BMW X3

Introduction

The pleasurable essence of mobility lies deep in the soul of this German automaker, BMW. The prestigious brand displays its specialization with its another successor BMW X3. The car is a compact luxury crossover SUV, which premièred in September 2003 at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The company presents the crossover as a Sports Utility Vehicle which correctly represents its X-series of cars and wishes to aim a good business with a special segment of buyers that crave a stylish SUV with a heart pumping performance.

Engine, mileage and variants

The company lets you correctly define your identity with the large range of petrol and diesel engine variants to choose from. The most ferocious petrol variant namely – the BMW X3 xDrive 35i fitted with a 6-cylinder 2979cc TwinPower Turbo engine with TwinScroll turbocharger and Valvetronic technology, amazes you with a power output of 306 hp between 5800 to 6400 rpm and a torque output of 400Nm between 1200 to 5000 rpm. These technologies along with the xDrive projects the car readily to a speed of 100 km in 5.6 sec and keeps the fuel consumption well in boundaries with a economy of 8.3 l/100km. The most dynamic diesel variant available for the car is BMW X3 xDrive30d, which extracts its power from 2993 cc TwinPower diesel engine with common rail direct injection (CRDI), multi stage turbo-charging and variable turbine geometry. This engine churns out a maximum power of 258hp at 4000 rpm and a torque of 560Nm between 1500 to 3000 rpm.

Exterior

The exterior designers doesn't leave any loop holes with the superfluous styling of the car. The car surely fetches many fascinating glances for you with each road experience. Owing to its dazzling adaptive LED headlights, signature radiator grille, dominating and robust front bumper design and the flowing bonnet design the car features a commanding and impressive front look. The expressive aerodynamic side lines, stylish rear lamps and the well tweaked rear bumper design of the car correctly hints the sportiness of the SUV. The other worth mentioning feature is the spectacular 17 and 18 inch light alloy wheel designs, which accentuates the side look of the car. The car is also dimensioned precisely to look wide and robust with dimensions reading 4657mm x 1881mm x 1678mm (L x W x H).

Interior

The cabins of the car pours all the possible comfort and pleasure for you to enjoy. The driver is gifted with a purely ergonomically designed cockpit integrated with features like leather-wrapped multifunctional steering wheel, navigation system with built-in 8.8-inch LCD colour display with split screen function and well-configured instrument panel. Feel the essence of sportiness enveloped in comfort with the leather trimmed elevated seats and get mesmerized by the divine ambience fetched by the optional Harman Kardon Surround system with 16 speakers and the efficient air conditioning system. To fill your glass full with delight the cabins are also provided with a cargo space of 550 litres.

Safety, braking and miscellaneous

The comfortable and delightful interiors of the luxury compact SUV are safe too, thanks to the engineers for installing an extensive list of required safety features along with the safety assists. This safety features includes the precise braking assists like the ABS (Antilock Braking System) and EBD (Electronic Brake Assist), warning systems like the camera-based Lane Departure Warning, Pedestrian Warning systems, City Brake Activation and the Active Cruise Control and Stop&Go function for the Steptronic transmission and the side,front and full-length curtain airbags and 3-point seatbelts. The braking system preserved for the desirable retardation of the vehicle consists of front ventilated discs and rear solid discs.

Verdict

The stylish and commanding exterior body of the X3 makes way for an appearance. The SUV is undoubtedly designed for sports and will surely please the sports loving devil in you. However, the not so competitive price of the car may trouble you a little bit.