seating three adults at the back is possible but then you also have to contend with this High Center tunnel the seat itself is pretty comfortable it’s nicely cushioned I like uh the seat base offers more th support than the last generation X3 did the seating position is also pretty comfortable but the back rest is not adjustable and feels a bit upright for my liking now as for amenities at the back you get a fold on Center armrest with two cup holders you get large bottle holders on both of the doors there is a fold out sun shade which is a very handy inclusion there’s a dedicated zone for the climate control system for the rear section of the cabin you also get an accessory iPad Mount which is something a lot of chauffeur driven owners might make the most off but if there’s one feature that makes a whole lot of difference to the experience at the back it is this panoramic glass roof
Boot Space and Practicality
now interestingly BMW says that their data showed that owners like the effect of a glass roof but don’t necessarily open it which is why they’ve gone for a larger glass area rather than the functionality of it to open and close there’s plenty of space behind the rear seats too the tailgate opens up to a 570 L luggage area all of which is usable you won’t need to strap the spare tire within the boot compartment as was the case on the last X3 a dedicated compartment for the space saer spare tire under the boot flow has been Incorporated 40 20 40 split seats open up the flexibility to transport oddly shaped items or open up more luggage capacity [Music]
Engine and Performance
like the last X3 the new model can be had with the 2 L 4 cylinder turbo petrol engine or a 2 L 4 cylinder turbo diesel thing is the petrol engine is not offered in high strung 252 HP and 350 newm 30 I form the new X3 comes in milder 20 tune which brings power and torque down to 190 horsep and 310 Newton M the figures are well sh of what competition petrol models offer with which is a shame perhaps BMW is saving the hot X3 M50 with its sonorous straight six for Ardent petrol heads the 20D diesel featured here is more interesting if you aren’t spooked by the government’s anti-d stance that is the engine makes 197 horsep and 400 new M and there’s also the helping hand of a 48v mild hybrid system that chips in with 11 horsepower and 25 Newt M under hard load the X3 diesels power and talk numbers aren’t quite standout figures for the this class of SUV and also if you’ve driven an older BMW with a 2 L diesel engine you’ll miss the spike in the mid-range over here but that being said this is a deceptively powerful engine sure it doesn’t really push you back onto your seat when you press down on the accelerator but the build of power is nice and linear and you’d actually only notice how fast you’re going when you look at the reading on the speedometer or on the headup display more often than not on an empty road you’ll be going faster than you think you are the 8 speed automatic gearbox also plays its supporting role really well and you really won’t find yourself reaching out for the paddle shifters to take manual control on the occasion that you really need a quick burst of power you can do a long press on the left paddle and that will give you 10 seconds of boost mode which is all that the engine has to give
Acceleration and Driving Feel
[Music] the new X3 diesel 7.4 second 0 to 100 kph time actually makes it quicker than the last gen X3 diesel that took 8.65 seconds to 100 kph as well as the new Mercedes GLC 220d diesel that’ll do the 0 to 100 kph Dash in 7.8 seconds the BMW has a slight Edge in kickdown acceleration as well there’s a great spread of power and the ease with which the X3 builds and maintain speed make this a car very well suited to longdistance Journeys the other number of Interest 17.6 kpl official fuel economy what also helps is how quiet the X3 runs the engine also runs nice and quiet there is a bit of a grally note which you’ll only really hear if you make an effort you won’t hear it over the music playing in your car what’s also nice is that road and wind noise are really well contained we’re driving on on a concrete surface right now and that tire Roar isn’t really a bother on the inside so refinement on the whole is pretty impressive
Ride Quality and Handling
the enhanced refinement is complemented by a plusher ride now remember the tires that I spoke of earlier in the video now they have singlehandedly perhaps made the biggest difference to the x3’s characteristic now run flat tires are typically very firm in their sidewall construction which means they aren’t ideal for for a bumpy road conditions the new tubeless tires that go on the X3 are more absorbent more compliant and right Comfort has really taken a big big step up the X3 feels more comfortable than the older ones did that always had a bit of a jiggly feel particularly at low speeds as before the X3 gets adaptive dampers and drivers get two modes to play with there’s Comfort mode with which is what you’d want to be in slows speed driving conditions there’s a nice level of pancy in the ride when you’re in Comfort but when you’re going faster You’ want to switch to sport [Applause] mode sport mode firms things up a body control becomes tighter there’s less movement all around and what that means in effect is that you get greater confidence to carry higher speeds in the corners but the latest X3 does see a change of character now the X3 was always the sportiest driving of the midsize luxury SUVs is that true today I’m not quite sure if it’s as big a distinction as it was before now don’t get me wrong because the new X3 drives well it drives with confidence it drives with Grace but it doesn’t feel quite as pointy as the older x3s did will that be a deal breaker for the X3 Target clientele I really don’t think so because this is still a very nice to drive car you get a good amount of feel at the steering a good deal of confidence behind the wheel it feels grippy throughout so you can really have some fun with the X3 on your favorite driving roads stopping power is good and there’s also camera and radar based Advanced Driver Assistance or a ass features the X3 comes with a suite of a ass features so there’s forward Collision warning there’s Auto emergency braking you get a lane departure warning Lane keep assist and the like now these features work well enough on well-marked roads but it’s as with all other Adas systems best thought of as a additional safety net rather than something to really rely on
Pricing and Verdict
the new X3 range starts at 75.8 lakh rupees X showroom India for the petrol while this diesel comes in at 77 .8 lakh rupees pricing is at par with the Mercedes GLC which is currently the midsize luxury SUV to beat the latest X3 does a lot of things right it’s got the right look it’s got wow elements inside and is rather nice to drive too however it’s the upt Comfort levels that really open it up to a wider Bier base in effect BMW has come up with an X3 that’s more complete than ever before is it the luxury SUV to buy we’ll have to bring the updated field of Rivals to give the answer but the X3 sure is in the fight for top honors [Music]
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