BMW X3 2.0d > Reviews (3)

I liked the X5 and thought I'd have a look at the new X3 2.0d SE as its fairly economical on paper.

After spending some time with the X3 and driving it I came to the conclusion that its a rather bland and boring car. Its far to low to be a serious 4x4 and no where near an Audi estate or even a 5 series.

Inside you do get good equipment though: Many airbags - Driver and front passenger airbags with IDA? (impact-depending airbag system), front seat occupancy detector, Head airbag front and rear, Side airbags at the front for driver and front passenger. If you had a serious accident and all the airbags went off I think you'd all get squashed into to middle, bang heads and get injured that way.

The interior feels cheap (but the price isn't) and not like the BMW's of the past. The dash layout is standard (Instrument panel with round speedometer and rpm dials, fuel gauge and coolant temperature gauge) but the plastics used look and feel of a lower quality than you'd expect from BMW. Dash is in a dark grey that just looks dated. Small glove compartment (for gloves) which is illuminated and lockable.

The Radio and single CD player is the standard BMW one - nothing special here.

This car has so many sensors that I'd be worried that when the warranty is up its all going to fail : Central locking with electronic immobiliser, crash sensors, fuel tank filler flap integrated into the central locking, seat sensors, brake sensors, ...

The ride : Not bad. Fairly nimble but don't expect any rapid velocity, if you want that look at a proper car and not a 4x4. Because this car has Anti-roll bars front and rear the ride is stable to firm. Dynamic Stability Control, Hill Descent Control (HDC), Park Distance Control (PDC) front and rear (more sensors!)

Brakes - Very good. Disc brakes at the front, inner-vented.

Off road : I wouldn't want to take my new X3 offroading. Poor ground clearance for a 4x4 and the standard tyres would get you into trouble very fast.

The steering wheel housed the cruise control, which I hated and found did not always engage?

The Six-speed manual gearbox is nice and probably the best thing about this car. On a long run I think it would come into its own, delivering good fuel economy and a fairly smooth gear change. The gearing is a little short at low speeds but once you get used to it its ok.

The Automatic air conditioning which has a microfilter system, condensation and solar sensor. The one I test drove wouldn't turn off and tried to freeze us.

In the back : Rear seat bench which is foldable and 60:40 dividable. Centre armrest which includes two cup holders and storage compartment, integrated head rest, ISOFIX Child seat fastenings. There is plenty of room here for three. However, if these three were kids I'm not sure if the plastic and fabrics would last long.
The luggage compartment has a cheap textile lining, load capacity is up to 1,560 litres which is not bad. But the ride would suffer is loaded up with heavy stuff.

Exterior : Wing mirrors are electrically adjustable and heated.

Colour coded door handles, ... Fog lights, Follow-me-home function. But nothing special !!

There are a good choice of colours, most of which are metallic: Metallic Black Sapphire, Bluewater, Flamenco Red, Metallic Highland Green, Metallic Mocha Brown, Metallic Mystic Blue, Metallic Silver Grey, Metallic Titanium Silver, Solid Alpine White, Solid Jet Black.

Don't go for the solid white, it looks bad, real bad !

Then you get to the BMW options! This is where they make the serious money. The X3 being a soft-offroader with the BMW badge attracts all the fashion options.
Adaptive headlights £270.00, Alloy wheels, Aluminium running board £205.00, Auto dimming interior mirror £145.00, navigation system £1425.00, Detachable tow bar £510.00, Electric front seats with driver's memory £820.00, Floor mats £75.00!!, Luggage compartment net £95.00, leather Upholstery £1125.00, ...

Summary: Personally, I didn't like itmuch at all. It was a little to soft for me, plus the plastics and general tacky build quality just don't seem worth the money this car would have cost. The X3 2.0d SE I was looking at was just over £30k.