[ba ba boosh]

Originally Posted by X4guy

Not sure if next BMW X3 will be out next year maybe 2017 if you go with 7 year rule. But for me 1st year model in European cars are a gamble. Look at new C class amazing interior but the workmanship and reliability, ishh and was rated top 20 worst car by consumer reports. For me on replacing will look at all options we have like Merc GLC, Jaguar F pace, macan facelift. If you want better reliability current X3 would no be a bad option if staying Bimmer, still think it's the business in its segment as an all rounder but have a feeling if the interior of C class is anything to go by the GLC could be a game changer interior wise in the segment.

I went into a friend's recently purchase 2016 C-Class. Although it was the base model. The interior quality was superb, the amount of real aluminum in the interior was astounding. MB wants to contend with Audi from the looks of it.

[jponline77]

Yeah, Mercedes GLC is really nice. If it was available when I was buying I would have taken a close look. Only issue I have with it is that it doesn't have the acceleration of the X3 35i.

[Bimar]

Originally Posted by ba ba boosh

I went into a friend's recently purchase 2016 C-Class. Although it was the base model. The interior quality was superb, the amount of real aluminum in the interior was astounding. MB wants to contend with Audi from the looks of it.

Mercedes ain't playing no more, for the first time I have considered a Merc

Originally Posted by jponline77

Yeah, Mercedes GLS is really nice. If it was available when I was buying I would have taken a close look. Only issue I have with it is that it doesn't have the acceleration of the X3 35i.

Trade off nicer interior but boring drive, I think a better drive creates a bigger smile on ones face, choices choices!

[Scandic24]

Originally Posted by jponline77

It does seem that most sites say that it will be released in 2017. Although most sites call it a "2017 BMW X3." If it is released in 2017 then most likely it will be a 2018 model year.

JP

There are no mentioning of the G01 in the BMW model release plan for 2016.
Let's face it, the F25's life cycle must have been affected by the release of the F26(X4) in 2014. If a brand new X3 would hit the market only three years in of the X4's life cycle, X4 sales would probably plunge. Also, with the release of the X4 M40i, there's even a chance that BMW has bumped the G01 release even further.

My 2 cents

[Lotus99]

Originally Posted by jponline77

So, it would seem, the 2017 model is coming shortly code named G01 to replace the existing F25 design. Since new model year comes out in April / May we are only 5-6 months from being able to purchase the new car.

One would wonder, should you buy the 2016 or wait until 2017? This decision is very personal for sure but here are my thoughts. Note this is coming from someone who has already put a deposit on a factory ordered 2016.

Here are some things to note:

1) There is evidence that the differences will be relatively small and incremental. The best indication of this is to look at the details on the new 3 series. It is likely the X3 will share the same base as this car and changes will be similar. In styling the differences are subtle but good. Interior is only a minor change. The biggest change is the 40i engine. This adds a welcome 20 HP but it's not a game changer by any means.

The X3 will likely also have the 40i engine. I would love the engine but I'm not sure I want to wait 6 months for it plus we need to deal with the other downside.

2) New car lines are notorious for worse reliability. They need to work out the kinks as they ship the first cars. It's not until about the third model year that things stabilize. The facelift year gives them a better opportunity to iron out all the issues. So, catching a car at the end of it's model lifetime is actually much much more reliable.

Resale is hard to predict but if the 2016 model year is demonstrably more reliable than the 2017 then this should make up for some of the new aspects of the 2017 model year. I suspect the difference in resale may be more minor than you think. At any rate, I hope to keep the car for at least 7 years, so these would be minor for me at any rate.

Anyway, that's my thoughts but I would be interested in other opinions.

I've never seen a car go thru a full platform change, and come out with only "minor changes", whether in looks or what's under the body. What would be the point for the manufacturer to do that? LCI changes, sure, they're incremental.

The downside of getting a first year model car is potential reliability issues, though in the last year of a model year, many hold off on buying the cars, because they don't want to end up with a car that has outdated looks for years to come. They'd rather have the "fresher" looking model. Hence why so many dealers put on bigger incentives to move models for the final year of a platform.

And why manufacturers try to give more incentive to buyers to not hold off a year, by introducing special options only in that final year, like the ones called Limited Edition or Anniversary Edition. I know for my 2010 535 E61, the full blown M Sport package was only available in its final year.

[double_j]

I'd wait if possible. Beyond the all-new X3, the next 4-6 months should bring out the new Q5, F-Pace, and full GLC line up. The small CUV landscape will be completely different.

Even if you decide that you want a 2016 X3, you'll likely get the most screaming deal on holdovers after launches for either the new X3 or its competitors are announced. It shouldn't be more than a couple of months at this point.