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Old 09-19-2017, 01:10 PM   #1
robg
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 3,224
X3 28i Loaner Review

Took my 2008 X3 in for the Takata recall and got a 2017 X3 loaner.

Ok, so it's a homely beast (even ugly from some angles). This one was made worse by its non-descript bronze paint.

But what a nice place to spend time. Good visibility, comfortable seats, perfect size, very high quality interior (much better than the current 3 series) and the latest idrive is perfection. The door thunk is great--sort of a return to the way BMWs used to feel. All of the controls/buttons feel old-school German as well (that's a good thing). Click the voice button and say "take me to ...." and it gets it instantly. Better than Siri for sure. Despite having Carplay I dont think i'd ever use it w/ this system...it just works so well.

As always the turbo 4 + 8 speed combo is quick enough, and it was smoother than I'd remembered, but still shifts a bit too much and makes itself known. I'd take the 6 cyl + 6 speed auto in my current x3 any day over this. The steering is way too light (even in sport), but still better than the F30. My wife felt more strongly about it-- she really disliked the steering and described it as "loose". They don't do any engine sound augmentation in the x3 and I now realize why they do it in other models. It just sounds very wheezy and decidedly "unpremium" when accelerating. Handing wasn't good or bad- just unobtrustive.

Still, I enjoyed whipping around in this car to do errands. It'd be very easy to live with (yes, i'm getting older ). If I could score a lease on one for, say, $350 a month (highly doubtful given BMWs worsening lease programs ). maybe I'd consider it. And as far as crossovers go, I suppose this is one of the best of the bunch despite being one of the oldest. You likely have to step up to something like a Macan S to get a meaningful improvement. But they're ridiculously expensive and kind of small (so why bother with a crossover at that point). I know Audi and Volvo win all the comparison tests these days, but mostly for even better interiors/practicality. You're still stuck 4 cyl turbos unless you spend a fortune on an SQ5 (and at that point why not just get a Macan).

Getting back in my old x3 felt good though -- the seats, steering, drive-train and handling are all better. But given that it's our only car, I'd rather not spin the roulette wheel of German reliability for too much longer.
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