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Michael Taylor17 Apr 2014
REVIEW

BMW X3 xDrive 20d 2014 Review

Facelifted, mildly, the big-selling BMW X3 returns with few changes you can see and hidden gems you can't

BMW X3 xDrive 20d
First Drive Review
New York, USA

It might not look like much of a facelift, but there is plenty to talk about in BMW’s ‘new’ X3. New headlights and mirrors and a heavily revised interior, but the flagship technology is an all-new 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine which will find its way into a raft of BMW models. It’s good, yes, but it doesn’t quite steal the show…

BMW is hoping that you’ll notice all of its styling upgrades for the new X3. It must, otherwise they wouldn’t be front and centre on every scrap of information it puts out about the car.

There are new headlights, with LED options. There are new surrounds for the mirrors, which include LED indicators and are aimed at calming the wind noise. There have been very slight re-profiles of the front and rear bumper caps, there are four new paint colours (I know, right?) and the diagonal brace bars are now even more visible through the kidney grille.

This BMW does because it is hoping its actuarial tables are right and they’ve done enough outside. Jury’s out, but it would be a shame if people shied away from the ‘new’ X3 because it looks too much like the old one because the real money has been spent on the interior and important bits under that lightly tickled skin.

There has been money spent on the interior, too, which it needed to do in light of Mercedes-Benz’s unexpected reinvention as a paragon of interior design and tactile feel in the C-Class.

There are new materials throughout; there are better quality plastics; there is a standard leather steering wheel; new cupholders in the console, complete with a sliding cover; and, the seats have been rejigged, though the standard leather trim remains.

While we don’t have word on what is or isn’t going to be stock in the Australian versions, the German ones get two-zone climate control standard, DAB radio, Bluetooth and parking beepers.

There’s plenty more on offer, as is BMW’s wont, including the foot-swipey opening system to get at the 550 litres of luggage space (that opens up to 1600 litres with the seats folded down), there is a four-zone climate control (that you won’t actually need), better speakers, bigger wheels, active headlights, swisher leather… It goes on. And on.

The mechanical highlight is the all-new 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine. BMW had been lagging behind in the four-pot diesel fight both in performance and, more particularly, in noise, vibration and harshness. The old motor could still row along within cooee of the others, but you could hear it coming before you saw it.

This one is based off BMW’s one-pot-fits-all strategy, where they have designed their ideal version of a single, 500cc cylinder and then tacked enough of them together to make three, four and six-cylinder variants on the same production line. It shouldn’t surprise anybody, because it’s used exactly the same strategy with the petrol motors.

This means the new engine gets a 90mm bore and an 84mm stroke, creating a short-stroke diesel with oversquare dimensions more akin to an Italian supercar. The 1995cc in-line four has been designed to work in longitudinal layouts, like the X3, or in front-drive, east-west applications, like the MINI and the 2-Series Active Tourer.

It delivers reasonable power, with 140kW arriving at 4000rpm, while its 400Nm tops the output of Porsche’s base 911 engine, but arrives at just 1750rpm and stays on until 2250rpm. It’s enough urge to get the 1745kg X3 xDrive20d to 100km/h in 8.1sec and on to sustain a 210km/h top speed.

More importantly, it pulls the fuel consumption down to 5.2L/100km on the combined NEDC cycle, which translates to 138 grams/km for CO2 emissions, while its urban consumption tops out at 5.7L/100km.

This is mated to all-wheel drive via a (very, very) lightly upgraded version of the ZF-sourced eight-speed automatic transmission BMW uses in the existing X3, which then twists a set of 225/60 R17 tyres.

And it twists them well. The new turbo-diesel’s now so smooth that it’s a class leader, for sure, and it will be something to look forward to when it’s dropped into lighter sleds than this one.

It starts instantly and quietly, with none of the deep, slightly rattly rumble the old one had. And there’s a calm smoothness to it and it moves off so calmly in New York traffic that you’re forgiven for thinking you’re in a slightly louder, significantly torquier petrol version of the X3.

It’s really a peach of a thing, able to rev comfortably beyond 5000rpm, despite having its power peak at 4000rpm, and without a single unwanted tremor or protest anywhere.

It pulls cleanly from rest, easily able to sprint with traffic thanks to a very strong mid range that also means the auto can pull a gear at least one cog taller than would have worked in the old car. That’s good for economy, sure, but it’s also good for noise levels and vibration, too.

While the EcoPro mode is, as ever, a bit rubbish to drive in, it’s the mode BMW uses to score its best economy figures out of the X3. You won’t use it, though, because it’s awful and makes it feel as though the firewall is interrupting the accelerator pedal’s travel about a quarter of the way to full throttle. Ick!

Best to leave it in either Comfort (the default mode) or Sport to make the X3 feel like a proper car, with both modes adjusting the throttle pedal feel, the transmission and the skid-control systems to suit their titles. There is also Sport +, but that’s a big bit pointless in a car like this.

The only slight hiccup in Comfort mode is that the auto can try to hold tall gears a fraction too long on climbs. This makes the engine feel like it’s labouring slightly. But other than that, it’s a perfectly functional way to live and if you don’t like the gear it’s given you, you can just flick the left paddle and change down.

It shifts sweetly and smoothly, consistently maintaining relatively low revs to keep the noise levels down without leaving you bereft of urge when it’s needed.

It’s even sweeter in Sport mode, though, with the tautening of all the electronically controlled bits making the X3 feel as though it’s shed 100kg. It becomes more lithe and direct, more fun and athletic.

The engine’s torque peak might arrive at 1750rpm, but its real strength only arrives there if you’ve started thumping the throttle a couple of hundred revs earlier. Even so, its response to the throttle is excellent and it pulls and pulls, tapering off only around 4300rpm, but still revving willingly.

Built in North Carolina (where, oddly enough, this engine won’t ever be sold), the X3 feels quite at home on the broken, lumpy streets of New York. There is none of that horrid vertical thump and virtually no lateral head toss.

While the powerplant will take the headlines, the real brilliance of the X3 facelift is its world-class body control. Its spring and damper rates have been superbly selected and the car’s body remains exceptionally flat in hard cornering, even when there are big bump strikes halfway through.

It’s still a direct, firm ride when it’s moving, unstressed, at a cruise, but it becomes a star when you hit those same bumps when the suspension is already loaded up.

It’s near impossible to unsettle and, when you do hit something, you feel the wheel move while the body remains in exactly the same stance. There is no head toss, no jouncing and no nasty unsettling feeling to it. It’s just superb.

It’s refined, too, with the noise levels demonstrably down on its predecessor, and the interior is a very comfortable place to be and practical with it.

There will be other X3 variants coming along with this one (including 2.0-litre four and 3.0-litre six-cylinder variants), but it really does feel like the 2.0-litre diesel is the sweet spot in the family.

In contrast to previous generations: hard to fault.

2014 BMW xDrive 20d pricing and specifications:
Price: $TBA
Engine: 2.0-litre in-line four diesel
Output: 140kW/400Nm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel: 5.2L/100km (combined, auto)
CO2: 138g/km (combined, auto)
Safety Rating: TBA

What we liked: Not so much:
>> Fabulous body control >> Not a visual leap
>> Much quieter inside >> Not much else
>> Strong, smooth new engine >> No, nothing leaps out
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Written byMichael Taylor
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