BMW X3 reviews

2006 BMW X3 Driving Impressions

Driving the BMW X3 is not like driving other SUVs. While the Lexus RX 330 tends toward the luxury end of the scale, the X3 leans more to turning two-lanes and the occasional twisty dirt track into a fun drive. Our first impression driving an X3 3.0i around the neighborhood was one of smoothness and precision engineering.

The X3 readily swallows mile after mile of high-speed highway. It feels confident in the wet, and really shines on dusty, gravel-strewn back roads and slushy boulevards. With the X3, a driver can accomplish feats that normally require the talents and reflexes of an accomplished rally driver, a benefit of the xDrive all-wheel-drive system working with BMW's multifaceted Dynamic Stability Control. Unerringly, just about the time the driver senses the X3 begin to slide and intuitively readies a saving countersteer, the xDrive calmly tucks the rear end back in line. It's a superb system.

The five-speed automatic is smooth and precise in normal, everyday driving. Just put in Drive and go. When pushing it in the slippery stuff, the automatic frees the driver to focus on braking, accelerating and steering. This can be a lot of fun. When so inclined, the driver can use the Steptronic feature to hold the transmission in a specific gear, manually shifting up or down as the incline or traction dictates or invites.

The six-speed manual transmission, on the other hand, is everything people who know and like BMWs have come to expect and appreciate. Shifts are smooth and precise, clutch engagement predictable and gears properly spaced to keep the engine in the sweet spot of its power band, although it is geared a bit high for relaxed long distance cruising. In short, we prefer the automatic.

Acceleration is silky and linear, thanks in part to an advanced intake design that leaves the manifold free of buffeting butterfly valves. The 3.0i records 0-60 mph times of 7.6 seconds for the manual and 7.9 seconds for the automatic. While not blistering performance figures, considering the X3's weight, neither are they shameful.

The optional Servotronic steering is flat-out wonderful. It's speed-sensitive, adding more assist at low speeds, and invisibly altering the steering ratio, so the car turns more with less steering input. Parallel-parking is a breeze, as are quick, mid-block U-turns. As speed increases, assistance diminishes and the ratio slows, making for good on-center feel and sure lane changes. Perhaps most telling about the Servotronic steering is its transparency; unless a driver moves directly from the X3 to another vehicle without the feature and suddenly has to crank in more steering at slow speeds, it'll likely not be noticed at all.

Braking is smooth and sure, with solid pedal feel allowing linear, smooth, gradual stops when desired, unlike many over-assisted systems increasingly popular on high-end cars and SUVs.

This BMW doesn't offer the quietude of a Lexus, however. The exhaust note that initially sounds pleasingly sporty can become an irritating drone after awhile at constant speeds. Wind noise reaches levels surprising for a BMW, and this is without any crosswise racks on the standard roof rails. Enough tire rumble penetrates the cabin to suggest the desirability of some additional sound-deadening materials.

Safety features are impressive and add to driver confidence and enjoyment. The xDrive system uses an electronically controlled array of clutches to disperse the engine's torque among the four wheels the instant it's needed, even to the point of sending 100 percent of the traction to any single wheel. Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) works to rein in the car when it's over-extended in cornering or emergency maneuvers; electronic throttle control reduces engine power when necessary to regain traction. The antilock brake system (ABS), allows the driver to maintain steering control in a panic braking situation. Electronic brake-force distribution (EBD)