[ScotX5]

Hi all,

Just thought I'd check in with a brief ok a not so brief report at the 4000 mile landmark. For ref I have the 2.0d auto SE in White with 19" 309 alloys, business media pack, x line pack, sun protection glass, black nevada leather, aluminium trim and the xenons.

Interior:
It's a great place to spend a short commute or a long journey. My only real regret on my spec was not ordering the sports seats. Don't get me wrong the standard seats are fine however, as I drive on b roads most of the time I think I'd prefer more side support similar to my old 3 series m sport. Climate control works fine, I pod cable and I pod control
via Idrive works really well and saves any arsing about with CDs. Idrive is very simple to operate and for me is a novelty that isn't waring off so far! Business dials are just fine for me, yes pro nav dials look good from the pics i ve seen but I had to draw the line somewhere. The all weather mats are a must for me, keep the car clean and they are easy to clean themselves.

Exterior:
Paintwork still immaculate. Supaguard was a nice freebie from the dealer and maintains the shine. 19" alloys are great to look at although a bit annoying to clean esp with the amount of brake dust that comes off the breaks. X line package and privacy glass finish the exterior off nicely as do the mudflaps. Xenon lights: if you have yet to order make sure they are on your list. Enough said.

Driving and economy:
X3 is really good to drive. Good handling for a car of it's size and good feel from the standard steering. As I said earlier I many drive on b roads in Scotland however I don't feel the electronic dampers would make my driving experience that much better. I think the softer ride with the 309 alloys works fine! Fuel economy is sitting at 34 mpg. I think this is really good for a load lugger, with auto and in permanent 4 wheel drive. Yes it's nowhere near the advertised figures but I get between 400-450 miles to a tank so I'm happy.

Transmission:
Auto box is great. Was a bit jerky as the car was running in and still remains so at low speeds but it's still a worthy option and overall I think it's great.

Start/stop;
I can't work it out. Sometimes it kicks in when I'm in traffic at the start of a journey other times it won't kick in. I assume it's something to do with battery charge but hey ho it's probably saving me fuel!

Overall:
As you can tell I really love my car. I ve had 6 months off trouble free and happy motoring. For those that have your x3 already I also hope that it's bringing you joy, for those that are waiting, stick in....it's well worth it!!

Anyway I'm away to watch some boxing! Thanks for reading!

[HORACE]

good report. Always nice to hear personal experience.

Is the ride on poor roads OK? Some reviewers say the adjustable suspension option is a must but you seem happy without it. I'm surprised your 19 inch wheels don't spoil the ride. Do you have normal non run-flat tyres?

[Bustofa]

Many thanks for posting your report; it's great to hear personal experience with the car.
Still waiting for mine.

[sfax]

Originally Posted by ScotX3

Hi all,

Just thought I'd check in with a brief ok a not so brief report at the 4000 mile landmark. For ref I have the 2.0d auto SE in White with 19" 309 alloys, business media pack, x line pack, sun protection glass, black nevada leather, aluminium trim and the xenons.

Interior:
It's a great place to spend a short commute or a long journey. My only real regret on my spec was not ordering the sports seats. Don't get me wrong the standard seats are fine however, as I drive on b roads most of the time I think I'd prefer more side support similar to my old 3 series m sport. Climate control works fine, I pod cable and I pod control
via Idrive works really well and saves any arsing about with CDs. Idrive is very simple to operate and for me is a novelty that isn't waring off so far! Business dials are just fine for me, yes pro nav dials look good from the pics i ve seen but I had to draw the line somewhere. The all weather mats are a must for me, keep the car clean and they are easy to clean themselves.

Exterior:
Paintwork still immaculate. Supaguard was a nice freebie from the dealer and maintains the shine. 19" alloys are great to look at although a bit annoying to clean esp with the amount of brake dust that comes off the breaks. X line package and privacy glass finish the exterior off nicely as do the mudflaps. Xenon lights: if you have yet to order make sure they are on your list. Enough said.

Driving and economy:
X3 is really good to drive. Good handling for a car of it's size and good feel from the standard steering. As I said earlier I many drive on b roads in Scotland however I don't feel the electronic dampers would make my driving experience that much better. I think the softer ride with the 309 alloys works fine! Fuel economy is sitting at 34 mpg. I think this is really good for a load lugger, with auto and in permanent 4 wheel drive. Yes it's nowhere near the advertised figures but I get between 400-450 miles to a tank so I'm happy.

Transmission:
Auto box is great. Was a bit jerky as the car was running in and still remains so at low speeds but it's still a worthy option and overall I think it's great.

Start/stop;
I can't work it out. Sometimes it kicks in when I'm in traffic at the start of a journey other times it won't kick in. I assume it's something to do with battery charge but hey ho it's probably saving me fuel!

Overall:
As you can tell I really love my car. I ve had 6 months off trouble free and happy motoring. For those that have your x3 already I also hope that it's bringing you joy, for those that are waiting, stick in....it's well worth it!!

Anyway I'm away to watch some boxing! Thanks for reading!

Agree on stop start. There is no logic to when it kicks in. You could drive for 100 miles and come to stop at the lights and it won't stop. Next day, cold start, 1 min into journey, stops. Makes no sense to me. Can't just be charge because of the 100 mile example.

Also agree on 309 brake dust, xenons and I get 34-35 too which is disappointing against advertised but overall for a car this size it's good.

Very happy with mine too

[sfax]

Originally Posted by HORACE

good report. Always nice to hear personal experience.

Is the ride on poor roads OK? Some reviewers say the adjustable suspension option is a must but you seem happy without it. I'm surprised your 19 inch wheels don't spoil the ride. Do you have normal non run-flat tyres?

I wouldn't read too much into reviewers saying certain options are a must. They say this about VDC but they have never driven the car without VDC. They are effectively comparing normal mode in VDC with non-VDC and assuming they are the same when they are not. I have 19" 309s with sports suspension and have no problems with the ride.

[NYC_340i]

Nice report, I only have 74 miles on my X3 and everything is superb so far.

[Nahoa]

Suspension is very subjective and impressions are affected dramatically by differences in expectations. Me? I have the 19s, don't believe they ride rougher, have DHP, and would be happier with a firmer suspension option.

[HORACE]

Originally Posted by Nahoa

Suspension is very subjective and impressions are affected dramatically by differences in expectations. Me? I have the 19s, don't believe they ride rougher, have DHP, and would be happier with a firmer suspension option.

What is DHP? I understand Variable Damper control gives 3 levels of suspension firmness.

[sfax]

Originally Posted by HORACE

What is DHP? I understand Variable Damper control gives 3 levels of suspension firmness.

DHP is a US package that includes VDC (but they call it EDC). VDC allows you to set normal, sport or sport+ firmness but it also automatically adjusts suspension on each wheel based on feedback from the road surface

[HORACE]

Thanks.

Anyone driven the X3 with standard suspension and with VDC so they coulkd compare the two. The Press seem to think that VDC is pretty well essential.

[sfax]

Originally Posted by HORACE

Anyone driven the X3 with standard suspension and with VDC so they coulkd compare the two.

Hardly any feedback from anyone who has driven an X3 with and without VDC unfortunately. Would be a very useful comparison.

Originally Posted by HORACE

The Press seem to think that VDC is pretty well essential.

They do but it's a bit like saying chocolate sauce is essential on a 99 having never tried one without. A lot of the reviews talk about the benefits of VDC but they are actually talking about the benefits of Dynamic Drive Control (DDC) which comes as part of VDC but also as part of VSS.

I haven't seen any owners on this forum who don't have VDC and wish that they had ordered it, so quite how it's considered "essential" I'm not sure

[Oversteer]

I test drove both with and without DDC. I noticed the difference, but can't say it's a must have. I ordered mine without, although, I was looking simplicity and low cost.

[Harplayr]

Originally Posted by sfax

Hardly any feedback from anyone who has driven an X3 with and without VDC unfortunately. Would be a very useful comparison.



They do but it's a bit like saying chocolate sauce is essential on a 99 having never tried one without. A lot of the reviews talk about the benefits of VDC but they are actually talking about the benefits of Dynamic Drive Control (DDC) which comes as part of VDC but also as part of VSS.

I haven't seen any owners on this forum who don't have VDC and wish that they had ordered it, so quite how it's considered "essential" I'm not sure

I don’t have VDC or any of the sports options on my 28i. I’m very pleased with the ride quality.

If I were to order it again, I would in fact order the VDC just for the fact that I live in a very windy part of the country (25-40+mph is frequent) and would like the option to stiffen things up a bit when the wind blows hard. It does get buffeted more than my old X3 did. I’m wondering if a stronger antisway bar (if there is one) may help or going from the stock 17” to 18” with better tires would help.

As far as normal driving goes, I’m quite happy with the standard setup and even on the windy days things are very acceptable, so it’s not a case of buyer’s remorse, but upon occasion it would be nice to have the option to stiffen things up a bit.

My thinking on giving advice about that option is that if you can afford it…get it. It won’t make things worse and in certain conditions will probably make things better.

[clivem2]

In the UK sport sus or MSport probably gives whats needed, unless you REALLY a soft damper option but it's hard to be sure without back-to back testing.

[ktjernstrom]

Good review, thanks. Totally in line with my experience after just over 1700 miles. Mine's almost an identical spec, apart from sports seats and some aluminum trim.

My gas mileage is very similar, but hoping it will decrease slightly after 6-7000 miles, when the engine should've loosened up a bit.

I think it's unrealistic to expect anywhere near factory figures, considering rolling resistance and aerodynamic effect of large 19" wheels, actually. I'll be happy if it ends up around 37-38 MPG (imperial).

Karl

[sfax]

Originally Posted by ktjernstrom

I think it's unrealistic to expect anywhere near factory figures, considering rolling resistance and aerodynamic effect of large 19" wheels, actually. I'll be happy if it ends up around 37-38 MPG (imperial).

Karl

What's the point in the figures if it's unrealistic to expect "anywhere near" them? As a comparison, my old car was a petrol VW Golf GTI 2.0T. Combined mpg listed as 35 mpg. I could get 38mpg+ on the motorway at 70-80mph in this car. That's 9% above the advertised combined figure. Add 9% to the xDrive 20d's advertised 50mpg and that's about 54 mpg.

The highest mpg I have ever got on a motorway run in the X3 is 43mpg and that was 60-70mph and super conservative driving, much slower than the speed I used to travel in in the GTI and achieve 38mpg. To me, that's a huge difference and I doubt anyone will ever see 50mpg+ on a motorway run at 70-80mph, particularly if there are any hills.

Despite this, I still think the xDrive20d's fuel economy is great given its size but the advertised combined figure is wildly optimistic IMO, as illustrated in the example above. I'm sure that 17" non-RFT tyres improve economy but not by enough to make up the big gap.

I assume the 35mpg for the GTI used the same rolling road test so why the huge difference between actual and advertised in the X3 against a relatively small difference between actual and advertised in the GTI?

[clivem2]

Wind resistance?

[ktjernstrom]

Originally Posted by sfax

What's the point in the figures if it's unrealistic to expect "anywhere near" them?

I assume the 35mpg for the GTI used the same rolling road test so why the huge difference between actual and advertised in the X3 against a relatively small difference between actual and advertised in the GTI?

Hi,

I'm not trying to say that it's reasonable to not get close to advertised figures, just that I'm not expecting to see it considering I'm running very wide19", whereas stock is narrow 17".

Advertised consumption figures on the X3 are achieved with the stock wheels, and I would expect to see at least a 4-5 MPG drop going from stock to 19" wheels.

The more in depth tests I've seen have posted real world figures of around 38-39 MPG (imperial), and that was with 18" if I remember correctly, so slightly worse than that is a reasonable expectation with 19".

When you look at motorway figures, take into account that "extra urban" consumption figures according to the test cycles is around 55 mph, not 70-80 mph. In a car of the X3's size and above all shape, the exponential increase in aerodynamic drag means consumption will increase in a very nonlinear fashion as speeds increase. Overall, I'm happy with mine even at speeds up to 100 mph, where fuel consumption seems to start increasing dramatically.

In mine, I've seen a tendency that running on cruise control will lower consumption more than in some of my previous cars, which is nice.

Karl

[Powerrunner]

Great report and thanks. As for me the sports seats are a must and change the whole experience of the X3. That is just my opinion, for those looking to order a new X3 take a close look at the sport seats, if you get a chance take a test ride to see for your self.

[ktjernstrom]

Originally Posted by Powerrunner

Great report and thanks. As for me the sports seats are a must and change the whole experience of the X3. That is just my opinion, for those looking to order a new X3 take a close look at the sport seats, if you get a chance take a test ride to see for your self.

+1 on that. I think they're an absolute must!

Karl