[pyo]

The fragile front windshield...

I just replaced it April this year and only made it 7 months...once replaced, it will be the 4th windshield my x3 has had in 25 months of ownership.

[JJ 911SC]

NSS

Originally Posted by JJ 911SC

Worse windshield ever, my 2020 had 3 pebble chips in one year and my 2022 has 2 pebble chips (that I hardly heard) in the first 6 month.

My previous 6 DD cars (Russian, Americans (4) & Japanese) from 1980 to 2020 had a grand total of 1 chip that was fixed.

Coincidentally my fun car (1983 911) has about 10+.

So, it lookalike that the German are good at performance but pretty $hitty when it comes to windshield.

[snareman]

Originally Posted by Wanna3

Having to adjust the passenger seat seatbelt after someone sits there to keep it from rattling against the B pillar.

I often have that with the rear shoulder belt if I have all the windows open.

[hranow]

Originally Posted by thelightning

The brakes; So sensitive/grabby, unable to brake smoothly.
The steering: Electronically dead and soulless.
The downshifting during braking: Sometimes ok, sometimes jerky. Dunno why the G01 has this. F series don't. xHP makes it a little better but still not perfect. Even my E46 does it better.
The audio: HK system but sounds worse than my E91 hifi system. Every song/genre/album needs a different EQ setup to sound good.

Why do i still drive this car

Absolutely agree with those statements. My 2004 Audi has a better sound than the HK in the X3

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by thelightning

The brakes; So sensitive/grabby, unable to brake smoothly.
The steering: Electronically dead and soulless.
The downshifting during braking: Sometimes ok, sometimes jerky. Dunno why the G01 has this. F series don't. xHP makes it a little better but still not perfect. Even my E46 does it better.
The audio: HK system but sounds worse than my E91 hifi system. Every song/genre/album needs a different EQ setup to sound good.

Why do i still drive this car

The steering is arguably outside of a Porsche Macan as good as it gets for an SUV... kind of hard to expect more, I think it's fine.

The downshifting during braking is what makes the car more responsive and keeps the turbos correctly spooled... it's why you can immediately get back on the gas and fly away. It's the nature of any "sporty" oriented vehicle.

Audio - yes, it's absolutely horrid.

[kavatski]

Originally Posted by ASAP

The steering is arguably outside of a Porsche Macan as good as it gets for an SUV... kind of hard to expect more, I think it's fine.

Wish I had the sport steering from the M40i if it's that good, since "electronically dead and soulless" perfectly describes the steering on my 30i. Easily the thing I dislike most about the car. Even if it just had more fake resistance in Sport mode I'd be happier, but the difference between Comfort and Sport is barely noticeable and it's too light for my taste either way.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by kavatski

Wish I had the sport steering from the M40i if it's that good, since "electronically dead and soulless" perfectly describes the steering on my 30i. Easily the thing I dislike most about the car. Even if it just had more fake resistance in Sport mode I'd be happier, but the difference between Comfort and Sport is barely noticeable and it's too light for my taste either way.

I'll put it to you this way... I had an M2 comp before this... was it better there? Well, maybe a bit because the rack was faster but definitely not a different level.

Personally, I think the steering rack is a bit too slow and would prefer what's in the X3M comp... but then I would come back here to a million complaints about the steering being too twitchy from everyone lol.

[kavatski]

Originally Posted by ASAP

I'll put it to you this way... I had an M2 comp before this... was it better there? Well, maybe a bit because the rack was faster but definitely not a different level.

Personally, I think the steering rack is a bit too slow and would prefer what's in the X3M comp... but then I would come back here to a million complaints about the steering being too twitchy from everyone lol.

Yeah, it's always a compromise and it could be a little faster, I agree. For me I can't get past the lack of feel and resistance. The 30i, at least with the base setup, steers like a luxobarge and I can palm the wheel when I'm parking, which you can't do on a Macan. I had a F48 X1 before the X3 and that thing had a more satisfying steering feel, ffs.

[avi66]

Originally Posted by kavatski

Wish I had the sport steering from the M40i if it's that good, since "electronically dead and soulless" perfectly describes the steering on my 30i. Easily the thing I dislike most about the car. Even if it just had more fake resistance in Sport mode I'd be happier, but the difference between Comfort and Sport is barely noticeable and it's too light for my taste either way.

Compared to other SUV’s the Sport Steering isn’t bad.

There’s certainly a noticeable difference between comfort and sport modes, and I generally stick steering to sport using the Sport individual setting, whilst avoiding some other sport settings, like transmission.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by avi66

Compared to other SUV’s the Sport Steering isn’t bad.

There’s certainly a noticeable difference between comfort and sport modes, and I generally stick steering to sport using the Sport individual setting, whilst avoiding some other sport settings, like transmission.

i am sport everything except suspension in my daily driving... the sport throttle plus sport tranny settings really improve responsiveness which i always need

[avi66]

Originally Posted by ASAP

i am sport everything except suspension in my daily driving... the sport throttle plus sport tranny settings really improve responsiveness which i always need

steering = sport
engine (throttle response) = sport
suspension = sport
transmission = comfort

For me, the power delivery of 700nm torque works pretty well with comfort transmission for everyday driving.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by avi66

steering = sport
engine (throttle response) = sport
suspension = sport
transmission = comfort

For me, the power delivery of 700nm torque works pretty well with comfort transmission for everyday driving.

yea very possible... you have more torque down low... to me it just didn't shift quick enough in comfort when i punched the gas ... now it's instant... but i applaud you for driving around in sport suspension on 21s in the UK

[thelightning]

I think the source of the problem is that stuff (the steering) is electronic. I might as well sit behind a computer playing a simulator.
Okay thats maybe a bit of an exaggeration but you know what I mean.

Hydro steering is just better but it's not polar bear friendly as it requires an extra pump on the belt so you rarely see it anymore.
It's been a while but I still look back at E9x N52/N53/N54. Those where "Freude am fahren" !!

[avi66]

Originally Posted by ASAP

but i applaud you for driving around in sport suspension on 21s in the UK

Lol considering I have a lumbar disc issue, and 21” RFT, it’s surprisingly a non issue.

My daughters Ford rides much worse on smaller wheels and non RFT tyres, go figure. It’s not even a sport suspension.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by thelightning

I think the source of the problem is that stuff (the steering) is electronic. I might as well sit behind a computer playing a simulator.
Okay thats maybe a bit of an exaggeration but you know what I mean.

Hydro steering is just better but it's not polar bear friendly as it requires an extra pump on the belt so you rarely see it anymore.
It's been a while but I still look back at E9x N52/N53/N54. Those where "Freude am fahren" !!

Almost no one does hydraulic steering anymore including Porsche... granted Porsche tunes their EPS far better because it's a performance company at heart.

With that being said, I drove an older 335i recently as I owned one back in the day and compared to the current EPS... I can't say much was better there. Yes, it has more feel and resistance... however it's a slow rack that brings back so much vibration to the steering wheel and creates so much weight that I would find it hard to drive a car like that again...

[ContactPatch]

Remember the steering knobs? I'd take it for a rip!

[baloney]

As a new X3 owner (30i), I have to say I agree with the negative comments about the steering feel. It's pretty terrible. While the weight is decent, it feels artificially weighted. And it's pretty imprecise and has a detached feeling. This is my first BMW and I was really surprised how bad that aspect of it is. Lots of good things about the car, but steering is not one of them. I would hope it's better in the 40i.

On a positive note, I do like the feel of the steering wheel itself. Nice and thick and feels good to grip. Please keep your mind out of the gutter when reading that last comment.

[EWL5]

Originally Posted by baloney

As a new X3 owner (30i), I have to say I agree with the negative comments about the steering feel. It's pretty terrible. While the weight is decent, it feels artificially weighted. And it's pretty imprecise and has a detached feeling. This is my first BMW and I was really surprised how bad that aspect of it is. Lots of good things about the car, but steering is not one of them. I would hope it's better in the 40i.

On a positive note, I do like the feel of the steering wheel itself. Nice and thick and feels good to grip. Please keep your mind out of the gutter when reading that last comment.

My understanding is that the 40i steering is the same. If you truly wanted the BMW feel from "way back when", you should probably step up to M cars. BMW is just catering to the general public who wants the X3 to be a comfortable daily driver (in that sense, mission accomplished as can be seen from sales!).

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by EWL5

My understanding is that the 40i steering is the same. If you truly wanted the BMW feel from "way back when", you should probably step up to M cars. BMW is just catering to the general public who wants the X3 to be a comfortable daily driver (in that sense, mission accomplished as can be seen from sales!).

M car steering isn't what it used to be either... when I drove the G80 M3, it had a similar disconnected feeling... better but still not quite it.

They cater this steering to everyone and who is to blame? Well, the people because they complained in the E generation, BMW steering was too "stiff" lol.

[avi66]

Originally Posted by EWL5

My understanding is that the 40i steering is the same. If you truly wanted the BMW feel from "way back when", you should probably step up to M cars. BMW is just catering to the general public who wants the X3 to be a comfortable daily driver (in that sense, mission accomplished as can be seen from sales!).

Not sure about different markets but in the UK the M40 is standard with the Variable Sports Steering - code 2VL. The lower power cars don’t get this here.

[dmicah]

I've always wondered why with EPS the degree of steering feel can't be user configurable, like so much other stuff.

I had a 2020 X3 M40i, which was numb. I now have a 2023, which feels even number. They are both accurate. The difference in effort between comfort and sport for the 2020 was detectable, but the difference in feel was zero. The difference in effort between comfort and sport on the 2023 is far less significant. The difference in feel is again zero.

To be specific, when I talk about feel what I'm talking about is how much the steering communicates the level of adhesion and proximity to the limit of adhesion the tires are at. Road texture is communicated, but that's not particularly helpful.

[finn1969]

My first and only real complaint is getting the shadowline trim yet the X3 M40 badging in the rear was all chrome. It really looks incomplete compared to the rest of the vehicle.

Everything else has been a dream.