[Snflgus]

Hi,

I am both a woman and an X3 fan. I just sold my E83 X3 30i (old style, 2010) and recently purchased an F25 X3 35i (2013). I have been the 2nd owner of both vehicles, and loved them both. Before buying the 35i, I also test drove two previously-owned 28i's. So, I feel good about my experience across the X3 spectrum. My husband and I got a tremendous deal on the 35i and liked it most between all of the vehicles we considered, so it was a no-brainer for us.

Here are four (4) considerations for you and your wife as you work toward a decision on which X3:

1. Is your wife leaning toward either vehicle? color? feature set? If so, the debate is over. Stop now and buy it. She will NOT bond with the runner-up and you will be grumpy when she doesn't love the vehicle, even though the differences "didn't matter that much" and were purely subjective.

If no clear preference, proceed:

2. What type of driver is your wife?

* Does she LIKE to drive - to hear some engine rumble and tire gripping as the vehicle replies, "yeah, I got this"? Did she ever have a manual transmission sports car? If so, 35i, no question. OR,

* Is the X3 just really fantastic transportation - super safe, with firm comfort, great-looking, and still "fun" to drive? if so, the 28i would be great.

Either way, both the 28i and the 35i are equally comfy at Home Depot as at an art opening gala. No bad choice.

3. On the "deal" side, please consider value with VIN specificity. If they are both great values and reasonably close in price (close to an economic tie), I personally believe the 35i is a better overall machine to drive.

4. Get Proof:

Once narrowed down, I always run three reports. Yes, I probably over-research, but I don't like hindsight surprises:

A. CarGurus (by VIN): https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/instantMarketValue.action

B. VINsmart, which provides the full NADA value summaries: retail, trade in (great, rough, average) and loan value. https://www.vinsmart.com/

C. AutoCheck.com, which has better auction tracking than CarFax. I still like Carfax for some of its maintenance tracking. Either would be fine, of course.


Good luck, have fun, send pics of the winner!!!

[lukeeesteve]

2.0T engine in comfort mode seems to have a little more throttle sensitivity initially compared to the 3.0T in comfort mode.

Once you get on the gas a little more that's where the 2.0T seems to fall flat relative to the 3.0T.

Put it in sports mode and the bigger engine is a beast and the programmed throttle sensitivity seems to wake up the vehicle.

I've had an x3 3.5 since 2012 and the car makes me smile when ever I move it to sports / sports+. When I get an x3 with the smaller engine, it's peppy but is definitely down on power when driven harder.

This is my 4th BMW with the 3.0 turbo and it's a very smooth, refined and torquey engine compared to the 2.0T. Everything is relative. If you can spring the extra $5K, do it, the extra weight of the X3 will benefit from the bigger 6 cylinder powertrain.

[Fro]

Thanks all for the advice. It helped us to really narrow down what we wanted. We ended up with a 35i--the same one that I listed a while back. Such a weird process, though. Found out it was demo toward the end of negotiations. Ended up getting it for dang near 10% off. Then it had a recall for a child safety latch. So, we ended up taking home a rental 28i, which was okay, but I did find it lacking in power. Then today, I get a call from BMW to come back and have the first oil change because of the mileage (around 3150 miles). All in all, though, we love the space of the car. I miss my old Mustang GT, but maybe someday, when our kid grows a little, I can get an M4 (I wish.).

[Pinewood]

Looks great. Congratulations on best colour and engine choice ;-)

[BatteryPowered]

Great car, first Xline 35 I've seen.

Originally Posted by rohan_b79

The xdrive28i is a budget choice, its for those who just want the badge but not the feeling of a BMW.

Made me spill my coffee. Average X3 that leaves dealer lot is $50K+, sure is a budget choice.

And you're not true BMW aficionado unless you're rolling in fully loaded X5M . . . here I said it.

PS.

If you're having trouble keeping up with Rav 4, no amount of BMW will help you.

[Fro]

Originally Posted by Pinewood

Looks great. Congratulations on best colour and engine choice ;-)

Yeah, we love the color. And the 6 is so smooth. It goes about its business in a very workman like fashion, but when you go to sports mode....