[Smithy2014]

At long last my new X3 has arrived, it arrived last night so have only had this morning to have a proper look around and play about.

Some initial thoughts:-

Engine
Wow, I cannot believe how much quieter it is compared to my old X3, seems smoother and more powerful as well.

VDC
My old X3 had sports suspension and led to a very rough ride so I opted for the variable Dampers this time around, especially as I was getting 20" wheels, i was expecting the ride to be similar due to the wheels but it is a marked improvement and glides over the bumps!

LC1 Interior Updates
The LC1 updates work really well and makes the interior more premium. still working my way around the new idrive menu's - seems a little more complicated than before but perhaps that's because its new tech to me. One issue I am having is that my ipod will not connect to the car like it did on my old one, it is connected via the usb in the centre armrest, clicking on the external devices option it picks up the ipod connection but says 'loading' on the idrive screen - any idea's? Got my phone connected but have noticed that the lovely woman who responds to the voice command prompts has been replaced by a man - is there a way of changing it? Only gripe is the slider for the cupholders - seems daft that the slider won't slide with the tubs in place

Cost Cutting
Don't know why they do it on a premium product but there are a few useful things missing this time around that were on my old one - the second bag hook in the boot, the elastic strap in the boot, the divider and folding box under the boot floor - penny pinching in the extreme!!

Interior / Exterior Colours
Opted for Ivory white instead of Oyster Beige this time around and it is gorgeous - really really nice with the red strip on the back section and x embelishment on the headrest. Carbon Black - I think I made the right decision, very limited colour selection and was the only colour I was left with - it does look 'black' but also blue in some light

Further updates to follow!

[lovebimmers]

Pics or it didn't happen!! Never seen the white interior. Please post lots of pics of those!


Enjoy the new car!

[ianfp]

Congrats on the new car! Pics would be nice, although we all know what it looks like.

I am really interested in your comments about the engine and VDC. These are two prime considerations for me when I replace my car.

[Jon Fi]

Congratulation on your new car.

We also just got delivery of our new X3 replacing a 2012 X3, to add to your list of observations:

- we switched from the 3.5 six cylinder to the 2.8 four cylinder motor which is quiet and delivers good acceleration. I am missing the sound though :-) and the fuel economy so far is only better by 2 miles/gallon (24 vs. 22)

- we opted to not take the lighting package this time, big mistake! The halogen lights are awful and we actually feel insecure driving at night. We are exploring retrofitting at least with Xenon lights, which will probably set us back around $2500

- not sure what and if any was changed on the brakes however we find the brakes missing responsiveness and are feeling quite soft. In case you need them one really needs to press the pedal down hard. There seems to be an 'inofficial' retrofit possibility with an M braking package that we are exploring

- we also opted for carbon metallic and really like it, we also had it on our previous X3. However the paint appears to be 'soft', I tried to remove a little bug splash on it with my finger and scratched the carbon metallic surface immediately.
Already in the showroom we had spotted some dull areas on the front bumper around the headlight washer ports and around the lower opening. It might have come from the protective film when transporting the unit? The dealership tried to remove it when we took over the car but those efforts did not last. We just went to the dealership paint shop and they recommended to use the car wash around the corner to get it polished there. Really?

- I like the new Idrive with the writing functionality, that makes searching or data entry so much easier

- the front and back camera deliver a great, crisp picture

- it took us quite some time to program the garage door opener. The manual calls to press both buttons in parallel, which did not work. Only when pressing the buttons in sequence we were successful. As of today we have not figured out how to change the timezone.

- the wireless charging works well however the slot in the armrest is really tight. We have protective covers on our phones and need to squeeze them into place. I am concerned that the plastic holder will brake in the not too distant future but don't want to strip the phone every time I want to charge it there.

- I can also confirm that there is some penny pinching that we have observed
* there are no door sill protectors for the back passenger doors, on our M model they only come for the front doors. We just bought them from BMW, expensive and no M logo
* the button for the tail gate was moved to the driver door panel which is convenient. However the panel, where this button was located previously was not replaced, the opening for the switch is just patched with a piece of diffent looking plastic
* the opening where the side blinkers were mounted on the front fenders was covered with a simple chrome colored plug. We are thinking of retrofitting the blinkers

While we were very enthusiastic when we got our 2012 X3 this one feels different, unfortunately.

[Smithy2014]

Photos to come when it stops raining

Discovered last night the lack of rear door scuff plates - how petty!!! On the plus side I now have rainfall radar......

Getting loads and loads of compliments, many cannot believe it is more or less the same car I had before (F25), absolutely adore the ivory seats, even my boss who has a £100K RRS SVR is jealous of them! I got the dealer to swop the interior lights to LED (it is a BMW dealer fit option on the website) and it baths the interior with lovely white light which really improves the interior ambiance.

Loving it so far, feels like a different car compared to my last X3

[Smithy2014]

Here are some pics that I took over the weekend






Really really pleased with the colour - looks stunning when the sun is out - she has already taken her first casualty though!!! She was parked on my drive at home and someone cycled past and turned their head to admire it and collided with a lamp-post lol

[nickb3]

Very nice. Those photos show off Carbon Black, really well. Its takes some effort to keep it clean, but it is time well spent when the sun is out.

[Pinewood]

Carbon black is a lovely colour,I didn't go for it with the X3 as my 530d was that colour.
Enjoy the car , it looks amazing!

[Peter_R]

Originally Posted by Smithy2014

Interior / Exterior Colours
Opted for Ivory white instead of Oyster Beige this time around and it is gorgeous

Light colours always look nice. Just be careful with the wearing of denim jeans because of the transfer of the dye to the painted leather surface. It is bugger to remove.

[Nachbar]

Originally Posted by Peter_R

Light colours always look nice. Just be careful with the wearing of denim jeans because of the transfer of the dye to the painted leather surface. It is bugger to remove.

It's easy to remove with BMW Leather Cleaner. Did that couple times (Cabrio with tan Leather).

[Peter_R]

Originally Posted by Nachbar

It's easy to remove with BMW Leather Cleaner. Did that couple times (Cabrio with tan Leather).

Agreed. But did want to be doing it everyday because the coating on the leather is paint. Anyway, the blue dye shows up very quickly on the white or oyster leather colours.

[Nachbar]

Originally Posted by Peter_R

Agreed. But did want to be doing it everyday because the coating on the leather is paint. Anyway, the blue dye shows up very quickly on the white or oyster leather colours.

Well, it wasn't that bad in my case. Twice a year was enough. I wear bluejeans every day.

[Peter_R]

Originally Posted by Nachbar

Well, it wasn't that bad in my case. Twice a year was enough. I wear bluejeans every day.

That may be in your case, but there have been observations to the contrary on several other UK forums. That is the only reason for me to casually mention it. Still it matters little to me because I have dark seats and anyway, the original poster is happy, that is why he chose them.

[Arrow29]

Looks great, congrats!
I have oyster on my m135i and my wife just took delivery of her new X3 yesterday with oyster interior - as you can guess we love light interiors I think it really lifts the ambience.nI've been careful with mine and the seats still look pretty good 3.5yrs later.

[PX3]

Congratulations, it looks fantastic, I love the wheels!

In relation to the engine, I totally agree, as we own an X3 2012 (N47 engine) and I have recently purchased a 420d (B47 engine) and the difference is night and day. I would love my X3 to have the B47 engine as it sounds so rough in comparison. So much so, I'm currently looking around to see whether there are any decent 3 series gt's on the used market, as it could be time for a change

[nickb3]

I have Oyster interior and I have had the car for just over a year. I have used a combination of Dr Leather DyeBlock and a good quality leather cleaner (every 4-6 weeks) and my experience has been that any dye transfer has been relatively mild, and easy to clean.

[Andy_o]

Originally Posted by Smithy2014

Here are some pics that I took over the weekend






Really really pleased with the colour - looks stunning when the sun is out - she has already taken her first casualty though!!! She was parked on my drive at home and someone cycled past and turned their head to admire it and collided with a lamp-post lol

Lovely looking car .. seems like only yesterday you were getting your last one

[Andy_o]

Originally Posted by Nachbar

Well, it wasn't that bad in my case. Twice a year was enough. I wear bluejeans every day.

I agree

I have beige leather... wear blue jeans daily and two years in the leather is still perfect and unmarked

I carry baby wipes in the car and just give the seats a wipe over when I clean it

Really a non issue for me

[Smithy2014]

+1 I had the oyster beige in my last X3 and regularly wore jeans and had no issues, I used baby wipes now and again - I expect nothing different with the Ivory White seats

[Jon Fi]

We meanwhile have driven our new X3 for over 2000 miles, here some further insights:

- despite driving mostly highways fuel economy did not really improve, we average 23.4mpg, only 6% better than what we achieved with our previous X3 3.5 and far away from what was quoted for the vehicle

- the brakes still feel quite soft, we will follow the approach other have suggested and will change the pads, maybe the lines and check that there us no air in the system during the first maintenance service

- we had the chance to ride in a new X5 and noticed that there the middle column between the doors is very nicely cladded top to bottom. The X3 looks great at the top but the lower part is cladded with some in comparison cheapish looking high gloss black plastic

- as we unfortunately did not buy the lighting package we have switched the daylight running and parking light halogen bulbs for LEDs, looks much better. Osram Americas has a great webpage where they list, vehicle specific, the bulbs. We chose the recommended Zevo ones, what they don't tell you though is that the are not Canbus compatible, consequently we got bulb out warning messages.
We will not switch to their recommended higher intensity halogen bulbs like the 'night breaker' as users reported that the additional heat is so intensive that the reflectors started to crumble. Does anybody have a LED H7 bulb recommendation for the low & high beams?

- we have the leather in oyster inside, no issues yet

- we like the space on the back seats and the ambient lighting

[Smithy2014]

1100 miles in and loving my new X3 but have had a couple of issues..

The first was an annoying rattle coming from the passenger side rear door area, checked the towing eye in the boot compartment incase it had got loose - nope fixed tight, removed the parcel shelf - still did it, even fastened the rear seat belts and still had this rattle. Finally found it today, the dealer had fitted LED interior lights prior to delivery and the lense to the light in the roof of the passenger side was not clipped in so was rattling away.

The other issue is a bit more concerning, I have been getting a faint smell which I 'think' is diesel fumes, anyone had any similar issue or what the possible cause may be

[Peter_R]

Originally Posted by Smithy2014

The other issue is a bit more concerning, I have been getting a faint smell which I 'think' is diesel fumes, anyone had any similar issue or what the possible cause may be

Diesel fumes or smell of diesel fuel?
When?
All the time?
Stationary or on the move?
In traffic?
On the motorway?

With any fumes it best to contact the dealer!