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The BMW X3 received a lukewarm response when it was first lunched due to over inflated prices and underwhelming material quality. BMW is aiming to take on the critics with a revised X3 which is bigger and plusher with the aim of stealing buyers from strong competitors such as the Audi Q5.
As soon as you get in the new X3 it becomes apparent that a real effort has been made to increase the perceived quality. With more liberal use of soft-to-touch materials and standard leather seats, the BMW can now justify its price tag. In addition anyone familiar with the old model will notice that interior space has been boosted too.
Once you get on the move there is more good news with revisions to the suspension improving the ride quality and excellent fuel economy thanks to the combination of an efficient 2-litre turbodiesel engine and the EfficientDynamics treatment. Both the 6-speed manual and 8-speed automatic achieve the same average fuel economy but the automatic has slightly lower CO2 emissions thanks to better urban fuel economy. If you spend more time out of town the manual is a better bet and it’s cheaper too.
The new BMW X3 does answer many of the shortcomings of the original model and is also very efficient given its size and performance. A well rounded package.
