[Canexican]

So, I drove all three of these cars today as my girlfriend has been looking for an SUV/Crossover replacement for sometime now. All I have to say is that we know what we are getting: X3 35i without a doubt. I'll try to keep this in a C&D-like format so as not to bore those interested with excess information.

#3 Infiniti FX35 AWD PROS: Beautiful and ergonomic interior. Nice materials throughout. Punchy V6. Wins the looks department hands down. Corners flat.

CONS: 7spd sluggish on manual upshifts, VQ V6 very coarse/strained near redline, somewhat numb/vague steering. Long brake pedal travel. Pricey.

Verdict: Beautiful car inside and out, however the drivetrain shows its inferiority compared to the competition.


#2 Volvo XC60 T6 AWD Pros: Sonorous motor with great torque and the smoothest shifting transmission of the bunch. Solid brakes, steering, driving position. The cheapest of the group.

Cons: A bit of a vanilla interior. Torque steer. No paddle shifters and limited performance options.

Verdict: A shockingly good driving vehicle with nice driving dynamics, great dampening, and a good feature set for the price. The most practical and economical choice of the group.


#1 BMW X3 35i Pros: "Holy s**t" acceleration! Best chassis. Best steering. Solid build quality. Handles like a sports car with sport + option.

Cons: I-drive not quite as easy to use as competitors infotainment setups. Looks belie performance capabilities. Gets pricey fast when ticking package boxes.

Verdict: While the prior generation may not have been a benchmark of the class, its safe to say BMW did their homework with this one. It simply destroys the other two "performance" SUV's in terms of handling, steering, acceleration, and braking. The luxury/comfort quotient was very comparable to the others as well.


*Note: I don't own a BMW, but I grew up driving an '01 330xi. I have a mid 11-sec Evo and was still stunned by the level performance that the X3 exhibited. Would be curious to see how the n/a version would stack up to the turbo, because this level of velocity is almost not necessary...almost .

[fedinand]

I test drove the EX also and love the way it looks too. It was a great cuv, but I was disappointed in the gas mileage, and couldn't believe Infiniti wouldn't put the 3.7l engine in it. It also didn't feel like all 290 horses were there either. I am not a fan of the volvo, so didn't test that. The cuv I liked the most next to the X3 was the Q5 - I liked the looks and loved the interior, liked the way it drove and the 3.2l engine surprised me…felt as quick as the EX.

I agree on most of your points about the X3…and I love sport+ mode. I actually liked the Idrive - we have it in both 3 series and once you are used to it, I really appreciated all the different functions I could get to from it. I agree that the luxury is on par with the others, if not a bit better, and it is as comfortable as you want it to be with the dynamic handling package. The other place where the X3 has a clear advantage is in the technology it offers...I think the connected drive is going to become standard in this class soon.

Good review!

[Cactus]

You gotta' love a review that uses "Sonorous motor"!

[kmarei]

i heard the xc60 has the least user friendly navigation system EVER

[Canexican]

Originally Posted by fedinand

I test drove the EX also and love the way it looks too. It was a great cuv, but I was disappointed in the gas mileage, and couldn't believe Infiniti wouldn't put the 3.7l engine in it. It also didn't feel like all 290 horses were there either. I am not a fan of the volvo, so didn't test that. The cuv I liked the most next to the X3 was the Q5 - I liked the looks and loved the interior, liked the way it drove and the 3.2l engine surprised me…felt as quick as the EX.

I agree on most of your points about the X3…and I love sport+ mode. I actually liked the Idrive - we have it in both 3 series and once you are used to it, I really appreciated all the different functions I could get to from it. I agree that the luxury is on par with the others, if not a bit better, and it is as comfortable as you want it to be with the dynamic handling package. The other place where the X3 has a clear advantage is in the technology it offers...I think the connected drive is going to become standard in this class soon.

Good review!

Thanks, and no, the I-drive really wasn't that bad. It just isn't as easy to use out of the box as the Infiniti. The Volvo didn't have a nav package installed, so I couldn't really sample it.

Originally Posted by Cactus

You gotta' love a review that uses "Sonorous motor"!

Hey man, its an adequate adjective. The engine noise most directly reminded me of my mom's old 330xi, just with a lot more grunt. Linear power delivery and seemingly endless torque. Felt like it had more torque than the BMW.

Originally Posted by kmarei

i heard the xc60 has the least user friendly navigation system EVER

Can't confirm nor deny as it was not installed on the car that I tested. Everything else about it seemed pretty sweet though...just have to pretend its not a Volvo you're driving.