My 'X' Comes Home! Pre-owned BMW X3 Ownership Review

[CarLoverJosh]

The X3 was first launched in India around 2007 or 2008. The car created a segment which didn't exist at that time- the compact luxury SUV segment. The X3 built a reputation about having a bone jarring ride, bad looks, being overpriced. So when the new facelift X3 was launched in 2011, it didn't really get that much of a good response in India. But then when it was launched, it started to make the Q5 seem like an old school bus at that time. The 8 speed gear box, great ride quality, better engine and definitely better features made it a great buy but the Q5 was already so much popular that the X3 barely made a dent in its sales. Now lets leave the History and come to the present. X is the name I have christened her with. In 2011, one of our family friends bought the X3 in the x-line trim. We sat in his car and were amazed with the space it offered, the features and to all of us at that time, the funny looking gear lever! We went for a drive and were amazed with the sound insulation. He then put it in Sport mode and let it rip! All hell broke loose until the limiter kicked in at 95 kmph. We were amazed at the acceleration it offered. That was the time we realised that this was gonna be ours someday. But at that time we couldn't afford to take such a HUGE financial hit so we bought a Skoda Rapid ambition TDI and a Toyota Etios GD.
The cars are still with us but we are trying to sell the Etios- 13000 done so guys anyone wanna buy it contact me ( I know that I'm gonna get yelled at by the MODS for posting this but please) Fast forward to 2015 and we are moving to a new location. So when we went to see the property I was amazed at the cars that were standing there, the house next to us had an A6 , next to that Q5, next to that 520d next to that Q7. We were amazed! Thats when we realised that a Mahindra XUV just isn't gonna cut it here, thus started the search for a new luxury car. We started with a humble budget of 30 lakhs, we wanted an SUV so no sedans but still tried a few.
Requirements were -
Badge value
Looks
Engine
Features
SPACE- the biggest requirement
Ride Quality- should be comfortable
Handling- should be good for occasional spirited drives.
The only cars that came into that budget were Q3 and A3 so checked them out. Found both of them to be too cramped and we returned home sad. Thats when my Mom came up with the idea to go for a used car! Thats when I switched on my iMac desktop and began the search for a new car. Saw some great Q5s at a good price so decided to first check out a Q5 at the showroom then go to check out any of the used cars. Went to the showroom only to find some huge celebration going on. Thats when I noticed that Audi had renamed their models from 2.0 TDI to 35 TDI. They had called all the Audi customers for a feast and a look around for the new models. We went and checked the Q5:-
Badge value- present
Looks-good
Engine-good
Features-Good
SPACE-NONE! Car was failed!
Ride Quality- good
Handling- Like a boat
Also Q5 didn't seem to pull the heart's strings. It didn't really make me feel special when i sat in it.

Q3-
Badge value- present
Looks-OK
Engine-OK
Features-OK
SPACE-Worse than Q5
Ride Quality- Better than X1 but not more than Q5
Handling-Good
Verdict-Failed due to space.

Then it was time to test the Q7!( it wasn't in our budget but just for the sake of seeing it i went and sat in it)

Badge value-Present
Looks-good
Engine-good
Features-good
SPACE-great
Ride Quality- great
Handling- Super bad!
Verdict-Out of our budget so failed but is a great buy for those who want space and comfort and practicality of 7 seats with the luxo badge value.

Time to test the BMW stable-
I know that i said no sedans but was so much in love with 3 series that i did test it-

3 series(320D)
Badge value-present
Looks-great
Engine-great
Features-great
SPACE-good
Ride Quality- Hard but acceptable
Handling-great
Verdict-Great car, makes it to the finals.

5 series(520D)
Badge value-present
Looks- good
Engine-OK( same engine as 3 series)
Features-good
SPACE-Not more than the 3 series
Ride Quality- Soft
Handling- Like a barge
Verdict-Good car but not for us. I don't really see a point spending more many when i get the same engine, space, and 3 series drives better BTW.

Then came the X1

Badge value-present
Looks-Front- good, side- OK, back- hideous
Engine-great
Features-good
SPACE-OK
Ride Quality-Super Bad
Handling-Super good
Verdict-Didnt make it to the finals primarily because of the ride quality and because my dad has always HATED X1

Then came the X3

Badge value- present
Looks-great
Engine-great
Features-great features even on the base model.
SPACE-Great
Ride Quality-great
Handling-good
Verdict- When we had sat in our friends car in 2011 we knew this was for us. Car chosen!
Now came the tedious task of finding a good deal. The facelift had already come and there was no point spending so much money on the car which is nearly the same except for the front headlamps and alloys. So searched for nearly 3 days for very long hours. Then one day- found a good deal for a 2012 manufactured X3 registered 2013. done just 10699 kms! Asking price 39,00,000 Rupees. Went to Delhi to check the car out. All was good except for the asking price and the interiors. They were in an Orange colour which looked really bad. After much negotiating he came down to 36,50,000 rupees which was WAY outta our budget so we decided to leave that deal and search for another car. After two days found a GREAT deal- 2013 manufactured X3 registered 2014 done just 9659 kms! Asking price was 35,00,000 rupees. Told the guy to come over and show the car to us. He gladly obliged. Within 2 hrs. he reached and I got to see the car in flesh. The car was in absolute prestige condition except for a scratch on the right-side bumper. Except for that the car was absolutely fine. We took a test-drive and found the engine to be fine. Then we finalised the deal, but only on one condition, that we will get the car checked from BMW Bird Automotive gurgaon. He agreed. Next day the car was sent to be checked and found completely ok. We finalised the deal at 31,50,000 rupees. And there came X to our house on 28th Jan 2015 at exactly 5:23 PM. We did the Puja and the car was safely parked in our old house's garage. We shortly moved to our new house and everyone parks their luxe cars outside so did we. Now that you know the story, lets get down to some
specifics:-

X3 Q5
Length- 4,652 mm vs 4,639 mm
Width- 1,884 mm vs 1,880 mm
Height- 1,713 mm vs 1,650 mm
Wheelbase-2,810 mm vs 2,807 mm
BHP- 190 vs 174
CC-1998 vs 1965
Torque-400 NM vs 380 NM

The X3 beats the Q5 marginally in ALL the specs and yet is an entirely different animal. Anyways , the ODO stands right now at 9777 kms. Pics in next post.

 

[CarLoverJosh]

Now some detailed impressions about the X-
Pros- Great looks
Good GC for Gurgaon breakers
Great engine
BMW badge
Great space
Great ride quality and handling is great considering the size.
Those LED corona rings are to die for!
iDrive is awesome
Cons- The tail lamps and headlamps should have been full LED. The tail lamp gets standard bulbs for brake light and indicator whilst the front gets bulbs only for indicators.
iDrive should have got the sports display.

Now lets start with the impressions-
Comfort- The ride is very comfortable and doesn't throw the passengers around even if you do cross a pothole at high speed. At low speeds the ride is quite soft ( in comfort mode only) and is comfortable. As you build up speed the ride gets better though when you are going to do a high speed run better shift to sport mode as it stiffens up the suspension and the car looses all the queasiness which comfort mode creates at high speed.

Space- The main reason why we bought this car, the space! The space is just brilliant considering Q5 which has extremely less space. The legroom is great and even with the front seat adjusted to my height i can still sit comfortably behind myself with some legroom to spare ( I'm 6.0 ft! Im just 14 yrs. old!) You can comfortably sit 3 HEALTHY people in the back without them elbowing each other. This car can also be called a 6 seater as i was able to comfortably sit in the boot with it closed ( not recommended !) .

Gear lever- Looks awesome, fits into hand easily, shift it to the left side to put the engine into sport mode. The buttons on the right of the gear lever just affect the steering, suspension. Moving the gear lever to the left engages sport mode in the gears as well the engine.

Gearbox- The new X3 is mated to a new 8-speed auto box that is manufactured by ZF Friedrichshafen, Germany. This is also the gearbox which makes its way into high end cars such as- Jaguar XF, Jaguar F-type, Rolls Royce Phantom and Bentley continental GT etc. This gearbox can only be described in one work- BRILLIANT!
The shifts are quick with a time of 20 milliseconds and are absolutely jerk-free. The gearbox when necessary will drop upto 3 gears in one go . This is the best in class gearbox and is on par with the DSG's because of- its nearly equal shift time, its lag free too.

Engine and its driving modes- X is powered by a 2 litre Twin Scroll Turbo engine which produces 190 BHP and 400 NM of torque and is powered by 4 cylinders. This engine powers various cars in India almost more cars than our national engine the Fiat MjD does. Press the brake and then push the start button and the engine starts of with a mild shudder. At idle the engine is quite refined and the diesel murmur doesn't really intrude into the cabin. Shift the gear lever into D and take off with smooth torque delivery at low speed, turbo lag? What turbo lag? This engine doesn't have any turbo lag. It is extremely tractable in the city. All thats required for regular commuting is a light tap on the accelerator thats all. Now the new BMW X3 offers 3 driving modes. I shall explain them in 3 different paragraphs-

Eco Pro- This is the mode which will keep your head happy. This mode is the one which provides all out economy. Throttle response isn't sharp and the gearbox when possible shifts to the highest ratio possible. The X3 unlike the 3 series does not get a Regenerative braking system ( 2015 LCI X3 gets this). The air-con also works in a conservative manner and does not provide sufficient cooling in Gurgaon heat ( only in Eco mode. This can be disabled through the Configure Eco Pro option)

Comfort- This is the mode which my X is always in. The comfort mode strikes the right balance between performance and comfort and also economy. The steering becomes super light and the gearbox shifts at a later RPM range. The suspension is also very soft.

Sport- This is the mode to be in when you are out for a spirited drive. The steering hardens up and the suspension become hard. Though the engine remains in Comfort mode. To make the engine also go in the sport mode you have to move the gear lever to the left towards the M/S sign. This is when the X3 turns into a totally different animal with extremely aggressive gearshifts and the engine performing at its best the X can manage a sprint to 100 in just under 8.5 seconds. Thats quite fast for an SUV this size. The engine revs upto its 4900 RPM redline and delivers extreme performance.

The Stop/Start system- This system is implemented to save fuel when you are at a traffic light. This is an extremely irritating system as when you come from a drive and stop to reverse the car shuts down and voila you can't shift! Leave the brake and the car starts again. We keep this system off.

Brakes- Awesome, have good bite and work silently.

Here are some pics-

The front view with the DRL's on looks smashing!

 

[CarLoverJosh]

Some more pics-

 

[bhvm]

Hello
let me be the first to congratulate you on the beemer

I'm also keeping an eye out on used 'status symbol' at a budget so I'm going to pester you with questions and more. and please do. post the pics!

 

[CarLoverJosh]

Some more-

What all the MID does-

 

[Akash1886]

CLJ, I guess your exams have ended and so you finally got the time to write a detailed account of your "X". After reading your "X" 's account, I really appreciate the amount of details you have put in it. White shade accentuates the lines of the SUV and the car does look in good shape. Do keep updating about the service intervals of the "X". Are you planning for some M- Performance mods too? As you are in Gurgaon, do let me know if you need any assistance for BMW kits.

Congrats dear, have a great time with the Beemer!

Regards

Akash

 

[CarLoverJosh]

Few photos of my old steeds-

Honda Dio is now being used by me extensively.

 

[CarLoverJosh]

Hello
let me be the first to congratulate you on the beemer

I'm also keeping an eye out on used 'status symbol' at a budget so I'm going to pester you with questions and more. and please do. post the pics!

Sure bro, Im always available to answer your questions, thanks. The pics are now live.

CLJ, I guess your exams have ended and so you finally got the time to write a detailed account of your "X". After reading your "X" 's account, I really appreciate the amount of details you have put in it. White shade accentuates the lines of the SUV and the car does look in good shape. Do keep updating about the service intervals of the "X". Are you planning for some M- Performance mods too? As you are in Gurgaon, do let me know if you need any assistance for BMW kits.

Congrats dear, have a great time with the Beemer!

Regards

Akash

Yes Mr.Akash my exams have ended and on the second day i have written the ownership review. Weirdly we have never liked white but in this shape and car , white surprisingly does look REALLY good. Instead silver which usually looks good on SUV's doesn't look good on X3. Will surely bug you for any assistance needed for BMW kits. I was thinking of just 1 thing if you can help me with the price et al- getting the rims painted gloss black because on white, the gloss black rims will look awesome. Thats it thanks a ton.

 

[Akash1886]

I was thinking of just 1 thing if you can help me with the price et al- getting the rims painted gloss black because on white, the gloss black rims will look awesome.

CLJ, For painting of the rims to black, I would suggest check out Autopsyche in Gurgaon. Owner is Mr. Vohra, he'll be providing you details on the same. I have been in touch with him and got some mods from him on my Ivtec City last year. Charges for 5 rims would be around 8-10 K.

For maintenance, I would suggest you something, here is a kit of original BMW products and these are universal in use for any BMW.

​

 

[allhyundaicars]

Congratulations on your car

I think you should check european motor works. They also do car servicing. So from where you'll prefer to get the car serviced ?

My friend got his 320i serviced from there and i went along. The worskhop is really big and they do all types of works. Be it, wrapping, accidental claims , after market accessories.

Bmw service center quoted us twice the amount of what EMW charged. They did a pretty good job so will recommend it.

Keep us updated.

 

[CarLoverJosh]

CLJ, For painting of the rims to black, I would suggest check out Autopsyche in Gurgaon. Owner is Mr. Vohra, he'll be providing you details on the same. I have been in touch with him and got some mods from him on my Ivtec City last year. Charges for 5 rims would be around 8-10 K.

For maintenance, I would suggest you something, here is a kit of original BMW products and these are universal in use for any BMW.

View attachment 163989

View attachment 163990

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Thanks, please do PM me the no. of Mr. Vohra. BTW, one more request, can you please by any chance find a photo of a white X3 with gloss black rims? I just want to get the current rims painted in gloss black because the design already is very good.

Congratulations on your car

I think you should check european motor works. They also do car servicing. So from where you'll prefer to get the car serviced ?

My friend got his 320i serviced from there and i went along. The worskhop is really big and they do all types of works. Be it, wrapping, accidental claims , after market accessories.

Bmw service center quoted us twice the amount of what EMW charged. They did a pretty good job so will recommend it.

Keep us updated.

Thanks a lot, will sure keep on updating the thread everyday. Where is this european motor works? Do PM me the details.

 

[Akash1886]

Hi CLJ, Have sent PM to you. Here is pic of White X3 with Black rims from google.



Regards

Akash

 

[Mathew]

The facelift had already come and there was no point spending so much money on the car which is nearly the same except for the front headlamps and alloys.

Congratulations CarLoverJosh. Wishing many many safe and happy miles ahead.
Happy with X3 after completing X exams.

The only draw back of BMW is in your above words. They release facelift with very small changes, without considering the existing owners. American vehicles once in 10 years. Keep posting your experiences and observations.

 

[bhvm]

Fantastic review and pics CLJ,
31 Lac is quite a steep price you paid, But you guess its totally worth it!

1>Since you also own an XUV 500,
I am very interested in the difference between Indian made vehicle and a German.
How's the performance? Can by any means a slighty Modified (ECU remap, Susp upgrade, FFE) XUV 500 come close to the x3 performance?

2>How about the gadgets?
I've seen that many lower BMW models skip the touch screen, GPS and mobile app. XUV has all that for HALF the price.

3>Are there any niggling issues or service problems with Such a premium brand?

4> What FE you're getting?

5>Any plans to replace the runflats with regular tubless?

6> I see some very sweet deals on Used 3 or 5 series 6 litre sedans around 15~20 lacs. Any reason to stay away?

 

[vijay_968]

Congrats CLJ. A great car and what a passionate ownership review . Your X3 cost you 31.5L with not even 10,000 km on the Odo. Compare THAT with the ~ 50L price for the facelift.This is the sweetest of the deals, I'd say. I wish you and your family many a great, happy & safe miles on this fantastic ride. BTW, is that a padded Glove Box ? How thoughtful.

Just my 2 cents on mods. Rising Stars need to arrive at a party wearing Green Pants, Red Shirts, Blue Shoes, Yellow Glasses etc to catch attention. Big B (pun intended) doesn't need THAT. Cutting a polished Diamond diminishes the value.