[BMRu4ia]

Looking to finalize my X3.
So is the Premium package a Must Have? Or just a personal preference/nice to have?

Going for a 28i w Premium or 35i w NO premium.
Luxury or Performance?

[XGoober]

Luxury or Performance - only you can answer that one.

For me the Premium package was a must-have. I wanted to get away from Black seats and the Beige leatherette comes with Beige carpet and lower fascia/door trim, which I really didn't like the look of. The Oyster leather provides black carpet and lower fascia/door trim and in my opinion makes a very substantial difference to the interior appearance of the car. If you're planning to go for an all-black interior then you should pay attention to the quality of the leatherette seating. I didn't get a chance to look at that as everything I tested had the premium package.

Needless to say the 35i is a hoot to drive with that awesome engine so if there is no way you can swing the 35i with Premium then I don't envy your decision. Spend some quality time inside a non-premium if you can and if you are happy with the interior I would suggest going for the 35i.

[lbjgh]

Luxury and the x3 doesn't go together no matter how you cut it. This car may be premium. But. Not luxurious... Get a merc, lexus audi if you want luxury.

[tango131]

Originally Posted by lbjgh

Luxury and the x3 doesn't go together no matter how you cut it. This car may be premium. But. Not luxurious... Get a merc, lexus audi if you want luxury.

I have a different view. At least with the sports activity package or m- sports (only way to get leather sports seats in the US), I feel (and my wife agrees) the X3's interior is more luxurious than a q5 or lexus rx. The ML and cayanne are a bit more luxurious (and only really in the lower door plastics which are softer than the hard ones in the X3), but they don't compete in the same price brackets. I would agree, however, than the base fake leather does not look that luxurious. We got the sports seats because we felt they were much more comfortable and looked much better than the base versions (which is another demerit of the q5 – crappy seats in the US versions as we do not get the S-line sport seats the rest of the world gets).

[02420X3]

Another choice is to look at what the individual Options are that make up the Premium Package, see which ones you personally care about, and look at the cost of the individual Options versus the entire Package. For example, if you only care about Comfort Access, then that's a $500 Option vs. $2950 for the entire Package.

Me, I bought the Package, which changes from year to year. I love the Interior Lighting package (now called Ambiance Lighting), Comfort Access, must-have Lumbar Support, and Panoramic Moonroof (not standard in '11). I could care less about the Auto-dimming Mirrors and the Storage Package (which has never been unwrapped).

[slam]

A personal preference, but having more power can be amazing on the open road vs your daily commute with luxury features that can make your daily drive more enjoyable? I chose the package with the 2.8 model with additional saving on fuel economy.

[Dechy]

I couldn't care less for the extra bells & whistles of any package aside from M-Sport; wheels, seats, steering, no ugly black plastics was the easy choice on the 35i.

Any package is HIGHLY subjective, no one will have the same views on a subject like this.

[KingX]

Originally Posted by BMRu4ia

Looking to finalize my X3.
So is the Premium package a Must Have? Or just a personal preference/nice to have?

Going for a 28i w Premium or 35i w NO premium.
Luxury or Performance?

If money is limited I would say the 28i with premium package...or even a 28i with a few select standalone options. I do think however that once you start adding anything above that i.e. convenience package etc. then you're better off with the 35i since some things come standard in it plus you get the upgraded engine..always a plus

[jsbos]

I didn't want to pay for the Premium package but went with it. Love the lumbar support, leather, wood trim, lighting package and moonroof.

[Mark86]

For me, I wouldn't purchase a BMW without the premium package. I love the auto dimming mirrors, leather, lumbar, storage, and interior lighting. I think the interior of a BMW does not look as good a Lexus to the naked eye, but the fit and finish of a BMW cannot be beat.

[Fryguy29]

Originally Posted by lbjgh

Luxury and the x3 doesn't go together no matter how you cut it. This car may be premium. But. Not luxurious... Get a merc, lexus audi if you want luxury.

Do you mean ride quality or interior finish? I felt the Merc and Lexus had a much softer ride. I thought the interior finish of the X3 was quite comparable to both, however.

[lukeeesteve]

My vote : Get the 3.5 no premium.
Leather vs leatherette (most people can't tell the difference)
Comfort access - cheap stand alone option
Auto dimming mirrors - unless you are always on the road at night, old school is good enough
What matters more to YOU? A more peppy engine or a few more bells and whistles?

There will always be people in both camps, so there will always be someone to buy your car at resale time. If however gas prices will be 4 times more expensive when it comes resale time, I suspect the 2.8 might have a bigger audience.

[blorrior]

I recently bought a 2012 X3 35i with no premium package with leatherette with certain 'select features' only.
I had traded it my 335i that had all packages incl leather etc(wifey needed an suv). So, i'm hopefully comparing a bigger apple to a smaller apple here

Honestly, i havent 'really' leveraged many of those addnl luxury features in the old 335i (Examples - remote garage door opener in the mirror - mine's an older garage and wasnt compatible, liked the look n feel of Garmin gps better, toddler spilling stuff on leather seat etc).
Whats good abt the X3 35i is that certain items like wood trim, chrome tail pipes, panoramic moon roof etc are standard. Other standalone features like heated front seats etc can be selected without ordering the whole cold weather package etc. maybe there are other standalone features..
Anyways, it just fit our unique needs/wants..Got it for a good deal as well..hopefully want to keep this car for about 8 yrs and the 35i engine is great!..Not thinking much about resale value for now.