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By
EWAN KENNEDY
18 December 2006
BMW has given its X3 a full-on midlife makeover, with a bolder
look, more engine power and a revamped interior.
As it approaches its fourth year on the Australian market, the
X3 – which BMW prefers to call an SAV or sports activity
vehicle, not an SUV – takes on a stronger look. Particularly at
the front where the famed ‘double-kidney’ grille is larger
than before and the foglights have been spaced further apart to
give a broader appearance.
The overall effect has been enhanced by the use of more painted
out areas at the nose of the vehicle to bring the body colour into
greater prominence and create an integrated look.
On the subject of the front foglamps, a clever feature sees
them doubling as cornering lamps. They have special reflectors
that come into play when the blinkers are used, to tighten the
angle they shine through, and thus give the driver a lighter view
around tight corners.
Inside, there are major changes to the styling of the doors,
with sweeping lines that give the X3 cabin a more modern
appearance. The excellent dash and instrument area remains
unchanged in design, but takes on styling details from the new
doors by the use of wood and aluminium trim in all versions of the
car. The latter were previously not offered on the lower-priced
variants.
Three different straight-six engines are offered in Australian
with this revamped X3; petrol units with capacities of 2.5 and 3.0
litres, and a 3.0-litre turbo-diesel. All have been revised as
part of this midlife makeover and feature more power and torque,
with the latter now being offered over a wider spread or revs.
Yet, despite the added performance, the engineers have managed
to make the engines more economical and cleaner at the same time.
BMW's X3 has seating for five people, though it’s on the
skinny side and four adults and a child makes a lot more sense.
Rear seat space is pretty good and there's no real need to move
the front seats forward to give those in the back decent legroom.
The boot is a good size and is well shaped for easy access, though
the floor is quite high so loading heavy items can involve real
labour.
Prices have increased only marginally, with rises of $500 to
$1500 depending on model. The 2.5-litre petrol X3 2.5 Si model has
a recommended retail price of $65,900 with a manual gearbox and
$68,500 as an automatic. The 3.0 Si petrol is only offered in
Australia as an auto and is priced at $73,900; the X3 3.0d diesel,
which is expected to be by far the biggest seller, isn’t a lot
more expensive at $75,900.
The BMW X3 continues to lag behind its big brother, the X5, in
sales in this country. The main reason is that Australians prefer
to get a lot of vehicle for their money, bang for their bucks, in
the automotive vernacular. In other countries the two vehicles are
virtually line ball in sales, but in Australia we buy about three
X5s to every one X3.
The upcoming BMW X5, which we have already previewed after
driving in Europe, is substantially larger than the model it
replaces, with space for seven seats if required. This creates a
much bigger size differentiation between the compact X3 and the
new X5. So BMW Australia anticipates increased interest in the
uprated X3.
Having just spent a solid 400 kilometres behind the wheel of
various versions of the improved BMW X3 during its introduction to
the press, and greatly enjoyed its on-road dynamics, we can see no
reason why the company’s wish for increased sales won’t be
realised.
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Marque Publishing Company
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