Feature: A few hours with a BMW X3 2.5
Guest feature by our friend GTI_Matt --
So my partner takes his 2000 328Ci into the dealer today for service and gets one of their cheap rentals. I hear him pulling into the driveway and I'm thinking "Huh? They did his car already?" Because the car that pulled in sounded just like his. Normally I'm expecting a different sound because they usually rent out cheap Corollas and Camrys. I look out the window and sure enough it's not his car... but it's no Camry or Corolla either.
It's a BMW X3!
And we're diggin' it. Excellent interior-exterior size ratio (only 3 in. longer than his 328Ci) although it weighs about 700lbs. more. Cargo area is quite good. Has sliding cover and folding rear seats. Cargo floor panel is reversible so instead of carpet you can have a skid-resistant rubber covered panel (for dirty cargo). For the people, the rear seat is pretty generous even with the front seats adjusted comfortably rearward.
There's a clever cup holder for the front passenger underneath the right air conditioning vent. The driver gets a cup holder in the center console between the seats.
The instrument panel features clean gauges, but oddly missing the instant fuel economy gauge that BMW used to have. The MFA does have an average fuel economy gauge.
This car also features Xenon low beams with automatic on-off, headlamp washers, and fog lights. The fogs appear to be (very excellent) Hella Micro DE lamps. The headlights auto-controlled, which doesn't surprise me since the 328Ci we have has Xenons and the car is often automatically tweaking the height of them slightly as we go up/down hills. The X3 seems to do similar, although the driver's one is either completely malfunctioning and is pointed too low, or quite possibly it's intentional because even though it's weird, it works well on
the road.
The beam is shaped like this:
___/-----
But both of them together look like this when you point them against a wall:
________/--------
____/------
On the road though it actually works OK because the one on the left is lower and kinda points to the right a little right in front of the car as foreground light and then the right side one is higher and still lights up the road ahead very well. The interesting part is this: BMW equipped th
e car with "bending" light. The lamps move left-right with the steering wheel.
It features a huge panoramic sunroof. How it works is that there are two panels (front and rear). The huge sunshade is power operated and slides all the way back. Then, the glass panels can both be tilt-vented or the front one can slide under the rear one (however the rea
r one doesn't slide). But the front one alone is quite large.
The cockpit is standard BMW. This X3 has climate control, which is optional on the 2.5 and standard on the 3.0. The sound system seems better than the system in the 328Ci. It has DSC, hill descent control, heated seats, and a button for the tire pressure monitoring system.
Now this is the standard 2.5 engine (not the 3.0) with the automatic and Steptronic. Compared to the 328Ci, it's not as fast, but not pokey either),because of about 10 less HP and quite a bit extra weight. However, it's perfectly fine for most driving. The Steptronic in this one I think shifts even smoother than in the 328Ci. Engine noise is louder and not as well stifled, but it's still smooth as any BMW six.
Handling is excellent. Feels just like the 328Ci. Little/no dive during braking and little/no roll in cornering.
Ride is nearly the same, but is sometimes bouncier. Drove down this one road where it's cement slabs and at every joint between them there's a bump that was a lot more noticeable in the X3 than in the 328Ci. This is probably due to the run-flat tires. The X3 also has a Sport suspension and tire package that this one didn't have and I'd probably stay away from it... I wouldn't want it to be any firmer than what it is now.
Interior plastics are mostly good where they're visible, but the cheap plastic is down in the footwells and in other places that you don't notice until you look there. My only gripe on the interior is that in this price range, I think I want chrome interior door latch handles. I don't want a lot of chrome... just a touch would be nicer than the black plastic ones it has now.
I currently drive a 1991 GTI that's my commuter car and a 2000 Eurovan that's my weekend errand car. The X3 could be a good compromise to eventually replace both... sporty like the GTI yet carries a decent amount of stuff (although of course never as much as the Eurovan could). As much as I love my Eurovan, it never could be my only car because it's still too big to be "tossable" even though it drives well "for a van". The X3 though
is what one would get if the GTI and Eurovan were averaged into one vehicle.
I estimate this X3 stickered at $39,570 judging by its equipment. This one is a base 2.5i with the following options:
- Premium Package
- Cold Weather Package
- Xenon headlamps
- Cargo net
- Privacy glass
- Steptronic automatic
- Premium sound (not sure)
If I were to build my own, I'd ditch the cold weather package and Steptronic (I'd keep the six-speed manual) and add in premium sound and floor mats for a total of $38,298.
Would a VW guy want a Touareg instead? The X3 and Touareg, while priced similarly, aren't competitors. The T-reg is an X5 competitor (and is favorably priced when compared to the X5) because it's closer to the X5 in size and design. This is a car-based vehicle and VW has no direct competitor (yet?). I do agree that the X3 can look a little cheap. I first saw them at the auto show earlier this year and just shrugged it off... didn't impress. But maybe it was the interior or exterior color or whatever or maybe since this one is in our driveway... who knows... but I'm diggin' the X3 a lot more now than I did at the auto show.
I think the T-reg is nice and if you're into the most bang for the buck, then yes it's the better deal for sure. But if you want something that still kinda feels like a slightly enlarged 5-door hatchback Golf, then the X3 is the one to choose. I doubt the T-reg is going to feel like the (relatively) light and nimble vehicle the X3 is.
Back to the X3 again... three things I forgot to mention. The tailpipes could use chromed tips... they're plain metal right now. Nothing ricey... just something to brighten them up a little and make them look "finished". And the interior unfortunately (at least on this one) has a few rattles that shouldn't be there... the car has only 600 miles on it. It's not real bad, but I expect it to be more vault-like silent at this point. And I think I'd move the side blinkers to the mirrors too.
Overall, we're liking this little "sport activity vehicle" (as BMW calls it). I now more or less agree... it's not really a SUV because it's on a car-derived chassis and is basically an AWD car with a big 5-door hatchback body. Given that I hate SUVs, I think I could convince myself that I wouldn't be driving an actual SUV with this car.
So who knows... in 2-3 years I might be driving one of these. Right now I love my GTI and EV too much to give them up.
P.S. And we went and drove a 3.0 X3 6-speed today as well and liked it. I wanted to try the 2.5 w/6-speed but the dealer didn't have any.
Power was as I expected. Didn't feel drastically faster than the 2.5 auto, so I can't say how much of it was due to the larger engine or the manual trans or combo of both. However, the 3.0 was quieter for sure (but again... most engines I've driven in recent memory always sound grouchier when teamed with an auto, so again I'm not sure if the quieter engine was due to the engine itself or the manual transmission). This one also didn't rattle inside as much as our "weekend" X3 does.
The 3.0 we drove was equipped similarly as I would equip it and it was just over $41K. Now that I see that price and a 2.5 equipped as I'd like it is just over $38K, I might be convinced to pony up the extra $3K for the 3.0. But I'd have to drive the 2.5 6-speed to be sure.
