X3 3.0Sd M Sport + DMS upgrade = a car for all seasons?

[Bogracer]

I borrowed an X3 3.0Sd M Sport for the afternoon from my local main agents, expecting it to be a rubbish SUV band wagon "cash in" after my constant line of M Power cars. Hopping out of my E39 M5, even by contrast I was really impressed how quick this wagon was with the 286 BHP diesel and bundles of torque (more than an M5), the way it went around corners it felt more like an M car with 4 wheel drive grip with practically zero roll. The X drive system is brilliant, it felt like a civilized EVO 8, really engaging and fun, not inert, dull and boring like Audi's Quattro systems. It will even drift!

I think DMS upgrade on the engine would make this car amazing, I have read reports of 360BHP, 0-60 in 5.6 and 100 in 13 and still 32 average MPG!

I have been looking for a car for all seasons, a car that does everything and this X3 3.0Sd really stacks up. The new price is silly but there are loads of nearly new stuff popping up in the dealer network, saving £15,000+ and are now good value. You could spank £45,000 on a new one with choice options!

Quick
Quirky
A genuine sporting drive
Frugal
Practical
Credible
4x4
Not too big and vulgar
An estate was a bit too default (a 535d Sport would have been the choice)
A good tow car, can cope with greasy slip ways for dumping boats in the drink and pulling them out again
Some off road ability, fire tracks etc for mountain biking trips
Load lugger (babies have loads of clobber)
Suitable for long high speed road trips across Europe
Does 150 MPH
Copes well with snow, ski trips and planned trips to Norway and Poland

I am looking at getting a CSL for sparing weekend use, so I need one family car.
Does anyone else rate this in my opinion underated car or have I turned into a sad dad, with an unhealthy liking for garden sheds?

Help me!

Edited by Bogracer on Sunday 9th December 18:08

Edited by Bogracer on Tuesday 11th December 09:26

[pgilc1]

I think you either 'get' the x3 or you dont. I'd love to like them, as i'd have saved a fortune over the x5 i bought.

Not sure i would go as far as an sd, i cant see the demand being massive come resale time, thus they could have poorer residuals.

[Bogracer]

pgilc1 said:

I think you either 'get' the x3 or you dont. I'd love to like them, as i'd have saved a fortune over the x5 i bought.

Not sure i would go as far as an sd, i cant see the demand being massive come resale time, thus they could have poorer residuals.

I get the X3 I think.

The Sd M is the pick of the range, really for a Pistonhead. The twin turbo from the 335d/535d is a fantastic engine. I plan to buy high spec used/nearly new for about £28/30k, they seem to have settled at this price, so it think residuals will be good beyond the initial new hit. And we are talking about stuff that has done less than 10,000 miles.

I did look at an X5, I only have one child so it would have been overkill and believe it or not they are as big inside as the old X5. Still I guess driving an X3 sort of says you can't afford and X5 which I am going to have to live with!

Still the X3 3.0Sd + DTM tuning will rinse out all but the Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

[pgilc1]

Bogracer said:

I get the X3 I think.

The Sd M is the pick of the range, really for a Pistonhead. The twin turbo from the 335d/535d is a fantastic engine. I plan to buy high spec used/nearly new for about £28/30k, they seem to have settled at this price, so it think residuals will be good beyond the initial new hit. And we are talking about stuff that has done less than 10,000 miles.

I did look at an X5, I only have one child so it would have been overkill and believe it or not they are as big inside as the old X5. Still I guess driving an X3 sort of says you can't afford and X5 which I am going to have to live with!

Still the X3 3.0Sd + DTM tuning will rinse out all but the Porsche Cayenne Turbo.

Its the best engine, but i'm not sure its the pick of the range. Probably the 2.0d is a better all round buy - but then that comes down to boring stuff like residuals and fuel economny and how easily it will be to sell.

I dont understand why people have this perception that if you drive an x3 its because you cant afford an x5. thats like saying people drive 3 series because they cant afford a five series, which simply isnt the case. It just never did it for me - in the same way as 3 or 5 series tourings dont do it for me.

I've one of the new x5's - i bought it new three weeks ago, but that was only because the model is only out this year and there arent big savings to be made on ex demos etc, as they are still in high demand. I went for the 3.0d, though i stuck a tuning box on it to take it to around 280BHP, even though my previous car was a 535d m sport remapped to 340BHP, i just never felt the need to have an absurdly fast 4x4. But then there are people who dont see the point in buying a 535d so each to their own.

[EdR]

Bogracer said:

believe it or not they are as big inside as the old X5.

Not trying to disagree with you, but much as I am aware about how the various car magazines have talked about how the X3 is as big as the X5 inside, it really isn't - for a couple of years my wife had a 3.0i X3 and I had a 4.8is X5 at the same time, and trust me - the X5 has FAR more usable space inside. Even the boot, which is technically a smaller capacity than the X3 was far more useful in the X5 (was much wider and went back further, although not as tall as the X3). I sold my X5 as while ago, and although we still have the X3, with a second child on the way I'm going to be buying another X5, as when you have 2 tall adults in the front, and a rear facing child seat in the back the X3 is not big enough for us, whereas the X5 is.

On the other hand, the X3 is a very good car - negatives are that the suspension (oddly especially the rear) is really hard with the Sport spec, so coming down off speed bumps etc is rather jolting, and with the 5 speed auto box on the 3.0i petrol there is quite a torque hole between the gears (think the SD has a 6 speed box though, and torque shouldn't be much of an issue in that!). We took my wifes X3 on a 2000+ mile trip into France and Italy this summer, and it was actually very good indeed. The handling on them is great for a 4x4 - across the roundabouts of Milton Keynes, it is certainly more nimble than my 4.8is X5 was, and good fun to punt around a bit. The grip from the 4wd is great, and despite what Clarkson said, they CAN actually go offroad (not many of us would normally try anything more challenging on a daily basis than the Rockingham offroad course, which the X3 copes easily with, even when it has turned into a swamp - assuming it has the correct tyres on it!).

[M3_chaz]

I loved my X3 and that was only the 2.0D, it was a Co car!

I'd be happy to put my own money in a X3 although I'd go with the 3.0D M Sport. Its the sort of car I'd prob keep for a very long time.

[Ranger 6]

Bogracer said:

.....Still I guess driving an X3 sort of says you can't afford an X5 which I am going to have to live with!....

No no no no

As someone else has already said it's the difference between a 3 and a 5 - people don't accuse 3 series drivers of not being able to afford a 5 series - it's a choice of which size car you want.

Our 2.0d is great - cruises 4 up at 100mph on the autoroutes, and that's 4 up with a roof box full of ski kit - it'll also carry good speed on gravel, on the last rally 60-70mph through one stage although I've never really used it in extreme off-road conditions. I would however say that should I change it would be for a 3.0d. Personally while I would like an sd it's just too much money for my budget.

EdR said:

....with a second child on the way I'm going to be buying another X5, as when you have 2 tall adults in the front, and a rear facing child seat in the back the X3 is not big enough for us, whereas the X5 is.

I think we must have different X3s then... I find that quite strange - I can sit behind 'me' quite easily and can't believe that a 6' 2" 15st bloke is smaller than a rear facing child seat? My X3 can carry 5 adults easily - although I wouldn't want to do long distances like that!

Go-on admit it - you just want another X5

Edited by Ranger 6 on Monday 10th December 17:09

[StuB]

I'd have another X3 tomorrow if finances allowed and it'd be a DMS'd 3.0sd! I keep checking the prices on autotrader and BMW's website in the vain hope.

You've summed the car up brilliantly for me though.

Only downer and a major one at that was the residuals from new (in 04) were shockingly bad on our 3.0 petrol SE, due mainly IMHO to lots of bad press and Clarkson's diatribe on TG. We went to Tignes 4 up, ace trip. Towed the daughters horse in a 2 horse box, bo problem at all. Hooned around like a good un too!

[Bogracer]

I think the car was misunderstood from day one and the then 'Rancho' plastic bumpers seemed out of place on a premium product, the face lift has smartened up the look, but but won't take the knocks as well - on a practical note. The car was priced wrong in comparison to the X5. Petrol's are always going to play second fiddle in this sector to oil burners. However they do become great used buys.

The 3.0Sd really ticks my boxes, after driving one I was hooked as an all rounder. It's a real nimble little terrier and not too lardy like most 4x4's, plus on the quiet it's a real road burner and drives like a sports car – and I do have a need.

I am doing a trip to Poland and Norway and then to Morocco over the Atlas mountains, not hardcore 4x4 but snow and some unsurfaced roads + some long distances on motorways around Europe.