2025 BMW X3 20 xDrive review: Dancing on ICE
The German brand’s most important model is still balanced and practical, but is that enough against today’s EV juggernauts?
Webservice User &
Leow Ju-Len
IF YOU ask me, between its chiclet front grille and slim, beady-eyed headlights, the BMW X3 bears more than a passing resemblance to a well-groomed capybara. That’s not a bad thing, given that the furry critters are currently the darling of the Internet.
Besides, BMWs have been compared to worse. I remember the very first 1 Series being likened to pot-bellied pigs, which I thought was a little unkind (especially to the swine).
Whatever you think of how it looks in photos, the new X3 is a striking car in the flesh, with its smooth creases and origami-like boxiness lending it plenty of gravitas, and playing up its size.
And it’s that size, along with its usefulness, that helped make the X3 BMW’s single best-selling car. The new one builds on that recipe. Its 550-litre boot is plenty useful, and though they don’t slide to expand the cargo area, the rear seats at least offer generous legroom.
Mind you, that’s only by internal combustion engine (ICE) car standards. In today’s world of Chinese electric vehicles (EVs) with palatial rear quarters, the best you can say about the X3 is that it isn’t cramped.
It’s a similar story with the touchscreen, which runs BMW’s latest OS9. It’s no longer super sharp nor particularly large by today’s standards, but the graphics look slick, and it’s generally easy to use. You can even control it with the rotary iDrive knob, if you’re wedded to physical controllers like I am (and no, that wasn’t a jab at my wife).
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But much of the interior feels dreadfully plasticky, and the air-con outlets are so tiny they feel more like decorative accents than actual climate control vents.
For all that, I really looked forward to driving the X3 each day I spent with it. It’s hard not to like a car that seems happy to see you. Approach with the key on you, and the front grille lights up in warm greeting. The cabin’s ambient lighting glows, as if in anticipation of your entry.
The M Sport trim, which my test car had, does a lot to add some attractive athleticism. For S$12,000, it brings a chunky three-spoke steering wheel to the interior, brushed aluminium trim and a dark anthracite headliner for a sportier, cocooned feel. The sport seats offer extra bolstering, the idea being to keep you in place when you’re having a bit of fun around bends.
The M Sport pack also brings an aerodynamics package to the styling party, along with sportier bumpers, and moody dark trim in place of chrome.
But it’s the actual driving experience that won me over, not so much because the tyres offer endless grip, but because the car feels balanced and agile for its size and height. In fact, compared to an electric car weighed down by half a tonne of batteries, the X3 seems downright nimble.
The steering is light yet quick, and the BMW does what BMWs do best, making you feel like finding a quiet road that you can fill with the sound of tyres squealing, as you test their adhesion. Of course, there’s a price to pay for this poise: the ride is jiggly, particularly at the rear, and the body never quite feels settled.
But the X3 20 M Sport also has one feature I am really gaining appreciation for, namely a good combustion engine. The 2.0-litre mild hybrid is smooth and quiet most of the time, almost to the point of silence, but it revs eagerly and pulls with enthusiasm.
It doesn’t quite have the voice of Pavarotti, but I never got anywhere near BMW’s claimed fuel consumption figure because I was caning it much of the time, and savouring the experience.
My main complaint about being in the driver’s seat is about visibility. The windows taper towards the back, making it hard to see out, but at least there are parking cameras so you don’t have to park by feel.
Given how the X3 was such a success in the pre-EV world, if the new one flops, that might well be a signal that buyers have mentally moved on to battery power. Or it might mean that they can’t abide the plasticky quality of the cabin at this price point.
Ironically enough, the cheapness of the X3’s interior is likely down to the profit pressure BMW and other carmakers are feeling as they pour tens of billions into electric car development.
And the EVs they have to catch are formidable. The XPeng G6, for instance, offers more room, more performance and more features for less money. Yet, in some ways, that only cements BMW’s status as a bona fide luxury brand. After all, isn’t the point of true luxury to get less than you otherwise could for more money?
Where that leaves the X3 in a changing world, I have no idea. The competition is getting more fearsome by the day, and buyer priorities are shifting. But what I do know is that BMW does remember at least one aspect of its identity: driving this capybara left me feeling like a happy bunny.
BMW X3 20 xDrive M Sport
Engine 1,998 cc, in-line four turbocharged
Power 208 hp at 5,000 rpm
Torque 330 Nm from 1,250 to 4,400 rpm
Gearbox 8-speed automatic
Top Speed 215 km/h
0-100km/h 8.5 seconds
Fuel Efficiency 7.9 L/100 km
Price S$351,888 with with COE
Agent Eurokars BMW or Performance Motors
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