Alpina XD3 | Spotted
The first SUV to wear an Alpina badge had its downsides. Speed wasn't one of them
It’s safe to say the Alpina XD3 was not for everyone. While it was hardly the first on the fast oil-burning SUV on the scene a decade ago, it was Alpina’s first go at doing one - and for a firm that had chiefly concerned itself with making good-looking BMW saloons even better to drive, the transition wasn’t altogether seamless. For one thing, it chose to work its magic on the F25 X3, which was never the most striking or pleasing thing to look - and looked precious little better when Buchloe was done with it. For another, there was an Alpina-sized premium to pay for the pleasure of owning one.
But the ace in the hole was worth shouting about: up to that point, it was the fastest accelerating diesel-powered SUV you could buy. Which to some might still sound like ‘these are the best oysters I’ve ever had in an airport’ as a qualifying benchmark, but it really did make the XD3 something of a revelation at the time. Of course, the credit goes to the breathed-on version of the twin-turbo N57 3.0-litre straight-six that Alpina coaxed an additional 52lb ft of torque from. Meaning you had 516lb ft to call on pretty much all the time.
Alongside a recalibrated eight-speed ZF slusher and a sub two-tonne kerbweight, this made the XD3 seem very enthusiastic to get up the road. The concept of a diesel-engined car getting to the national limit in under 5 seconds was not an entirely novel concept at the time, but to do it in a compact SUV definitely added to the eyebrow-raising effect. The car earned its quad exhaust, let’s put it that way - and its on-boost largesse tended to get you onside if you’d previously been sat on the fence (or possibly even a mile away on the other side).
Of course, once you’d got over the sonic boom following you around everywhere, there was the retuned chassis to enjoy. As ever, Alpina didn’t attempt anything dramatic, it simply adjusted the ride and handling compromise to suit its discerning taste - and while today the XD3 couldn’t be expected to challenge anything with the very latest chassis gizmos, at the time it seemed like landmark effort for the segment. Again, mostly because it threatened to turn you to the dark side and admit to everyone that there was a compact SUV you liked.
By ‘everyone’, we obviously mean other enthusiasts; apparently no one else needed telling because Alpina immediately struggled to satisfy the level of demand it provoked in the UK. Slightly questionable looks aside, well-heeled members of the general public evidently saw a premium-badged SUV with a luxury interior that went like stink and returned 41.5mpg (if you took the NEDC combined score at face value). And like most performance-orientated SUVs introduced in the previous decade, the XD3’s primary reason for being was to attract new customers to the brand. Job done.
Ten years later, it means there are some choice cuts available to the used buyer. Granted, the passage of time has done its appearance no additional favours and you’ll still pay a modest premium for Alpina’s point of difference - but you can balance that against the thought that you’re getting a car with more torque than the subsequent G01 X3 M for roughly half the cost. Oh and it drives much more contentedly, too. This one, available from a franchise dealer and with just 54k on the clock, is £23,450. Still not for everyone, admittedly. But getting easier to like by the day.
SPECIFICATION | ALPINA XD3
Engine: 2,993cc 6-cyl, twin-turbo diesel
Transmission: 8-speed auto, four-wheel drive
Power (hp): 350@4,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 516@1,500rpm
MPG: 41.5mpg (NEDC combined)
CO2: 180g/km
Year registered: 2014
Recorded mileage: 54,000
Price new: c. £60,000
Your for: £23,450
It isn't the sexiest of shapes either I agree. Plus I've never felt massively attracted to BMW interiors from that era either, even though I've actually owned quite a few of them from back then.
I've had a 2006 Z4MR/2006 E90 330d/2006 E90 330i/2009 E92 M3 for example.
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