Heralded as the new concept Sports Activity Vehicle the BMW X3 looks like a slightly smaller version of the X5. The cabin is nearly as roomy, it weighs quarter of a ton less and is deceptively agile on paved roads.
Off road, despite some hype particularly in the US press, it quickly becomes a semi-permanent feature of the desert landscape. It looks sporty, dives well but lacks the crude and simple combination of human skill and a direct drive to dig itself out of sand.
Being an IT dinosaur, I am deeply suspicious of technology that thinks for me and removes control from me while I am driving. The X3 has lots, in the form of “xDrive.”
On soft sand, the “intelligent” xDrive computerized traction control system that distributes power to the wheels went on strike. Full throttle, in gear with all wheels stationary is an odd experience. Off-roader for the desert, the X3 is not.
BMW’s new xDrive is a single-speed torque-transfer coupling with a microchip-administered multiplate clutch pack that constantly varies engine thrust between the front and rear axles from 100 percent rear to 50/50.
On the highway as a smart, very agile and forgiving car that in spite of — nay, because of the electronics — the X3 allows the driver to feel he is driving a quality car in comfort and safety. The electronics respond very quickly when driving on road surfaces, often before the wheels begin to lose their grip. As the X3 turns into a corner, the clutches deliver more engine output to the rear axle. This frees up the front tires to concentrate on turning the car. The X3’s rack steering has a slightly distant feel, but the car turns crisply and without the understeer that plagues most four-wheel-drives.
Electronics also account for why it sits motionless in soft sand where there is almost no grip. However, when the car was delivered, we were told that it was not designed as a rufty-tufty off-roader, but for a market that would use it for 80 percent of the time on hard roads. Fair enough. Put the X3 onto a solid surface covered with sand however, and try as hard as you like to get rooster-tails by accelerating hard, and all you get is grip, lots of grip. The traction control simply will not allow wheel-spin. In hard cornering on the same surface, push the car until you feel it has to slide or try to fish-tail it, and again you experience traction control at its best.
In Saudi Arabia, where wind-blown sand is a real and present danger on highways, the sure footedness of the X3 is a tangible bonus.
Coupled with the antilock brakes and proportional power steering, it is probably as safe as you are going to get in a road vehicle.
The ‘downhill button’ is an eccentric device. “Press the button and only touch the steering wheel,” was the advice given on delivery, “the car does the rest.” On a 20 percent slope it reduced the down-hill progress to 4 kph with grindings and judderings from the ABS braking system. Nanny-engineering gone mad! Off the road, it probably works a dream, but off-road on steep desert terrain is not the place to be in the X3.
Powered by the same 225-hp, 3.0-liter inline six as the X5 3.0i, it has to work hard to move the car at respectable speeds. Under even moderate acceleration, it is audible from inside, though not oppressively so. Zero to 80 kph in under 8 seconds and a standing quarter-mile in around 16 seconds terminating at 130 kph shows that the X3 is no slouch.
The gear changes in full automatic were seamless on the way up, but downward changes noticeably sharper. The braking was impressive and with no hint of wander or skidding, 100kph to dead stop in under 50 meters — that’s sports car quality.
The X3’s wheelbase is about 2.5cm less than the X5’s and the overall length 10cm less, but the seating space offers more rear-seat headroom and legroom. Compared with the X5, the X3’s cargo hold is actually bigger by 30 percent with the rear seats folded (almost) flat, 26 percent with the seats up.
The same basic front-strut, multilink-rear suspension that is found on the 3 series has been hardened and grafted into the X3 with some extra structural solidity. Shod in the rear with the 45-series, W-rated rubber of the optional Sport package, the X3’s ride is hard — sometimes on surface ripples, staccato and wearing.
Interior comfort for the driver and front passenger is excellent, even though the finish — though expensive and good quality — approached the monastic in terms of aesthetics.
The slightly hard seats offer first-rate support and with the climate control in the cabin, a one-day 800-kilometer drive left the driver fresh enough to spend another 4 hours at the office.
The safety gear includes normal belts and bags, plus front and rear-seat head protection bags; front-seat-mounted, side-impact air bags; anti-skid control; anti-lock brakes.
The X3 was designed to excel on the road. The engineers were keen to keep the cornering flat and the steering sharp and, despite the X3’s height, they have largely succeeded. The way the power is constantly redistributed between front and rear wheels gives the car a confident feel.
Paved roads and hard desert tracks will be no challenge — but keep it out of the sand-pit!
