In a world of inept SUV owners driving vanity projects that are little more than bulked-up hatchbacks, BMW’s latest version of the X3 is the real deal
THE SNOW may have caused havoc on our roads and a Christmas boom for panel beaters, but it also reminded us of the usefulness of the SUV. It was as if, just as the Celtic Tiger had transmogrified into what one economist described last week as the fat and lazy Celtic Garfield, nature was reminding us not to throw away all the trinkets of the fickle feline era.
Amid the snow drifts the SUV started to prove its worth. At least for those who bothered to learn how to make use of it. Sadly, many of the SUV drivers here rarely did.
The sight of behemoths of four-wheel drives – capable of crossing the Serengeti without a second thought or bounding over Machu Picchu as if it were a molehill – slipping and sliding their way at 10km/h down Dorset St was frankly a pitiful sight.
These great motoring beasts and engineering feats were being hobbled by their Irish owners. It proved one thing: the majority of the Irish buyers of even the most able SUVs never gave a second thought to finding out how to use the technology to hand, or even to browse through the handbook. Wasteful excess symbolised by an SUV sitting sideways, looking into a Spar full of startled customers with its owner cowering behind the wheel. What a nob nation we lived in by the end.
Yet it’s wrong to tar the technology with the same fecklessness of the owners. For, if you ignore the vanity project versions of these cars which are little more than bulked up hatchbacks, the four-wheel-drive versions serve a useful purpose. They tow, pull and drag their rural owners around in a comfort that’s matched with capability. Of course there’s no need for them in Ballsbridge on a summer’s afternoon, but what about Belmullet in January? How happy would you be to have downsized to a Kia Picanto as you dug yourself out of the latest snowdrift?
The point is that the technology serves a purpose – it’s just that many of the owners don’t bother to find out what or buy the car for that reason.
The BMW X3 is a case in point. Introduced as the shrunken version of the smart-looking X5, it was designed to feed the needs of 3-Series owners who wanted to join the SUV set. They were doing so not because of fears of climate change and expectations of freezing winters, but because it was de rigueurto look rugged.
The original X3 was never the farmer’s favourite. It was not the rugged all-rounder whose name would drop from your tongue the moment a bit of snow falls. The good news is that this latest version is suddenly the real deal.
In terms of space, the X3 is more than capable of taking four tall adults on a long trek. Headroom is impressive, while rear seat legroom has adults in mind. The only limitation might be that the car is not as wide as you might expect, so three adults across the back can be a little cramped. For the all-important school run, however, three scholars on the rear bench is not going to be an issue. Bootspace is as good as you’d expect, although the car is quite high so it will involve a degree of lifting. It also doesn’t quite match the Volvo XC60 with the rear seats up.
The styling is very much in line with the X5 range, and where once the X3 looked a little like the runt of an X5 night of passion with a 3-Series, the latest version is every bit the fully-fledged SUV. It’s strikingly like the original X5, but for significantly fewer euro. It looks the real deal and delivers on the road as well.
BMW has always tended towards on-road ability with its SUVs and the X3 is no exception. Clearly the engineers were briefed to focus on making this relatively high-set model handle with the dexterity of a regular saloon and in that regard they’ve done a good job. The grip, particularly on the winter tyres fitted to the test car, was simply phenomenal. The combination of four-wheel drive and winter tyres meant we had the best of all worlds in the worst of the Irish weather.
When we first drove this car back in warmer climes in October, we traversed a course that would have barely challenged a 1-Series yet the winter weather of recent weeks provided us with a much more challenging course for this car. It responded with aplomb.
The only time the X3 got out of shape was in an empty parking lot, completely covered in sheet ice, which was impassable on foot. Even when the vehicle did slide out of shape, it was only when we forced it to do so.
It still feels heavier than for example a 3-Series, particularly with the manual transmission version feeling a little clunky, but with the automatic box (for an extra €2,246) it’s a far smoother package. It’s also slightly more efficient, in terms of fuel economy and emissions, than the manual.
It’s a big car to be pushed along with a 2-litre diesel engine but it never felt underpowered, although in fairness we were not pushing it hard on the slippery roads.
The biggest boon with the X3 is the price and the emissions – the latter aided greatly by the start-stop system that prevents wasteful idling when stopped in traffic. At €302 in motor tax a year, it’s a very competitive offering, particularly when you consider it offers four-wheel drive.
Most of its rivals with emissions at this level have had to drop down to two-wheel drive to keep that sort of company on the motor tax table.
Last December you would have paid €57,538 to pick up a 2-litre diesel X3 in SE specification. Today, you are looking at €45,810 for the new, more spacious and frankly much better version. That’s a whopping price difference for a much better car.
Factfile
Engine1,995cc turbo diesel putting out 184bhp and 380Nm of torque
Performance0-100km/h in 8.5 seconds
SpecificationsDSC including ABS and DTC (dynamic traction control), cornering brake control, dynamic brake control, rain brake support, hill-start assistant, hill descent control; front, side and head airbags sensors; tyre-defect indicator. Options include automatic transmission (€2,246); front sports seats (€646), Bluetooth connectivity with USB audio (€879)
L/100km (mpg)combined 5.6 (50.4)
Emissions(motor tax) 147g/km (€302)
Price €45,810 (test car with auto €51,398)