The hugely popular X3 has long been one of BMW’s bread and butter models, offering the car-buying audience an extremely well-rounded SUV for the money… A perfect blend of practicality, performance, and luxury. 2024 now marks the arrival of a brand-new generation of the X3, with a fresh design and a bold face, and the one I have here even got the BMW M treatment! That said, with the mid-size SUV market reaching peak saturation and with a surplus of excellent options out there, does the new X3 M50 xDrive still have what it takes to best compete with the plethora of great SUVs on the market? Or, has its crown been snatched from under them?
What Is The BMW X3 M50 xDrive About?
Frankly, the X3 has always passed me by, as I’m usually more interested in its bigger brother, the X5. If I had to go out and buy an SUV as the new, uber-practical family runabout, the X5 is typically my go-to choice. Yet, with this new X3, it’s different, though no doubt being the sportier, M-spec performance model got me somewhat a tad more interested than usual. Design-wise, as with most of BMW’s latest line-up, the brand-new X3 is a break from tradition, which has proven to be incredibly polarising. If so, then the new BMW X3 might not win you over completely, though it’s worth giving it a shot and checking it out in person. It’s way better looking in the flesh!
Looking at the X3, and especially in the trim that we have here, with this superbly rich and deep candy red paint, as well as all the blacked-out accents and exterior trim, it looks quite delectable. Given that it’s an M model – or to be specific, with BMW’s confusing new naming scheme, the X3 M50 xDrive – in addition to all the blacked-out bits and pieces, such as the wheels, grille, diffuser, and so on, it creates this angrily mean, aggressive stance. This is arguably one of the more handsome SUVs to come out this year. Additionally, as with many new BMWs these days, the now-enlarged kidney grille might take some getting used to, though they do light up now.
Still, the horizontal motifs on the grille do at least add more depth to it, and it’s even unique to all the sportier M models, to boot. Aside from that, with the massive red brake callipers and the equally vast M-spec, upgraded brakes, this otherwise gigantic SUV has a great look to it. My personal favourite angle is the rear three-quarter, giving you a nice shot of this new BMW X3’s silhouette. From any angle, though, but more so from the side, you might notice that it has a larger-than-expected road presence. So, despite this being the smaller X3, it feels and looks more like an X5 in size. As we’ll explore the interior later, it’s also spacious on the inside, too.
How Does It Drive?
This brand-new BMW X3, in its sportier M50 xDrive guise, is powered by a 3.0-litre turbo inline-6 petrol engine, which is then mated to a 48-volt mild-hybrid system. Nonetheless, don’t let that “hybrid” fool you, as the BMW X3 M50 xDrive’s powertrain cranks out a mighty 398hp and 580Nm of torque. That ought to be good for a 0 to 62mph sprint in just 4.6 seconds (that is faster than some sports cars!), and onto an electronically-limited top speed of 155mph. The electric motor that forms part of that hybrid does contribute a tiny bit of the power and torque figures, but most of that oomph nevertheless is thanks to this awesome BMW TwinPower Turbo engine.
Aside from that, courtesy of that xDrive all-wheel-drive system and a rapid-shifting 8-speed automatic gearbox, this colossal SUV hauls its weight way faster than appearances might suggest. And, even though this is an SUV, the all-new X3 M50 xDrive could be just as playful as a sports car if you want it to, showing off its multifaceted personality. The transmission, particularly in its manual mode, as you flick through the paddle shifters, changes gears at lightning speed. Even the exhaust system makes all the right noises for a sporty vehicle. There’s a pretty neat party trick when you pull both paddles at once too, allowing you quick, temporary access to sport mode.
Moreover, forget the fact that you’re looking at an SUV that weighs over 2 tonnes, as the X3 M50 xDrive is very, shockingly agile and nimble in the corners, relatively speaking of course. As cliché as it might sound, it does still retain that oh-so quintessential and recognisable BMW M handling quality and dynamism to it. Consequently, it can be hugely fun to toss this thing around. As such, you’d be surprised how often you forget that you’re lugging around a lot of extra mass. On that note, the mild-hybrid system does make an attempt at economising your X3 M50 xDrive’s fuel consumption, though it can only do so much. Still, I’ll take 35-ish mpg for a big sports SUV.
What Is It Like Inside?
Stepping inside, given that the new X3 is a mid-size SUV, you’d of course be concerned with interior space and its overall practicality. For the form factor and exterior dimensions of the X3, BMW has done a decent job with its packaging and making good use of space with it. Further in the back, the X3 M50 xDrive’s boot is a good size, and the rear seats have a modest amount of legroom and knee room. Otherwise, if you need more space, there’s always the X3’s slightly larger big brother, the BMW X5. Further in the front, however, we now get to see BMW’s typical mastery of interior design at work once again. As you’d expect, it’s a great place to spend time in.
Throughout, it’s a pretty clean and minimalistic cabin, with most of your controls having been moved to the two giant curved displays that now show off your infotainment system and your gauge cluster. As with most BMWs for time immemorial, the tech that you get here is some of the best in the business. The screens themselves are bright, and crisp, with a similarly clean and focused UI that makes it abundantly featureful, but it is just as easy to use. I have absolutely no complaints here, particularly considering how you could tweak and personalise each part of it. Depending on your mood or your drive modes, the X3 changes form to give you the best experience.
The Experience
Besides that, looking down at the centre console, we do get a small collection of analogue, physical toggles with this all-new BMW X3. Granted, these are mostly for your drive modes, as well as the new drive selector switches, going away from the more old-school shifters that BMW used not too long ago. The rest of the cabin is filled with cool touches too, such as the strip of ambient lighting going all the way from the door cards to the dashboard and centre console, which exudes an awesome sci-fi vibe.
From a driver’s point of view, you’ll find the usual BMW M steering wheel here, now complete with a red centre stripe and it’s D-shaped. It is familiar with the M steering wheels that I’ve used in the past, with their ergonomic thumb rests and thick rim, which all feel nice in the hand. Behind those are the pleasingly tactile paddle shifters to go with it. All in all, you can tell that a lot of thought has gone into styling the interior, from the really organic mixture of leathers and fabrics, down to its purposeful layout. For a do-everything kind of SUV, this new X3 M50 xDrive has a well-designed cabin… But once you look at its price tag, maybe it all makes sense, after all.
BMW X3 M50 xDrive Cost
Speaking of, as you might imagine, this all-new BMW X3 generation, in the M50 xDrive trim, isn’t cheap, with a starting price of £66,980. Of course, if you don’t need all that BMW M paraphernalia, the regular, non-M BMW X3 range starts from £48,375 with the xLine trim. Now, to give you an idea of how expensive it can really get if you’re somewhat rather liberal with the optional extras, our X3 here has nearly £11,000 in options alone! Some of the more costly packages that were tacked onto our loaner car here from BMW are £1,350 for the panoramic glass roof, another £625 for the M Adaptive Suspension kit, and an extra £250 for a heated steering wheel.
Additionally, there’s the Technology Pack for £2,275, which adds some neat driver aids to your X3. These include a parking assist system and an expanded ADAS suite, of which the latter also provides semi-autonomous driving capability. Aside from that, there’s the Comfort Plus package for £1,350. This adds some creature comforts such as ventilated front seats, lumbar support, and heated seats (front and rear), as well as a crisp-sounding Harman-Kardon surround sound system. There were a couple of other options that I glossed over, but as I’ve shown here, it can get really pricey to spec an X3. So, perhaps exercise a bit of caution when you’re going over the catalogue.
Verdict
A family SUV on steroids, this all-new BMW X3 M50 xDrive is both insanely fun and exceedingly practical. It has more than enough performance to carve out a mountain road, yet it could readily drive your family down to the beach for a nice summer picnic over the weekends. Showcasing just how and why sports SUVs have become so immensely popular over the years, this new X3 really can do it all. It’s genuinely one of the most impressive and engaging SUVs that I’ve driven in a long time! BMW has a winning recipe here with this X3 that few others have been able to replicate. So, as pricey as it might be, for the right type of buyer, it might be worth the price tag.
Specification
BMW X3 M50 xDrive Specs
- Price: £66,980
- Engine: 3.0-litre turbo inline-6
- Power: 398hp
- Torque: 580Nm
- Transmission: 8-speed automatic
- 0-62mph: 4.6 seconds
- Top speed: 155mph
- Weight: 2,055kg
- Economy combined: 35.3-36.7 mpg
- CO2: 180-175g/km