My personal car reviews: BMW X3 XDrive35d

From what I read about that Cummins I6, comparing it to the BMW twin turbo diesel is like comparing carbon brakes with throwing an anchor out of the window.

It has at least 6.7 liters of displacement, if I'm not mistaken, and frankly the constructors should be publically whipped for only getting so little horsepower out of it.

It's probably one of those old school diesels, that can also work as fog throwers, when you lift the foot from the accelerator ;)
 
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Yes it's stoneage and it smokes (lol). They've never heard of DPF I see.
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCNZfUO0cLY[/YOUTUBE]
 
Age or sophistication don't matter, it either is the most powerful non-commercial prodcution diesel, or it isn't. And I wonder why BMW say they have the title when they don't. The only possibility I see is that the Cummins is also being used in commercial vehicles.
 
And I wonder why BMW say they have the title when they don't. The only possibility I see is that the Cummins is also being used in commercial vehicles.

Maybe they saw the video at BMW, laughed, and simply didn't take it serious :mrgreen:

What is shown above, is not a car but a truck. And it looks like as if they planted a diesel from a WWII submarine into it and tried to make it run again after 65 years :lol:

Now I don't wanna be nitpicky, but putting an X3 in the same category, as a Dodge RAM, stretches it a bit too far in my opinion.

Anyway, next video is uploaded. And this one contains a stupid driver moment at 5:10, when I nearly crashed into a woman and her Polo:

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xwGJI6PHfs[/YOUTUBE]

Some people simply don't get the principle of priority to the right, especially when the road is full of sludge, the view is blocked by parked lorries and pure common sense should tell, that at least taking a look is recommended. But she didn't slow down and didn't even look into my direction, before I honked her.
 
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[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fp9d-Qkxjvc[/YOUTUBE]

The final video from Friday. Having fun humiliating a 328i driver :D

Edit: Hey, I dscovered a new sport with the X3. Drive to a McDonald's, wait for some chav to leave the parking lot with his pimped up 3-series, follow him to the next redlight, then degrade him :mrgreen:
 
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Acceleration was done on a wet road (naturally in the current weather conditions)
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAWVJWKocEg[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqPQ__KFCIs[/YOUTUBE]
This piece was shot while going against a stiff wind
[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4PkAPw1ULo[/YOUTUBE]

Even though the acceleration is impressive, it became clear to me, that with this engine the X3 could be even faster, if BMW would use an ultra fast 7-speed automatic of the kind Mercedes uses, instead of the one with "only" 6 gears. It wastes time between gear changes, as you can see. I reckon that with the 7-G-tronic from Mercedes, the X3 would go from 0-100 km/h in 6 seconds or maybe even a bit less than that.

Also the gearbox of the X3 is not perfectly optimized for all speeds. It's super fast until about 180 km/h, then it switches into 5th gear and immediately weakens, because the gear is too long. It switches into 6th gear at around 225 km/h under full power, which is too late. So the 5th gear is an acceleration killer. They probably did it to lower fuel consumption.

Compare this to the video I made with the Mercedes E-Class Coup? and you'll see the difference. The X3 naturally has more air drag but also 55 more HP to compensate that.
 
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Alright, the fast Autobahn run is up now. Took some time to upload, because I uploaded my driving through snowy, icy winter roads first. Posted those in the "Snow!" thread instead of here, though, since they seemed to fit better in there.

A short explanation, before anyone asks: Yes, I was driving quite fast (up to 240 km/h) and yes, we had around -5? C at the time, but the thing is, that the road maintenance had been doing a really great job that day. The road surface was only mildy moist (even dry in parts) that day and I made a few test runs, before I made the video, to make sure it's save. Actually the only problem was the huge amount of salt on the road, which was sprayed on my windscreen by other cars all the time.

And that brings me to another thing I noticed: The water tank for the windscreen washer is definitely too small. It was empty after not even half an hour under those conditions and I had to turn off the Autobahn to refill it.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MPQOYaCM3E[/YOUTUBE]

I found out, that the sensation of the actual speed is better, when the camera is turned a little to the right, so you can see the landscape (and the overtaken cars) pass on the right. A pure front view doesn't give you much of a sense of speed.

And just for the fun of it, I took a video of how the car looked after that fast Autobahn run. Who needs UV colour to make the airflow possible? Salty dirtwater does it, too. I'm glad I don't have to clean it :D

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lwl3CV364Nk[/YOUTUBE]
 
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The last video is a rather romantic drive into the sunset and concludes my review of the BMW X3. I've been driving it for 6 days now, will bring it back tomorrow.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uQs152Ls28[/YOUTUBE]

All in all I'm very impressed with this car. Not only is it really fast but also practical, roomy, comfortable, fun to drive and economical (though probably not the way I've driven it). Also it definitely is a perfect allweather car and unless you live somewhere in the wilderness and need to drive through trenches and riverbeds to get there, it's also suitable for offroad use.

My favourite car in this price range so far was the new Mercedes E-Class Coup?. But in this kind of weather we currently have, I wouldn't have wanted to drive that, not even if they paid me for it.

So here it is officially: My new favourite allround car is the BMW X3 XDrive35d. If I had the money for it now, I would buy it without thinking twice. Because I'm sure I'd have as much fun with it in summer, as I had in winter.
 
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Awesome. I say it's always very important, when picking a new car, to make sure it has a high "smile factor" which I define as having a crappy, long, annoying day at work and the car STILL puts a smile on your face when you're driving it home. Whether it's the grip, the exhaust tone, the wonderful speaker system, or a combination, smile factor is important :)

That's a stupidly crazy engine, though. I wonder if it'll fit in my Subaru...
 
Awesome photos and videos, these rental car reviews are pretty cool. :)

While the interior is nice on the X3, it's design date is clearly showing compared to its rivals. Still, it's aged pretty well. :)

Awesome. I say it's always very important, when picking a new car, to make sure it has a high "smile factor" which I define as having a crappy, long, annoying day at work and the car STILL puts a smile on your face when you're driving it home. Whether it's the grip, the exhaust tone, the wonderful speaker system, or a combination, smile factor is important :)

That's a stupidly crazy engine, though. I wonder if it'll fit in my Subaru...

Very good words to live (or pick out cars :p ) by!
 
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You can tell how much I like this car by the fact, that it is still outside. I have it for 10 days now. But tomorrow means parting :(

I have a feeling we'll meet again, though, in the future...
 
Short update on the subject: By coincidence I currently have the very same car again over the weekend. It now has 21000 km on its odometer (had about 6500, when I had it over Christmas) and it still looks, feels and drives the same. There still are no rattling noises, no fizzing or other signs of bad build quality at all.
 
nice I'd love to pick up an X3 as a DD
 
I miss your reviews. When are we gonna see a new one?
 
The weather prevented any reviews. No use to rent a car for fun, when the roads are constantly snowy and slick.

I had the X3 again in January and now again this weekend. Perfect car for winter roads.

But expect some new reviews again, when Spring is showing its lovely face :)

As a matter of fact, next week I'm getting an E-Class but for a change I really need it for a longer trip :D So I don't know, if I will get to make a review with pics and vids and all. I demanded the Merc, because they're simply my favourites for long distance travelling: Best seats, best ride comfort, best cruise control and best sat nav.
 
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A review it is then. Feeling the pressure on your shoulders? :D
 
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