xDrive 20d SE 5dr

Comfortable cabin whilst providing reasonable running costs.

My X3 is a 2011 2.0D SE in ‘Blue Water’ colour with the 17” wheels. It is probably the most basic model it came in but still well specced for a base model.

Exterior: not the best looking in this spec and the colour is probably marmite but I initially changed the wheels for the 18” y Spoke wheels that come on other models. I currently have Pirelli Run flat tyres on and will definitely go for non run flat summer tyres in March. They are awful! I got the windows tinted to factory spec for £160 and it makes a massive difference to the looks. I don’t have the xenons but the lights are pretty decent as standard.

Interior: all the models from this era come with leather as standard and I do wish I had the heated seats in the winter. The cabin is comfortable, plenty of adjustments to be made to the seat and steering column and it offers a raised driving position which folk do seem to favour these days. In the back, there’s plenty of room for adult passengers although the rear footwell is raised in the middle. The boot is massive and with the seats down it can carry so much more.

Living with it: well I commute about 400 miles a week and it returns about 42-44mpg on mixed driving. Road tax is reasonable at about £160 annually. Tyres cost a fortune at about £160-220 per corner and I’d recommend sticking with BMW star marked tyres to avoid your xdrive throwing a wobbly.

Overall - I love it, it drives like a car and cheap to run considering it’s a larger SUV. Definitely go for a look round the alternatives but if you get a decent spec X3 you’ll be happy with it.

Report as offensive