BMW's Too Expensive X3

It handles well but is too expensive and too small. Why not buy a BMW coupe instead and have more fun?

by Thane Peterson

Editor's Rating:

The Good: Handling, quality interior, all-wheel drive

The Bad: High price, compromised performance vs a BMW coupe or sedan

The Bottom Line: Nice little SUV, but why not buy an Acura or a BMW coupe instead?

Reader Reviews

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Up Front

The short take on the 2007 BMW X3 is that it's a great little crossover sport-utility vehicle that was updated and redesigned for the '07 model year. It's quick, practical, and handles well.

But would I buy one? Probably not. The X3 is just too expensive for what it offers. More on that later.

If you have the money and insist on owning an SUV in this era of soaring gasoline prices, the X3 is a wonderful vehicle. Based on the new 3 Series sedans and coupes, it's a small, performance-oriented SUV.

All-wheel drive is standard, but the X3 only has modest off-road capabilities. This is a sporty SUV for people who really like to drive. The X3 handles a lot like BMW's new 3 Series coupes and sedans, though its greater weight and height do compromise performance. The '07 X3 comes in a single trim level and with only one choice of engine, a high-tech, 260-horsepower, inline six made of a composite of aluminum and magnesium. (A previously available entry-level X3 with a smaller engine has been dropped.)

There's a choice of either a six-speed manual transmission or a six-speed Steptronic automatic with regular, sport, and manual shifting modes. Unusually, for BMW (BMWG), there's no charge for the automatic transmission, which costs $1,275 extra on 3 Series sedans, coupes, and wagons.

The X3 starts at $38,775. That price includes all sorts of standard equipment—everything from wood interior trim, cruise control, an eight-speaker CD system, and power doors, windows, mirrors, and seats, to stability and traction control, braking assist, and a panoramic sunroof. The list of available options is relatively short for a Bimmer, but loading up an X3 can still easily push the price up over $45,000. A sport package that adds a stiffer suspension and sportier wheels, seats, and steering wheel costs $3,150. A navigation system costs $1,800, upgrading the upholstery from leatherette to real leather $1,450, Xenon headlights $800, an upgraded sound system $675, and heated front seats $500.

Keep in mind that this is a small SUV by American standards. The X3 is only 180 inches long and 73 inches wide. Theoretically, it seats five, but four adults is more realistic. It's about the same length and width as a Toyota (TM) Rav 4.

Unless you're obsessed with BMWs, the new X3 also doesn't look all that different from the '06. Up front, there's a new bumper and a slightly bigger grill. The headlights and taillights have been restyled, and there are chrome tips on the exhaust pipes that emphasize the more powerful engine. Basically, the '07 just looks a little cleaner and more modern than the model it's replacing.

Impressively, however, fuel efficiency is better in the '07. With an automatic transmission, the '07 X3 is rated to get 19 miles per gallon in the city and 26 mpg on the highway, in contrast with 16/23 mpg for the '06. In 246 miles of hard driving, I got 20 mpg in my '07 test vehicle, which had an automatic. One downside: The X3 uses expensive premium gasoline.

Despite the many improvements BMW has made in the X3, U.S. sales of the model are down so far this year—and not just because SUVs go out of fashion as gas prices rise. Sales of the X3's bigger sister model, the BMW X5, are up 25.3%, to 11,782 units, in the first four months of this year, while the X3 fell 15.6%, to 8,981 units.

What's surprising about those numbers is that Honda's (HMC) brand new RDX, probably the Bimmer's strongest competition, is already overtaking the X3. Acura sold 8,407 RDXs in the first four months of the year, and the RDX may well outsell the X3 in its first full year on the market.