[xDrive35i]

It's official. The lease on the X3 is up in a few weeks and it's time to move on. After driving the Audi SQ5 and Q5 TDI, the Range Rover Sport, the Mercedes ML550, and the Macan S and Turbo, the Macan S emerged as the jack of all trades--though certainly not as a bargain. While the X3 has been really troublesome and somewhat cheap-feeling, it has definitely been a fun car to own. But now it's onto the next! The Porsche should be here sometime in October. Will keep you guys updated--even without a BMW in the stable, I'm sticking around these forums!

P.s. The price listed is MSRP--just the order sheet. The actual price paid will remain undisclosed for privacy reasons. For those of you who are curious, I am leasing over 36 months.

Here's the build:

[beats]

Congrats! Looking forward to the review...

[E92LNGCGY]

Congrats. I am thinking of the Turbo but not sure yet at this point.

[bbbuzzy]

While the X3 has been really troublesome and somewhat cheap-feeling, it has definitely been a fun car to own.

Hi, I own an e90, just passing through this forum and was hoping you could expand on your comment. I've always liked the looks of the 2nd gen X3 but don't see many reviews. What went wrong and what did they do right? Thanks in advance.

[xDrive35i]

Originally Posted by bbbuzzy

Hi, I own an e90, just passing through this forum and was hoping you could expand on your comment. I've always liked the looks of the 2nd gen X3 but don't see many reviews. What went wrong and what did they do right? Thanks in advance.

For me, I don't trust the X3's reliability. I've just had too many issues with both of my X3's. Many on this forum know about my lemoned X3, hence why I got a second one. The car looks great, it's really fast, it's super agile for its size and relatively high center of gravity and the materials are nice, but they aren't well assembled. My car has been a rattlebox from day one. If you get the 19" rims, the ride is harsh and the suspension has to work too hard to keep up and make up for the super hard, efficiency-minded run flats.

[YellowMellow]

Originally Posted by xDrive35i

It's official. The lease on the X3 is up in a few weeks and it's time to move on. After driving the Audi SQ5 and Q5 TDI, the Range Rover Sport, the Mercedes ML550, and the Macan S and Turbo, the Macan S emerged as the jack of all trades--though certainly not as a bargain. While the X3 has been really troublesome and somewhat cheap-feeling, it has definitely been a fun car to own. But now it's onto the next! The Porsche should be here sometime in October. Will keep you guys updated--even without a BMW in the stable, I'm sticking around these forums!

Nice!

For $72K, I would've gone with the lightly optioned Macan Turbo or a used Cayenne GTS/Turbo

[Max Well]

Originally Posted by xDrive35i

For me, I don't trust the X3's reliability. I've just had too many issues with both of my X3's. Many on this forum know about my lemoned X3, hence why I got a second one. The car looks great, it's really fast, it's super agile for its size and relatively high center of gravity and the materials are nice, but they aren't well assembled. My car has been a rattlebox from day one. If you get the 19" rims, the ride is harsh and the suspension has to work too hard to keep up and make up for the super hard, efficiency-minded run flats.

We've been down that similar road over the last 30 years (we've owned 10 BMWs - 3's, 5's, a 7, and now the X3s). A car is purchased, one which is hoped to be great, and it doesn't fit what reviews seem to indicate. Problems develop, and maybe the Service Center (and even Corporate) doesn't/(don't) really meet expectations or answer our needs at the time. So we did leave the BMW fold for a while (simply because of that very issue), experimenting with Asian and other European high-end products.

But we are now back, and I can't invision purchasing another Brand's name. This isn't about having blind loyalty, and at this point in time, the Macan S may be your best bet. But I have a suspicion that BMW is formulating a new X3 which will be ultra-competitive in every aspect to its competitors. If the design team and aero-engineers have a say in this equation (which Corporate would be insanely naiive to ignore), this 'will be' an amazing machine.

I place 'will be' in italics, for I would suspect there might be some hand-wringing behind the scenes with Executives and the CFOs of BMW as to whether they should wait for the 2017 cycle change. Nothing is written in stone, nor should it be in the dynamic realm of auto sales - but if they start losing the market share to their main competitors, it would seem pragmatism would take hold.

[PIEZON]

Congratulations! You and I have very similar motives. I could have signed my name to your post. Did the same with a similarly equipped S too. My x3 35i lease is due in August and I should get my Macan in September. The T is ideal but not within my budget. I feel the S will give us a lot more performance. The dual exhausts had me from the moment I saw them. Even Hyundais have dual exhausts. The X3 does not cater the people who want more performance. Great car, fun experience, looks great, love it but the Macan outclasses it.

[woodchuck1]

I've been playing around with the Macan configurator online, and it's much more possible to order a Porsche equipped exactly the way you want it than you can with BMW and their sometimes illogical grouping of options. You shouldn't have to accept equipment you don't want in order to get something you do.

[xDrive35i]

Originally Posted by woodchuck1

I've been playing around with the Macan configurator online, and it's much more possible to order a Porsche equipped exactly the way you want it than you can with BMW and their sometimes illogical grouping of options. You shouldn't have to accept equipment you don't want in order to get something you do.

Exactly. People don't get that with porsche, you're paying a premium for ultimate customizability.

[xDrive35i]

Originally Posted by PIEZON

Congratulations! You and I have very similar motives. I could have signed my name to your post. Did the same with a similarly equipped S too. My x3 35i lease is due in August and I should get my Macan in September. The T is ideal but not within my budget. I feel the S will give us a lot more performance. The dual exhausts had me from the moment I saw them. Even Hyundais have dual exhausts. The X3 does not cater the people who want more performance. Great car, fun experience, looks great, love it but the Macan outclasses it.

I remember you from back when I joined the forum. Congratulations!

[Northandy]

I'd have loved the macan, but over here in the uk it's a hefty premium over the x3, and there's the issue of over a year waiting list.

[philtrick123]

Originally Posted by Northandy

I'd have loved the macan, but over here in the uk it's a hefty premium over the x3, and there's the issue of over a year waiting list.

Also no negotiation on price. The price you see is the price you pay for a Porsche in the UK.

[Northandy]

Originally Posted by philtrick123

Also no negotiation on price. The price you see is the price you pay for a Porsche in the UK.

No very true, I managed a decent chunk off my coming x3.

[pokkus]

Originally Posted by philtrick123

Also no negotiation on price. The price you see is the price you pay for a Porsche in the UK.

True also in US.

Macan S was my first choice until I saw it with my own eyes. It looks gorgeous inside and out, but it was way too small for our family (2 boys with car seats). Trunk was also quite small but probably big enough for the strollers. Back seats were just too small for the car seats and headroom with panoramic roof was too low for anyone higher than 6 foot. Premium feeling and quality of the interior was much better than in X3 or even Q5.

Well, we finally bought one year old and fully loaded X3 and saved over $20k compared to Macan S. With that amount of money I can trade my current 2011 Mustang GT to new one and I still have some money left

[PIEZON]

Originally Posted by woodchuck1

I've been playing around with the Macan configurator online, and it's much more possible to order a Porsche equipped exactly the way you want it than you can with BMW and their sometimes illogical grouping of options. You shouldn't have to accept equipment you don't want in order to get something you do.

It is fun isn't it?

[PIEZON]

Originally Posted by xDrive35i

I remember you from back when I joined the forum. Congratulations!

Thank you very much! Love your config!

[PIEZON]

Originally Posted by pokkus

True also in US.

Macan S was my first choice until I saw it with my own eyes. It looks gorgeous inside and out, but it was way too small for our family (2 boys with car seats). Trunk was also quite small but probably big enough for the strollers. Back seats were just too small for the car seats and headroom with panoramic roof was too low for anyone higher than 6 foot. Premium feeling and quality of the interior was much better than in X3 or even Q5.

Well, we finally bought one year old and fully loaded X3 and saved over $20k compared to Macan S. With that amount of money I can trade my current 2011 Mustang GT to new one and I still have some money left

I don't know much about Audis but BMW in this category does offer a lot. I agree the Macan is a premium. May not be the best financial decision. It is a splurge that only we can relate to. :-)

[plymjack]

Over here a Macan is $69000 - and you have spend 44% on top with extras so that would make it $99000 - which is so much more it cant be a fair comparison with an X3 ..... but yes it looks good.

[kevink1]

Well, for me it was a stretch over what I wanted to spend for my X3. By the time I added mandatory options. Anything above that is out of reach.

Though, if I was willing to ignore the extra fuel costs, the XDrive35i would have been nice for the extra performance.

[Roundown]

I still find this comparison interesting- a $72,000 Macan S at MSRP is ~25% more expensive than a fully loaded xDrive35i M Sport with current incentives.

Somewhere a BMW engineer is blushing- you just can't pay them a better compliment than to cross shop the two.

[xDrive35i]

Originally Posted by cSurf

I still find this comparison interesting- a $72,000 Macan S at MSRP is ~25% more expensive than a fully loaded xDrive35i M Sport with current incentives.

Somewhere a BMW engineer is blushing- you just can't pay them a better compliment than to cross shop the two.

I consider it a substantial upgrade for many reasons--chief among them build and materials quality and assemblage.