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      09-07-2015, 05:37 PM   #1
Flipflop99
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New X3 LCI 2.0d SE - first thoughts.

I can now finally understand why there is an 8 month waiting list for this car in the UK. It's absolutely brilliant. I own an '07 E92 325i msport manual and the X3 is now my wife's car (lucky old her).

I spec'd this car on a budget so although I'd have loved a 35d msport, finances didn't allow. Spec is as follows.
Space grey (I know, I know, boring but I think it looks smart)
Black leather (I know, I know, boring again but oyster, in England where it's always muddy and wet and mouldy and awful - come on? It'll be ruined in a year)
Satin silver trim (cheap and inoffensive)
Auto gearbox (no paddles - wife won't use them but apparently ZF know a thing or two about making beautifully shifting gearboxes and dumping them in BMW's)
Lumber support (essential for long distance and should be standard)
Xenons (again should be standard on a £30k+ car)
Privacy glass (for aesthetic reasons and nothing else)
17 Y spoke 305 alloys (as this means you can still have real tyres and not that run-flat, Flintstone wheel option and they look a million times better than the standard wheels for only £130 extra)
Service package (it's not great value at 20,000 mile service intervals but hey, I don't have to think about it for another 5 years).

The auto gearbox is so so good. The shifts are so smooth and it always seems to pick the correct one of the eight ratios it has to choose from.

The steering seems a little light and without much feel but that's the case in most new cars it seems now that steering is electric.

Ride is spot on and puts my 3 series to shame, mainly thanks to properly chunky tyres that are not that god awful, feel robbing, run flat nonsense. Did I mention I don't like runflats much?

Cornering isn't bad for such a large vehicle and the view and driving position are just superb. I honestly think it is the perfect size car. It's so practical and still manoeuvrable in the Roman city of Bath where we live and where the streets were designed for horses. You see people struggling in their range-rover's and X5's for parking but the X3 has none of these problems yet still has all the presence and premium feel as the Galiothon SUV's.

MPG seems to stay at 40 but too early in its life to tell if this is accurate or not.

Finally, engine. What a bloody masterpiece. So quiet and smooth but crikey does it shift this car down the road if you ask it to. The torque surge for a 4 cylinder is just staggering and I cannot imagine what the 6 pot engines are like (I'd love to find out).

So all the reviews you read are right. This is a brilliant car and it does have all the power you'll ever really need unless you regularly need to dispatch long lines of members of the 40mph everywhere (even through 30 limits) club to keep you sane.

Now just hoping it proves reliable (as its a keeper) and hoping the engine doesn't suffer any cam chain problems like older 2.0 diesel BMW engines seem to. Fingers crossed.

I'd love to post photos but the ones I keep attaching are too large, I only have an iPad and I'm computer illiterate but I'll keep trying.
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      09-08-2015, 02:10 AM   #2
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Welcome and congrats!
Sounds as though you are very happy with your purchase (albeit it's the wife's car, but hey). Thanks for sharing your thoughts so far.

We (wife and I) test drove an SE before going out in the M Sport and even though I was adamant I wanted a softer ride, I went for the M Sport as I felt the SE wasn't to my liking in the bends, but that's a personal choice. I guess I've had to compromise and live with a slightly harder ride.
We have the Pre LCI and the one thing I find a little annoying (and I've tried to forget about it and put it out of my head) is how rough the engine is on idle / when pulling away, once its cruising it's dead silent but it can be gruff during low speed. I wonder how improved the new new engine (or sound proofing) is in this area?

Good luck with the car and I hope you get a chance to drive it more often
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      09-08-2015, 03:03 AM   #3
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Congrats and welcome

The X3 really is better than the sum of its parts

I've been very fortunate to drive many different SUV's and have yet to find another that gels so well

It's solid and secure on the motorway yet can be pressed on down country road and A roads with a surprising aplomb

The 20d engine, with 190bhp, is more powerful and torquey than the 30d was only a few years ago )

Agree with you over the paddles, no real point in them

I went for the sport seats as I find them night and day over the standard seats. I've done many countless thousands of miles in BMWs with the standard seats and would never buy my own without upgraded seats


Mine has 18s and runflats but the ride is supple yet firm

I agree the car is the perfect size for UK roads, not too big, yet with plenty of space inside

And .. Not to forget .. You don't see them on every street corner

Enjoy
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Current: X3 20d Xline auto, Melbourne/Beige, Sport seats, Viz pack, heated steering wheel, Folding mirrors, privacy glass, luggage net, pro nav

Current: E85 Z4 3.0si roadster titanium/Syrah individual

Current: F31 320d touring black/black work hack
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      09-08-2015, 05:24 AM   #4
Flipflop99
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Pete, appreciate your thoughts and thanks for the welcome. Oh I would have loved an msport and I have no doubt that it would be far better in the corners but I have my E92 for that and the wife is generally a cautious driver so I don't feel she would have made the most of msport suspension. If it was my car however, I'd have found it hard to resist. On the engine at idle and slow speeds subject, I don't think you're missing much as you definitely still know it's a diesel in these circumstances but I don't find it intrusive. Only an owner on this forum that has owned both the pre lci 2.0d and the current engine could give you an accurate description of how they compare.

Andy, thanks for the welcome and info re the torque - I didn't know that. Yes, I agree the upgraded seats would have been good as I have the same thing in my 3 series coupe but unfortunately budget wouldn't allow and it took me a lot of haggling to get the wife to agree to sun protection glass! Time will tell how bad the standard ones are. I'm glad your runflats are ok - I think they have come on a great deal since first being introduced. Great point about not seeing them on every street corner - I bought this car and spec'd it to fall under the radar and not get noticed. What a total failure that has turned out to be. Everyone stares at it all the time and driving it out of London, people were taking bloody pictures of it! Not what I was aiming for with an SE. I think those angel eyes that come with xenon or LED are part of the problem as they do look good.
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      09-08-2015, 06:50 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Petex3 View Post
Welcome and congrats!
Sounds as though you are very happy with your purchase (albeit it's the wife's car, but hey). Thanks for sharing your thoughts so far.

We (wife and I) test drove an SE before going out in the M Sport and even though I was adamant I wanted a softer ride, I went for the M Sport as I felt the SE wasn't to my liking in the bends, but that's a personal choice. I guess I've had to compromise and live with a slightly harder ride.
We have the Pre LCI and the one thing I find a little annoying (and I've tried to forget about it and put it out of my head) is how rough the engine is on idle / when pulling away, once its cruising it's dead silent but it can be gruff during low speed. I wonder how improved the new new engine (or sound proofing) is in this area?

Good luck with the car and I hope you get a chance to drive it more often
My thoughts are exactly the same as yours concerning engine noise. At 14000 miles, mine seems to be getting noisier! I will be really interested to see how different the new engine is!

Flipflop99 - congratulations on what sounds like a really nice car!
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      09-08-2015, 08:06 AM   #6
Flipflop99
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Thanks Ian I will keep you updated re engine noise. There must be someone on here that's had both engines.
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      09-08-2015, 10:42 AM   #7
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Here she is!
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Last edited by Flipflop99; 09-08-2015 at 10:44 AM.. Reason: Photo worked and I wasn't sure it was going to.
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      09-08-2015, 12:15 PM   #8
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Replying to question on engine comparison, Yes I have driven pre LCI 2.0d for 4 years and LCI 2.0d for six months now and I can say that the new engine is much quieter, revs quicker and smoother and now at 6000 mls is loosening out and is noticably quicker than the older X3. The new B47 engine was one of the main reasons for trading up to 2015 model. Delighted with it
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      09-08-2015, 12:27 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ninoo View Post
Replying to question on engine comparison, Yes I have driven pre LCI 2.0d for 4 years and LCI 2.0d for six months now and I can say that the new engine is much quieter, revs quicker and smoother and now at 6000 mls is loosening out and is noticably quicker than the older X3. The new B47 engine was one of the main reasons for trading up to 2015 model. Delighted with it
May be tempted to test drive the LCI model out of interest, although I doubt the wife will want us to update our car just yet!
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      09-09-2015, 04:26 PM   #10
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Flipflop - have you tried Sport mode yet? Kills the mpg but so much fun.
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      09-10-2015, 02:38 PM   #11
Flipflop99
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No I haven't actually. Really?! I wasn't expecting it to do anything. Should I do a few more miles first as its only done 500?
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