Reader Review: 2015 BMW X3 28i - If you've been around long enough automotive journalism (and long enough, I mean like three month...
If you've been around long enough automotive journalism (and long enough, I mean like three months in total), you'll begin to realize that many press vehicles driving are not indicative of what most people are actually buying. Most test vehicles have five digits of an options value, with features that at most, an automotive journalist will spend about 50 words. Meanwhile, on land across the country, most dealers probably have one or two very busy cars that end up being greatly reduced towards the end of the quarter.
My experience optioned cars full press had to do with a BMW 335i xDrive Gran Turismo silver medal at a local automotive journalist event. While the car's base price was $ 47,775, this car had almost $ 12,000 in options, or enough to buy an M3 E36 in good condition. "Let's give him the most powerful engine, all-wheel drive, the Dynamic Handling package and M Sport package" of the person in charge of the configuration of the 3-Series GT must have thought, "the least automotive journalists will say he treated very well and forget style. "This car was even HUD and $ 650 million brakes sport.
even when I was looking for test drives online X3 I good majority were reviewed by the powerful xDrive35i version, or for the new model diesel. So when I had access to an X3 xDrive28i 2015 for a few days, I jumped at the chance to write a review about it, because it was the version most purchased X3 buyers.
Now this 2015 BMW X3 xDrive28i that I am writing about is not a designated vehicle for the press people. in fact, it belongs to my father, and then he chose the color combination I chose most of the options. therefore, I can not blame anyone characteristics of press vehicles from BMW. So the fact that he has no navigation system, which saves me a paragraph describing? My fault. what he did not heated seats? My lapse. The fact that he does not have parking sensors and a rearview camera? My fault. The fact that I still do not know what the $ 500 option "Enhanced USB / Bluetooth with Smartphone Integration" made? I really need to get on it.
Concerning the things I am proud, it is the color of the exterior and interior color Oyster Deep Blue Sea. (A quick note on the Oyster leather: it's surprisingly easy to spot, so be careful when you wear jeans or leaving a pen on the seat.) It also has the Premium Package with a massive sunroof and Trespass key, xenon headlights, and Harman / Kardon audio system. And it was all available at an MSRP south of $ 50K.
Before you read the rest of the exam, you might think, " He must have recommended this car to his father if he is writing about it! This is going to be quite a love story on the X3! "Believe it or not, I recommend the Jeep Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel as well equipped came easily under $ 50,000, got a good gas mileage, and I thought handled very well for its size. But my father drove and rejected as too large.
Other cars were considered Lexus RX ( mom-ish too Football ), Toyota 4Runner ( too truck-ish ), Toyota Highlander ( this is to replace the minivan ). The Mercedes GLK, Audi Q5 and Range Rover Evoque were rejected as my father is a BMW person. (For background, the man kept an E39 530i running for 13 years, which is two more than the 190 Agreement, he had.) I do not think he led one of these alternatives, and I have done, I will definitely not going to say that the X3 is the best of all these alternatives.
First, I will focus on the interior, which is about the same size as the inside of the first-generation X5. It is a nice place with accents of chrome and wood accents in the right places. Inside Oyster also help considerably. The cup holders are used, which is important from a car in which the two cup holders (if you can call them) are broken. The panoramic sunroof is part of the Premium package was great for panoramic pictures while driving on Highway 1. In fact, the X3 was able to easily hold five adults and their luggage for a weekend. In addition, Harmon / Kardon audio system is a very good upgrade from the normal sound system.
However, if you are over 6 '3 ", 0 pounds, and may need a third seat, don' t consider the X3. Otherwise, when you sit in the driver's seat, your head will hit the ceiling and you'll probably find the seat not wide enough. Also, while I wrote in the last paragraph that the X3 could accommodate 3 adults of normal size, make sure that the total weight does not exceed 500 pounds. And if you're a family of four taking their dog with them on road trips, the X3 is not your car.
Although the list of options is long, there are surprisingly (for BMW) a lot of functionality standards. The storage package which comprises cargo nets, a foldable cargo box, and a reversible mat is standard. So is the automatic control of the temperature. Even the ambient lighting is standard I was renting. The tailgate and side mirrors are electrically controlled. However, tilt and telescopic steering wheel is electrically driven, which comes from the 530i, was a disappointment.
Every time I talk to the outside, I usually do not focus too much on style. But the X3 was facelifted for model year 2015, with most differences being on the front clip, with headlights that connect to the grid. BMW offers two packages of appearance: the Xline package and M Sport body kit. I personally do not like the look of the set M sports (or sports packages in general), while finishing a Xline silver pieces to the wrong look-road, which does not bother me. There are also indicators on the side mirrors. One thing I liked was the outside lighting in the door handles when entering the car. BMW got ambient lighting very, very well. In addition, the X3 comes with the standard foot sensor
Performance With respect, I do X3 pushes to its limits because a) it belongs to my father, not America BMW North, and b) it has less than 1,400 miles on the clock so that the powertrain are yet to be broken in. It has an inline-four 2.0-liter turbo with a twin-scroll which makes about 240 hp. According to the BMW website, it can go from 0 to 60 mph in 6.2 seconds, which is faster than the 530i it replaces. On the road, I did complains of lack of power, even when it was fully loaded with five people. If you need something faster, the xDrive35i with 300 hp is about $ 5,000 more
I briefly played with different engine modes, which were :. Comfort, Sport and Eco Pro. Eco Pro makes rear-drive X3 and only ensures the transmission is in the highest gear possible for the best mileage. I found myself using it in situations of high traffic where the fast response of gas was not necessary. Sport mode sharpened up throttle response, but I ended up never using it and suspect most owners will not either. Usually, I drove the X3 in its default mode, Comfort, in which I did not need to press the accelerator closer to the floor and when all-wheel drive was.
For those considering the diesel version of the 2015 X3 (model xDrive28d), I consider that one too. In fact, I even put a deposit on one until we were informed that Hawaii (no kidding!) Has been awarded the latest X3 construction diesel slots for next 2014. However, since diesel is $ 1500 more expensive and the price of premium gas dropped significantly, normal xDrive28i is a viable alternative. Also, my dad test drove the diesel X3 (while I was in the back seat playing with the air inlets) and found a significant deficit of power compared to normal and noisy version lower speeds .
Ultimately, if you have $ 50,000 to spend on a five-passenger luxury crossover, you can not go wrong with the X3. When we purchased the X3 at the end of last year, it has become easier to find 7-Series in the inventory of a dealer in Northern California that any version of the X3. It was even easier to find an Audi S4 than X3. They are so popular. So BMW has to do something right with the X3 (or they are exporting more overseas for higher profits, or X4 took much of the assembly line) that people left and snapped right.
In the end, I understand why. The xDrive28i is surprisingly good price as long as you do not go overboard with the options. It handles well, can accelerate quickly, has a nice interior, has four years of maintenance, and can take a lot of cargo. My father, not me, made a great decision, and none of us have regrets. Except for "Enhanced USB / Bluetooth Integration with Smartphone" option. I still have not figured that one of
Satish Kondapavulur is a writer for Clunkerture , where about a fifth of the items are on old cars and where its unique racing Lemons dreams ended once he realized it was impossible to run a Ferrari Mondial. He still prefers the Grand Cherokee Ecodiesel.
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