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2007 X3The BMW X3 is a compact luxury crossover SUV (though BMW advertises it as an SAV,. or Sport Activity Vehicle) produced by the German automaker BMW. It is based on the BMW 3-Series automobile platform. The X3 3.0i won the Canadian Car of the Year Best New Sport Utility Vehicle award for 2005.
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13 Reviews from Epinions.com
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2007 X3
I leased the X3 new in Feb '07 with the Premium Package and a bunch of extras - MSRP was $43,570. I narrowed down the search to two cars in the $40K small-mid luxury SUV category: BMW X3 and Acura RDX. On paper both cars are superior, with more similarities than differences. But one difference was major - the financing. Over the 36 month term the X3 would depreciate to 68% while the RDX to 61%. Also the X3's finance charge was 3.6% compared to RDX's 5.1%. These differences boiled down to this - for the same monthly payment I could own a $42k X3 or a $36k RDX. So the decision was made for me and I did not bother to test the RDX.
So let me break it down this way: The good, the so-so and the ugly.
GOOD
- Exterior is beautiful. Front is especially aggressive
- Interior fit and finish: lots of wood and leather, with little plastic. Seats are firm and comfortable.
- Engine is very strong and zips me nicely past the local slowpokes
- Road noise is minimal, considering the small size of the car
- Sunroof is HUGE and lights up the entire car
- Blue tooth works well, though it's a multi step process to make a phone call
- Gas mileage averages 19.1 mpg - pretty good considering mostly city/non-hwy driving
- Routine maintenance is included for the life of the lease
- Power folding mirrors are great for getting the car in and out of the garage
- Handled very well in several snowstorms
SO-SO
- Throttle is jerky and takes some getting used to. Push the accelerator too lightly and a there is slight hesitation; push too hard and the car lurches forward
- Non-intuitive radio and air conditioning controls: keep the owner’s manual nearby
- Voice recognition: as this doesn’t tie in to the blue tooth and cell phone address book, you need to “train” it to recognize your voice, like cell phones from a few years back. To make matters worse there was no manual - had to search the ‘net for this. This is a piece of technology from a few years back that needs updating.
- Onboard clock/thermometer/trip meter is tiny and only in view of the driver
- 2nd front cup holder is tiny and located near the passenger window air vent
- Aux input for an MP3 player is in the back row; inconvenient for the driver
- Car is relatively narrow, so three adults would be uncomfortable in the back seat
UGLY
- Lack of full size spare tire
- Lack of available cargo net system, and speaking of cargo nets...
- I had to pay $150 for a “cargo net” as part of the package. This is not the type of cargo net that nicely holds things down in the trunk. Instead, it‘s a relatively useless device that divides the back seat and the trunk.
- Expensive, considering I didn't get upgrades like NAV, larger wheels or rear seat DVD. Fully loaded RDX would have cost less, though unfavorable financing negated this
- Occasional transmission mishap where the transmission won't go into first gear and red warning lights flash; I need to pull over and restart the car to fix the problem
*************Update Sep 2008*************
Car is great, no problems. Since Feb 2007 I've put on less than 15,000 miles and only had the oil changed. The car is smaller than I initially thought, and only holds 4 comfortably. Acceleration lag/jerky throttle problem persists, but it seems to be inherent in many German cars. Overall very happy with this car!
After 18 months car remains excellent!
| Author's Rating: |
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Pros: Beautiful exterior and interior, fast engine, giant sunroof
Cons: Expensive, cryptic dashboard buttons, poor voice recognition, lame "cargo net" option
The Bottom Line:
Considering the financing promotion I received, this is the best small-mid luxury SUV on the market.
I leased the X3 new in Feb '07 with the Premium Package and a bunch of extras - MSRP was $43,570. I narrowed down the search to two cars in the $40K small-mid luxury SUV category: BMW X3 and Acura RDX. On paper both cars are superior, with more similarities than differences. But one difference was major - the financing. Over the 36 month term the X3 would depreciate to 68% while the RDX to 61%. Also the X3's finance charge was 3.6% compared to RDX's 5.1%. These differences boiled down to this - for the same monthly payment I could own a $42k X3 or a $36k RDX. So the decision was made for me and I did not bother to test the RDX.
So let me break it down this way: The good, the so-so and the ugly.
GOOD
- Exterior is beautiful. Front is especially aggressive
- Interior fit and finish: lots of wood and leather, with little plastic. Seats are firm and comfortable.
- Engine is very strong and zips me nicely past the local slowpokes
- Road noise is minimal, considering the small size of the car
- Sunroof is HUGE and lights up the entire car
- Blue tooth works well, though it's a multi step process to make a phone call
- Gas mileage averages 19.1 mpg - pretty good considering mostly city/non-hwy driving
- Routine maintenance is included for the life of the lease
- Power folding mirrors are great for getting the car in and out of the garage
- Handled very well in several snowstorms
SO-SO
- Throttle is jerky and takes some getting used to. Push the accelerator too lightly and a there is slight hesitation; push too hard and the car lurches forward
- Non-intuitive radio and air conditioning controls: keep the owner’s manual nearby
- Voice recognition: as this doesn’t tie in to the blue tooth and cell phone address book, you need to “train” it to recognize your voice, like cell phones from a few years back. To make matters worse there was no manual - had to search the ‘net for this. This is a piece of technology from a few years back that needs updating.
- Onboard clock/thermometer/trip meter is tiny and only in view of the driver
- 2nd front cup holder is tiny and located near the passenger window air vent
- Aux input for an MP3 player is in the back row; inconvenient for the driver
- Car is relatively narrow, so three adults would be uncomfortable in the back seat
UGLY
- Lack of full size spare tire
- Lack of available cargo net system, and speaking of cargo nets...
- I had to pay $150 for a “cargo net” as part of the package. This is not the type of cargo net that nicely holds things down in the trunk. Instead, it‘s a relatively useless device that divides the back seat and the trunk.
- Expensive, considering I didn't get upgrades like NAV, larger wheels or rear seat DVD. Fully loaded RDX would have cost less, though unfavorable financing negated this
- Occasional transmission mishap where the transmission won't go into first gear and red warning lights flash; I need to pull over and restart the car to fix the problem
*************Update Sep 2008*************
Car is great, no problems. Since Feb 2007 I've put on less than 15,000 miles and only had the oil changed. The car is smaller than I initially thought, and only holds 4 comfortably. Acceleration lag/jerky throttle problem persists, but it seems to be inherent in many German cars. Overall very happy with this car!
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