[pk1972]

Thank you for the beautiful review of an awesome car. Please keep writing especially the long trips.

[Maverick_4662]

Congratulations on the fabulous purchase and for achieving your dream! I could feel the excitement and joy all throughout the post. The X3 is an amazing all round vehicle , and having the same powertrain in my 3GT, I agree that the 2.0 diesel+ ZF 8 speed is an absolute joy to use! Wish you many many miles of safe ownership and joy. Welcome to the BMW Family!

[Thegermanbadger]

Lovely review and congratulations on the beauty.

I love the x3 and have the older f25 3.0d. Its a brilliant car and the perfect size and drives absolutely beautifully.

I love the new one but only wish they still had the 3 liter engine options.

Wish you many happy miles.

Cheers

[drjaygoyal]

I bought my X3 in Jan 2019 and have driven it 28000+ kms since then.

It is an absolute pleasure to drive.

Perfect blend of luxury and driving dynamics.

Unfortunately haven’t been able to take it out if Mumbai yet.

All the 28k odd kms have been in crazy Mumbai traffic moving at snail’s pace.

I still get a respectable 9-10 kmpl.

The diesel torque to amazing especially in Sports mode.

Am leaving for my 1st road trip for Goa on Saturday. Will keep you guys updated on how my experience was.

Cheers

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

When you select the Sport mode using the button, it is the engine, the steering and the suspension that changes to sport setting. But the gearbox still remains in D, unless you specifically put it in it's own Sport setting by physically moving the gear lever to S.

Does it not (Sport Mode) take the gear shift points much higher in the rpm range? Its almost unusable in the City other than for traffic light darts.

I don't remember this too well. Using the Sport Mode setting also results in the cruising rpm to sit >2000rpm whereas Comfort is <2000rpm in high gear. Basically keeps the engine on edge versus Comfort, which is a lot less aggressive (by design).

[shiva75]

Thank you for sharing your experience with the X3. I own a X1 msport 2019 model and am very happy with the vehicle. I recently drove from Bangalore to Kanniyakumari and back and it was a breeze. I have been considering an upgrade to the X3 but noticed in your review that some of the basics even at that price point are missing such as keyless entry , 360 degree camera , ventilated seats , apple car play covering part of the screen etc. I see these missing in my X1 but did not expect them to be missing in the X3.

My only bane with my msport is the stiff ride and it literally thuds into the smallest of potholes and passengers do not feel comfortable in the car. What has been your experience on the comfort side ? While driving dynamics are excellent , is your family comfortable too? Would like to hear back from this forum.

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Does it not (Sport Mode) take the gear shift points much higher in the rpm range? Its almost unusable in the City other than for traffic light darts.

I don't remember this too well. Using the Sport Mode setting also results in the cruising rpm to sit >2000rpm whereas Comfort is <2000rpm in high gear. Basically keeps the engine on edge versus Comfort, which is a lot less aggressive (by design).

I know I'm comparing apples to oranges but in my 330i, Sport+ mode is unusable in city traffic. I usually stick to Comfort or Sport depending on the traffic flow and my mood.

Sport gearbox mode is addictive but as you say, it keeps the revs high and adds an edgy side to the already potent combo. I love the "shift shock" in the Sport gearbox mode

[CosmicWizard]

Originally Posted by shiva75

Thank you for sharing your experience with the X3. I own a X1 msport 2019 model and am very happy with the vehicle. I recently drove from Bangalore to Kanniyakumari and back and it was a breeze. I have been considering an upgrade to the X3 but noticed in your review that some of the basics even at that price point are missing such as keyless entry , 360 degree camera , ventilated seats , apple car play covering part of the screen etc. I see these missing in my X1 but did not expect them to be missing in the X3.

My only bane with my msport is the stiff ride and it literally thuds into the smallest of potholes and passengers do not feel comfortable in the car. What has been your experience on the comfort side ? While driving dynamics are excellent , is your family comfortable too? Would like to hear back from this forum.

In the latest X3 (with idrive 7), airplay does cover the entire screen. Ride quality is stiff though, thanks to the RFTs and the big 19inch wheels with relatively lower profile tyres. Switching to regular tubeless should make a difference for both X3 and X1, I believe.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

Does it not (Sport Mode) take the gear shift points much higher in the rpm range? Its almost unusable in the City other than for traffic light darts.

Actually what I meant was the sports mode of the engine+steering (selected using the mode selector switch). This does not change the gear shift points (as far as I understand). I leave the gear lever in D and change the Sports mode on the mode selector to make the throttle response quite sharp and also the steering sharp. This is how I drive the car most of the time.

The gear shifts are changed only if you move the gear lever to S. That would shift the gears at much higher RPMs and this could be unusable in the city as you mentioned. However, I rarely use this mode of the gearbox. For my driving style, even on open highways, I find the default setting of the ZF8 gearbox even in "D" to be quite perfect. I have never felt the need to shift the gearbox to S.

[mobike008]

Congratulations and welcome to the beautiful and exciting world of BMW's. Like you, I am also a first time owner (I have the X3 M40i) and now it makes sense why BMW's are so popular, exciting and known to be an "Ultimate Driving Machine"

You can check out my review, if you'd wish

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ml#post4990969

Originally Posted by worldcrawler

[center]BMW X3 (G01) xDrive 20d Luxury Line

Things I rave about

• The drive quality! That smooth free revving engine and fast Zf unit is pleasure to use.
• The adaptive dampers offers just the perfect tune for our not so perfect roads.
• Extremely well controlled NVH!
• I absolutely love the Adaptive LED headlight units, they make a huge difference in night driving.
• The climate control works like charm! Offers great level of fine controls too.
• Looks, road presence and opulence. G01 X3 has the perfect mix of size, aggression and dynamics.
• 16 driver 600 watt fabulous audio setup by Harman!!!
• Wireless CarPlay works like charm.
• The iDrive unit is second to none. Plethora of input options - Touch Screen, Steering mounted controls and the best, Rotary iDrive controller.
• Just the right mix of Technology and Luxury, both not intruding to each other!
• Extremely well designed instrument cluster, to me, this is the best digital cockpit iteration.
• Reliability!! After 2 years and almost 20k kms, I swear by the reliability and fuss free ownership experience of G01 X3.

Things I crib about

• In a 75L + OTR car, missing Keyless entry is unbelievable. BMW does offer Comfort access for X3 in some markets but strangely not here!
• Service duration of 10k kms! Why BMW?
• No Lumber support adjustment at this price segment, really?
• Dummy buttons even at this price?
• No height adjustable seat belts?
• Too aggressive auto start/stop is on by default, it irritates me too the core.
• Gloss black panels in the centre console, accumulates dust and already prone to scratches!
• These Bridgestone RFTs are vocal at expressway speeds.
• No full screen CarPlay! It's a shame not to use that great 10.25" infotainment real estate.
• Noisy blower at full speed. Spoils the otherwise premium experience.
• Limited boot space. That parcel tray holder impacts luggage carrying capability.
• That constant chime beyond 120 kmph.

A wonderful and long list of Positives and Negatives and I fully concur with some comments from my end.

a) CarPlay is an amazing and mandatory addition to BMW. It's beautifully seamless and works like a charm as you said. But, the irritating part is if someone else enters the car before me (usually my wife) and her iPhone gets connected and I need to press a few buttons to get back to my iPhone to be reconnected. It's a small irritant but, it's there for sure.

b) Upgrade to iD7, you entire screen should display the Apple Maps. Also, hope you get the maps both on your HUD as well as instrument console?

c) It's a pity Google Maps don't get displayed on HUD. BMW is partial to Tim Cook. Wish they add Google Maps in near future.

From the list of negatives, US version has all these features and surprised for a car this expensive they don't have it for Indian consumers.

Also, in US the X3 is the largest selling vehicle for BMW and is their bread and butter product. However, for US standards, this is a mid size SUV and looks small. But, I love it for its small size and the mind numbing agility.

Completed 8500 miles (14,000kms) in 9 months and every mile feels like being on a roller coaster ride (from an excitement perspective).

Cheers and Goodluck on your ownership !!!

[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by mobike008

A wonderful and long list of Positives and Negatives and I fully concur with some comments from my end.


b) Upgrade to iD7, you entire screen should display the Apple Maps. Also, hope you get the maps both on your HUD as well as instrument console?

From the list of negatives, US version has all these features and surprised for a car this expensive they don't have it for Indian consumers.

Also, in US the X3 is the largest selling vehicle for BMW and is their bread and butter product. However, for US standards, this is a mid size SUV and looks small. But, I love it for its small size and the mind numbing agility.

Completed 8500 miles (14,000kms) in 9 months and every mile feels like being on a roller coaster ride (from an excitement perspective).

Cheers and Goodluck on your ownership !!!

Oh come on man, you're just rubbing it in for us by talking about the US spec features

Sorry to say but cars with iDrive 6 CANNOT be upgraded with just software to iDrive 7. Hardware is totally different

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

Sorry to say but cars with iDrive 6 CANNOT be upgraded with just software to iDrive 7. Hardware is totally different

Shucks! I wasn't aware of that? They should make these basic features available through over the air downloads with no dependency on hardware.

Now I get it, I thought it's a new X3 but, it's 2 years old and assuming it's a 2018 model and those came with ID6.

[Santoshbhat]

Wonderful review! Congratulations on your new X3 and drive safe. Like all BMWs, the X3 also has become more luxurious with this new generation.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Actually what I meant was the sports mode of the engine+steering (selected using the mode selector switch). This does not change the gear shift points (as far as I understand). I leave the gear lever in D and change the Sports mode on the mode selector to make the throttle response quite sharp and also the steering sharp. This is how I drive the car most of the time.

The gear shifts are changed only if you move the gear lever to S. That would shift the gears at much higher RPMs and this could be unusable in the city as you mentioned. However, I rarely use this mode of the gearbox. For my driving style, even on open highways, I find the default setting of the ZF8 gearbox even in "D" to be quite perfect. I have never felt the need to shift the gearbox to S.

In my X3 diesel (F25 30d), the Sports mode via the drive mode selector is configurable with 3 options. Drivetrain/ Chassis/ Drivetrain + Chassis.

If only drivetrain is selected, I believe it turns on an aggressive engine map + makes the throttle respond faster to inputs (in comfort it feels lazy to respond and almost a bit laggy), raises idle + cruising rpm a bit higher + pushes the shift points a bit higher in the rev range.

If only chassis is selected, it stiffens the adaptive dampers + stiffens steering + makes the brakes feel a bit more aggressive.

If drivetrain + chassis is selected, it does all of the above.

Sports+ mode is non configurable and basically it is a full sports mode (with drivetrain +chassis setting) in addition to turning DSC to DTC (Dynamic traction control). DTC basically turns down stability control a notch so that ESC does not cut in quickly and allows for more driver control. To be honest I haven't felt any difference being in DSC or DTC mode.

My car does not have an individual mode where it allows each parameter to be individually turned on or off.

Transmission sports mode (pushing lever to the left towards S)is independent of all the above. It does two things, raises shift points further and noticiably increases shift speed. It almost feels like a dual clutch in this mode and power loss in between shifts is minimal. Ideal for traffic light drags and times when you want to outrun a challenger

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

Transmission sports mode (pushing lever to the left towards S)is independent of all the above. It does two things, raises shift points further and noticiably increases shift speed. It almost feels like a dual clutch in this mode and power loss in between shifts is minimal. Ideal for traffic light drags and times when you want to outrun a challenger

Totally agree! Addictive to say the least. I always feel disappointed to revert to Comfort

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

I leave the gear lever in D and change the Sports mode on the mode selector to make the throttle response quite sharp and also the steering sharp. This is how I drive the car most of the time.

I did try this out. It did take the shift points higher in the rpm range, even though the gear stick was in D. Rpm at 50-55kmph was ~2100rpm in Sport versus 1200 +/- 100rpm in Comfort. This was 100% city cycle.

I switch to D/S on the gear stick when I go up or down a hill. Allows the engine to brush the redline and will hold gear when coming down a hill. That is my usual circuit and the only opportunity to redline the car or bike.