BMW X3 Review 2024

People can’t get enough of premium-badged, family-sized SUVs and with so many good ones to choose from, manufacturers can’t rely on brand loyalty alone to secure sales. Customers want something that looks and feels new, not what they had last time but with more kit this time around — but is dramatically different styling the way to go? Find out with our full BMW X3 review.

With SUVs’ ever-growing popularity, the BMW X3 is imperative to the company’s success. It may look different this time around — a fact that will undoubtedly arouse curiosity — but it needs to have depth of talent to persuade existing owners to buy another as well as attracting buyers new to the fold.

Not only does the latest X3 arrive at almost the same time as the all-new Audi Q5, the Mercedes GLC still looks and feels fresh despite being around for two years already.

A little older and being something of a niche choice so far, is the Lexus NX, while at seven years old the still-appealing Volvo XC60 is due to be replaced during 2025.

Given the popularity of its predecessors over the past two decades, this is a vital model for BMW, yet while the latest, more rounded X3 is a significant departure visually from its predecessors, the company’s played it safe under its skin with a suite of familiar mild hybrid petrols and diesels, alongside a plug-in hybrid option.

Fresh styling, a sharp new interior, improved performance and efficiency and more technology all bolster the new X3’s appeal, but could the absence of a pure electric model in 2024 be an oversight in 2024?

Worry not, because the replacement for the still-available BMW iX3 will reach showrooms during 2025 but we are led to believe will look quite different to this combustion-engined model.

Bigger than before — bigger than the original BMW X5, in fact — the new X3 is hard to fault on practicality and it’s pretty good on the road too, with strong performance, keen handling by SUV standards and impressive refinement all ticking buyers’ boxes.

Its interior looks and feels great for the most part and the BMW X3’s tech works well, with one or two small user interface quirks that take some getting used to.

Fundamentally, this is all the car it needs to be, packing most of the characteristics that BMW X3 like and expect from the Bavarian brand, while also being just that bit better in most regards than the alternatives.

The original BMW X3 back in 2003 had a reputation for riding rather harshly but it’s something BMW has improved over time, to the extent the latest generation seems really quite pliant — with the caveat that our initial test routes were about as smooth as tarmac gets.

Still, it wasn’t too troubled on the rougher sections and even when the X3 did get jostled around a little, it was neither actively uncomfortable, nor fazed for very long — it settles down quickly after bumps.

The slightly firm suspension setup rode on adaptive dampers, which no doubt takes the edge off, though even in Dynamic mode the ride quality didn’t fall apart. It certainly feels agile, turning into corners keenly and settling in a turn with minimal body lean.

The BMW X3 M50 goes beyond confidence and competence and into the realms of entertaining too, in part thanks to slightly weightier steering — the 20’s being a touch too light — and a balanced feel that you can even play around with under power.

Along with the light steering, our other concern was the brakes. They stop the X3 easily enough but the pedal is unpleasantly light and squashy, with none of the firmness that gives you confidence that first time you dab the brakes. We did notice a tendency to aquaplane on standing water too — a downside of wide, performance-orientated tyres.

There are four engine options in the BMW X3. The range starts with a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol with mild hybrid assistance and four-wheel drive known as the X3 20 xDrive. Next up is the plug-in hybrid X3 30e xDrive, also with the 2.0-litre petrol with an electric motor and battery pack to help it along.

Performance fans will seek-out the powerful X3 M50 with BMW’s turbocharged 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine while motorway drivers will likely favour the solitary diesel — the X3 20d xDrive. An eight-speed automatic gearbox is standard on all X3s.

The 190PS X3 20 manages to motivate its 1855kg shell pretty well for an entry-level engine, with the 0-62mph sprint taking under eight seconds. It feels good for that on the road, with accelerative power in reserve even at motorway speeds. In Dynamic mode especially, where the engine’s impressive refinement is augmented with a sporty piped-in sound, it’s responsive too.

It’s the 381PS X3 M50 that’s the entertainer though, its mighty power output resulting in a 4.6-second 0-62mph time and deep-chested performance basically everywhere, from idle to the red line.

Six-cylinder smoothness and excellent throttle response make it an addictive engine to extend wherever you can — not great for fuel economy but good for stress relief. It’s easy on the ears too, both because it’s smooth and refined at a cruise, also also because in Dynamic mode you’re rewarded with a rousing six-cylinder soundtrack.

The eight-speed auto is smooth in both, but gives you a bit of a thump in the back in Dynamic mode — more for effect than anything, we suspect.

Euro NCAP hasn’t yet added its own curves and creases to the BMW X3 yet so there are no crash test ratings to speak of, but the X3’s predecessor got a five-star rating in 2017 and BMW will surely be keen to match that with the latest model.

There’s a suite of driver-assist tech as standard — Lane Departure Warning, Lane Change Warning, and Speed Limit Assist, as well as Parking Assistant and Reversing Assistant.

Plenty of airbags are present to cushion blows should the very worst happen and while it’s not strictly a safety feature, this is probably the place to mention the optional Parking Assistant Professional, which will let you park the X3 from outside the car.

For those who wish to turn off some of the assistance features, the process involves first searching for the appropriate centre console touch-sensitive button to bring up the relevant menu, then tapping on your assist feature of choice and tapping again to confirm. Not the worst means of deactivation we’ve used, but far from the easiest and most intuitive.

At 570 litres with the rear seats up, the BMW X3 now has one of the biggest boots compared with other SUVs of this size. That extends to 1700 litres with the seats lowered and while they don’t fold completely flat, the resulting space is usefully shaped for larger and bulkier items.

The boot in general is a good shape, with very little load lip and a squared-off space that most people should find a use for. Its traditional estate-like roofline means it’s better for canine companions carried in the boot than more coupe-like SUVs.

Due to the packaging of the high-voltage battery pack on the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) versions, badged 30e, boot space is reduced. With the rear seats up you lose 110 litres, while the overall volume with them flipped forward is 100 litres down.

What isn’t reduced is space for people, with head and legroom being identical regardless of the engine chosen. Front and rear passengers in the BMW X3 should be very happy in general.

There’s an enormous range of adjustment for the front pair of seats, with the steering wheel similarly having a wide array of positions, and even with the front seats quite far back, there’s still plenty of space for knees and feet for those sat behind.

Panoramic glass sunroofs have a tendency to shrink the amount of headroom available, usually to a greater degree for back seat passengers but there’s no such issue here.

Cubby holes are a mixed bag, though. There are plenty, with door pockets for everyone, a cubby under the armrest for the front seat passengers and a space between the dash and the centre console, yet all are a little oddly shaped and the dash cubby doesn’t make the most efficient use of space.

There are few complaints here — almost everything you interact with in the BMW X3’s cabin feels great to the touch. Leather is an options-list only thing these days, which will be music to the ears of vegans. Frankly the woven fabric on the dash and door tops of xLine models is nicer both to look at and touch than leather is.

Nothing creaks or rattles and everything feels solidly assembled and well-damped.

Our literal handful of misgivings centre largely upon the door handles. While sturdy enough they do look a bit low-rent in their matte plastic finish and look odd alongside the touch-sensitive air-vent speed controls, as well as BMW’s illuminated plastic elements around the centre console and the door panels.

Talking of which, that illumination will delight the kid inside you but the plastic itself is one of the interior’s cheaper-looking elements.

Comprising of a wide, curved display, the BMW X3’s infotainment system has a dual-screen arrangement — with a 12.3-inch screen ahead of the driver and a 14.9-inch display for most other functions.

You can operate it in all the usual fashions, from stabbing at it with a finger, twisting BMW’s iDrive rotary dial between the seats, or whispering sweet nothings to the voice control.

We didn’t get a chance to try the voice control but the prodding method works well enough, the screen generally responding to touches and swipes quickly and accurately. The iDrive wheel is a good eyes-on-the-road method but takes more time to learn to navigate where you need to, so it doesn't feel quite as intuitive when you’re first exploring the functions.

The screen is clear and bright and comes with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard. Minimalism ensures that the BMW X3’s head-up display is easier to interpret when you’re driving than the cluttered 12.3-inch driver binnacle.

Unfortunately, some functions aren’t quite so easy to use on the move — notably, the touch-sensitive console button for switching between driving modes, which is hard to find by feel alone.

It’s also probably the slowest menu option we found, taking a few beats to show up on the touchscreen and it doesn’t automatically disappear again after you’ve selected your preferred mode, which is odd. A home button on the screen always takes you back to the map screen though, which is a useful touch.

The BMW X3 range starts at £48,375, for which you get the petrol-engined 20 xDrive in xLine trim — BMW no longer uses the ‘i’ suffix on its petrol models. M Sport is another £1,800 (starting at £50,175), while trading petrol for the 20d xDrive diesel is another £1,410 model-for-model, so a 20d xLine starts at £49,785.

Buyers of the 30e xDrive plug-in hybrid will have to stump up £57,245 and the M50 range-topper begins at £66,980.

All these prices are about par for a car of this size and type. The X3 undercuts the Mercedes GLC slightly at the lower end while an M50 is slightly more expensive than the Audi SQ5 at its dearest.

Given BMW X3s are heavy vehicles at the near-two-tonne mark, its efficient engines ensure that weight isn’t reflected too badly in their economy figures. The 20 xDrive, which is a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol model, promises a 41mpg combined rating, while even the powerful M50 gets a claimed 36.7mpg. We got 33mpg from the 20 in mixed driving and just under 29mpg from the M50.

The diesel meanwhile offers up to 48.7mpg and the plug-in hybrid requires a pinch of salt for its 313.9mpg claim, though BMW helpfully quotes a figure for when its 56-mile electric range has been depleted too – 39.2mpg, or slightly less than the non-hybrid petrol.

In VED car tax terms, you’re looking at £1,095 for the M50, £680 for the 20 and 20d, and £10 for the 30e. From year two onwards, the plug-in is £10 cheaper than the £600 that the others attract, as all cost more than £40,000 and get a luxury vehicle surcharge.

On Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) taxaction, the 30e’s 8% rating is miles ahead of the 35%, 36% and 37% of the 20d, 20 and M50, respectively.

Essentially there are three trim levels that presently make up the BMW X3 range — xLine, M Sport and M, the latter of which is unique to the 50 engine.

Opt for the £48,375 BMW X3 xLine and you get 18-inch alloy wheels (19s on the 30e PHEV), as well as ambient lighting, three-zone air conditioning, electric heated sports front seats, LED headlights, cruise control with braking, a curved infotainment display, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus a variety of driving and parking assist features.

Starting at £1,800 more BMW X3 M Sport models are all upgraded to 19-inch wheels, with darker Shadowline exterior trims and an anthracite headliner, M-themed interior trim and steering wheel and firmer M Sport suspension.

The BMW X3 M50 begins at £66,980 and has a specification based on the M Sport but adds 20-inch alloys, the Iconic Glow illuminated front grille, quad exhaust pipes and M Sport pattern seat belts.

On top of most trim levels, you can add Comfort, Comfort Pack Plus, Technology, and M Sport Pro packages, and a host of individual options: pick from an array that includes the panoramic glass roof, heated steering wheel, adaptive suspension and the Iconic Glow grille.