Quote:
Originally Posted by Peter_R
I also agree a good review. I have not had creaks you mention and I would say the ride on back roads in rural Oxfordshire as jiggly and akin to a "bouncy castle" effect. Perhaps this is because I came from a remapped 2007 E91 325d M Sport (from new kept for 5 years) followed by a 2012 F31 320d Sport.
|
It is funny how different your car can feel depending on what you are comparing it with.
I had a 535d e61 and then a 335i E91 before going over to a Merc, space reasons, and long story short I got rid of my E350 estate and bought an ML off a forum member to tide me over while deciding what to get next, but kept it two years.
When I got the X3 it felt very firm and planted compared with ML, which is a big wallowy mess but enjoyable none the less.
I actually had very little love for my X3, and decided to sell the ML and the X3 and buy a Range Rover and something else cheap as a second car.
I sold the ML and ended up with a 2.0T S-Line A4 Avant, lowered on Eibach suspension etc. It is also a manual so feels very different.
After driving that for a few weeks, new car so took it everywhere and not used the X3, I then took the X3 to London and it felt completely different. It felt much bigger, or higher, then before, even more comfy and like you say Peter, a little bit
bouncy at the back. But strangely I actually liked it now more than ever. I did decide to put some 19" sport wheels on it and that has made it even better.
The X3 seems to be a car that is growing on me, and I will be honest, I have stopped looking for a Range Rover.
The X3 just seems to do everything so well, it may not be a car I will ever fall completely in love with, but I do think that true of so many modern cars. But when you step back and think about what it offers, it does seem to offer a hell of a lot.
Sure I would love a new shape Range Rover or RRS, but there is a massive price difference in not only purchase price but also running costs, and once the honeymoon period is over would I be happy paying that extra? I doubt it.
Sometimes you need to drive other things to realise what you have is pretty damned good.