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      02-10-2012, 07:47 PM   #1
Falconx3
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2000 km review 28ixdrive

For what it's worth:

After 2000k, I still look for any excuse to drive somewhere. No rattles, squeaks or issues. This is an amazingly solid vehicle. I find past reviews understate the fabulous ride, quiet interior and overall build quality. The chassis is tight, and grip outstanding in bad weather. Mileage is bang on above average. The non turbo 3.0l cranks out plenty of smooth and adequate grunt to blow past most others. Control functionality is excellent. And no one to my knowledge has mention the ample rear leg room for this class. And you'd think the wipers read your mind when in intermittent mode. Very clever. Idrive is awesome. And the heated seats heat both the buttocks AND the lumbar (my Merc only does the cheeks).

Just a few nit picks - minor observations, and not whining.

-rears door don't open as wide as the front or as much as I think the should. Takes getting used to. If you don't have kids, disregard.

- no read out display indicator to show the heated steering is on. Yes you can tell, but a variable 3 step temp setting would be nice.

- seating memory lights are not illuminated. Tough at night. And memory function does not adjust mirrors- I think.

- no dash indicator to show rear wiper is engaged.

And finally, my only regret:

- the tail lights for the non xenon version only partially illuminate, that is only the outer portion, even for the brake lights. So unfortunate the unlit tapered portion of the lights on the rear hatch don't illuminate. This makes the rear heat signature awfully mundane for those behind and detracts from visibility to the guy driving on your ass. Wish I had of known in advance. Definitely shell out for the xenons- possibly only available on the 35i? Anyways, even a base, Sportage, Passat or a xc60 have LED tail lights that give a distinctive heat signature in the black. Bummer I missed this.

If any potential tire kickers are researching- this is definitely the best mid-range "SAV/SUV". No hesitation. I've tried or have exposure to the competition and the x3 blows them out of the water in all respects.

Thank you to all posters who have contributed worthy information about the X3 and thank you for reading this post.
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      02-11-2012, 07:24 AM   #2
x3heh
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What about the shifter? Why is it designed backwards? Shift forward to rerverse??
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      02-11-2012, 08:20 AM   #3
Earlofessex
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Quote:
Originally Posted by x3heh View Post
What about the shifter? Why is it designed backwards? Shift forward to rerverse??
When in sport manual it is pull for up shift and push for down shift. That's the opposite of my last car (Q5). Not sure which way is "right", but I now need retraining.
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      02-11-2012, 08:32 AM   #4
RichardBR
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Earlofessex View Post
When in sport manual it is pull for up shift and push for down shift. That's the opposite of my last car (Q5). Not sure which way is "right", but I now need retraining.
Shift forward to reverse are normal for other brands as well. Even manual stick in BMW's...to the left and forward to reverse...
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      02-11-2012, 09:06 AM   #5
x3heh
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RichardBR View Post
Shift forward to reverse are normal for other brands as well. Even manual stick in BMW's...to the left and forward to reverse...
Manual reverse is also to the right and pull towards you on other brands.
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      02-11-2012, 09:16 AM   #6
lbjgh
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OP, Is this what you are talking about? Is this feature only available with xenon option?
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      02-11-2012, 09:24 AM   #7
Nahoa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by x3heh View Post
What about the shifter? Why is it designed backwards? Shift forward to rerverse??
It's not backwards in comparison to traditional automatics -- R has typically been forward of D.

P
R
N
D
2
1

Pull back to get to D, push forward (and use button) to get to R.
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      02-11-2012, 09:28 AM   #8
roundtree
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Quote:
Originally Posted by x3heh View Post
What about the shifter? Why is it designed backwards? Shift forward to rerverse??
Every automatic I've ever had required me to shift forward for R and P, relative to N and D. It seems different because the shifter doesn't slot into the new position. That's definitely a new one for me.
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      02-11-2012, 09:29 AM   #9
Nahoa
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Falconx3 View Post
For what it's worth:

After 2000k, I still look for any excuse to drive somewhere. No rattles, squeaks or issues. This is an amazingly solid vehicle. I find past reviews understate the fabulous ride, quiet interior and overall build quality. The chassis is tight, and grip outstanding in bad weather. Mileage is bang on above average. The non turbo 3.0l cranks out plenty of smooth and adequate grunt to blow past most others. Control functionality is excellent. And no one to my knowledge has mention the ample rear leg room for this class. And you'd think the wipers read your mind when in intermittent mode. Very clever. Idrive is awesome. And the heated seats heat both the buttocks AND the lumbar (my Merc only does the cheeks).

Just a few nit picks - minor observations, and not whining.

-rears door don't open as wide as the front or as much as I think the should. Takes getting used to. If you don't have kids, disregard.

- no read out display indicator to show the heated steering is on. Yes you can tell, but a variable 3 step temp setting would be nice.

- seating memory lights are not illuminated. Tough at night. And memory function does not adjust mirrors- I think.

- no dash indicator to show rear wiper is engaged.

And finally, my only regret:

- the tail lights for the non xenon version only partially illuminate, that is only the outer portion, even for the brake lights. So unfortunate the unlit tapered portion of the lights on the rear hatch don't illuminate. This makes the rear heat signature awfully mundane for those behind and detracts from visibility to the guy driving on your ass. Wish I had of known in advance. Definitely shell out for the xenons- possibly only available on the 35i? Anyways, even a base, Sportage, Passat or a xc60 have LED tail lights that give a distinctive heat signature in the black. Bummer I missed this.

If any potential tire kickers are researching- this is definitely the best mid-range "SAV/SUV". No hesitation. I've tried or have exposure to the competition and the x3 blows them out of the water in all respects.

Thank you to all posters who have contributed worthy information about the X3 and thank you for reading this post.
Would really like to see a dash indicator that the heating steering wheel is on, too. For some reason the lack of a rear wiper indicator doesn't bother me, but I wouldn't mind having it.

The memory buttons do store the outside mirror positions. Not sure I follow about the illumination, unless you mean relocating them, too. Can't see them where they're at while sitting in the driver's seat, can you? For me it's easy to feel the M and storage buttons and hit what I need.

I'd really like to see the European amber rear turn signals vice the red. Not distinct enough. Prefer the visibility of the amber in high traffic areas and hilly, dark, backroads.
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