2020 X3 M40i loaner review

chassis · 02-21-2020, 06:51 PM

My wife took her X3 in for an oil change, and received an X3 M40i as a loaner. I had a chance to drive it during lunch and enjoyed it. My daily is the "other" German manufacture, whose first name is Gottlieb.

Pros
- Acceleration. Very nice, drivable in both comfort and sport+.
- Exhaust. Great note with pops on throttle liftoff.
- Transmission. Outstanding crisp shifting, no surprise from ZF.
- Steering wheel. Nice and chunky.

Cons
- harmon kardon not well implemented. Mid-range and bass are muddy. This is compared to a Benz hk implementation in a GLE350, which is a top notch execution.
- Front extendable seat cushion. This is a BMW thing, and I don't like it in my wife's X3. The latch/release handle is always brushing against my leg.

Summary
- A compelling product that has me thinking. A check of cargurus shows that a year old model seems like a good buy.

Tchgrif · 02-22-2020, 07:43 AM

Cons
- harmon kardon not well implemented. Mid-range and bass are muddy. This is compared to a Benz implementation in a GLE350, which is a top notch execution.

bav sounds ghost subwoofers and speaker set fixes this, doesn't shake the windows but fixes this

rmorin1249 · 02-23-2020, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chassis

My wife took her X3 in for an oil change, and received an X3 M40i as a loaner. I had a chance to drive it during lunch and enjoyed it. My daily is the "other" German manufacture, whose first name is Gottlieb.

Pros
- Acceleration. Very nice, drivable in both comfort and sport+.
- Exhaust. Great note with pops on throttle liftoff.
- Transmission. Outstanding crisp shifting, no surprise from ZF.
- Steering wheel. Nice and chunky.

Cons
- harmon kardon not well implemented. Mid-range and bass are muddy. This is compared to a Benz implementation in a GLE350, which is a top notch execution.
- Front extendable seat cushion. This is a BMW thing, and I don't like it in my wife's X3. The latch/release handle is always brushing against my leg.

Summary
- A compelling product that has me thinking. A check of cargurus shows that a year old model seems like a good buy.

My thoughts as well.

JCLBoston · 02-28-2020, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chassis

My wife took her X3 in for an oil change, and received an X3 M40i as a loaner. I had a chance to drive it during lunch and enjoyed it. My daily is the "other" German manufacture, whose first name is Gottlieb.

Pros
- Acceleration. Very nice, drivable in both comfort and sport+.
- Exhaust. Great note with pops on throttle liftoff.
- Transmission. Outstanding crisp shifting, no surprise from ZF.
- Steering wheel. Nice and chunky.

Cons
- harmon kardon not well implemented. Mid-range and bass are muddy. This is compared to a Benz hk implementation in a GLE350, which is a top notch execution.
- Front extendable seat cushion. This is a BMW thing, and I don't like it in my wife's X3. The latch/release handle is always brushing against my leg.

Summary
- A compelling product that has me thinking. A check of cargurus shows that a year old model seems like a good buy.

Did you get a chance to play with the EQ settings? Could make quite a difference, though not to say this system is world class.

BMWZ4 · 02-28-2020, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCLBoston

Quote:

Originally Posted by chassis

My wife took her X3 in for an oil change, and received an X3 M40i as a loaner. I had a chance to drive it during lunch and enjoyed it. My daily is the "other" German manufacture, whose first name is Gottlieb.

Pros
- Acceleration. Very nice, drivable in both comfort and sport+.
- Exhaust. Great note with pops on throttle liftoff.
- Transmission. Outstanding crisp shifting, no surprise from ZF.
- Steering wheel. Nice and chunky.

Cons
- harmon kardon not well implemented. Mid-range and bass are muddy. This is compared to a Benz hk implementation in a GLE350, which is a top notch execution.
- Front extendable seat cushion. This is a BMW thing, and I don't like it in my wife's X3. The latch/release handle is always brushing against my leg.

Summary
- A compelling product that has me thinking. A check of cargurus shows that a year old model seems like a good buy.

Did you get a chance to play with the EQ settings? Could make quite a difference, though not to say this system is world class.

My thoughts exactly.

lippstuh · 02-28-2020, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chassis

Summary
- A compelling product that has me thinking. A check of cargurus shows that a year old model seems like a good buy.

What price are you seeing? The lowest I saw on cargurus was $52k for a 2019 X3 M40i for a 63-64k MSRP car. Contacted the dealer who wouldn't budget.

I'm picking up my 2020 new for $53k at the same 63k MSRP. Seems to me like a good deal

Bilbofraggins · 02-28-2020, 03:44 PM

I’m thinking we did pretty good... grabbed a 2019 with 53km... price was $72,800.... picked it up for under 55 with nothing but sales tax to add...

It was cheaper than much of the similar spec’d used 2018s with 15000km or more...

Max Well · 02-28-2020, 04:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chassis

My wife took her X3 in for an oil change, and received an X3 M40i as a loaner. I had a chance to drive it during lunch and enjoyed it. ...

Cons
- harmon kardon not well implemented. Mid-range and bass are muddy. This is compared to a Benz hk implementation in a GLE350, which is a top notch execution. ...

Summary
- A compelling product that has me thinking. A check of cargurus shows that a year old model seems like a good buy.

As a loaner it is guaranteed to still have ASD intact, so judging HK sound with that present is difficult, at best. If you bypass it, or code it off, or pull the fuse and listen to FLAC files through the USB, then it might give you a better idea as to its capabilities. And as others mentioned, be sure to adjust the settings as well, as we all have different preferences (music genre included).

chassis · 02-28-2020, 05:39 PM

I didn't play with the EQ, but did pull it up on the iDrive.

Regarding ASD, I can't say I noticed engine noise piped into the cabin.

Regarding prices, I use cargurus as an estimate for market pricing.

02-21-2020, 06:51 PM	#1
chassis Colonel 6633 Rep 2,326 Posts Drives: 9Y0 Cayenne S Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: Einbahnstraße iTrader: (0) Garage List 2020 Porsche Cayenne S [7.69]	2020 X3 M40i loaner review My wife took her X3 in for an oil change, and received an X3 M40i as a loaner. I had a chance to drive it during lunch and enjoyed it. My daily is the "other" German manufacture, whose first name is Gottlieb. Pros - Acceleration. Very nice, drivable in both comfort and sport+. - Exhaust. Great note with pops on throttle liftoff. - Transmission. Outstanding crisp shifting, no surprise from ZF. - Steering wheel. Nice and chunky. Cons - harmon kardon not well implemented. Mid-range and bass are muddy. This is compared to a Benz hk implementation in a GLE350, which is a top notch execution. - Front extendable seat cushion. This is a BMW thing, and I don't like it in my wife's X3. The latch/release handle is always brushing against my leg. Summary - A compelling product that has me thinking. A check of cargurus shows that a year old model seems like a good buy. Last edited by chassis; 02-23-2020 at 09:09 PM..
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02-22-2020, 07:43 AM	#2
Tchgrif Lieutenant 268 Rep 459 Posts Drives: X4 M40i Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: pgh pa, USA iTrader: (0)	Cons - harmon kardon not well implemented. Mid-range and bass are muddy. This is compared to a Benz implementation in a GLE350, which is a top notch execution. bav sounds ghost subwoofers and speaker set fixes this, doesn't shake the windows but fixes this
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02-28-2020, 03:44 PM	#7
Bilbofraggins Captain 284 Rep 912 Posts Drives: 2013 X6M, 2019 X3 M40I Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: North of the Wall iTrader: (0)	I’m thinking we did pretty good... grabbed a 2019 with 53km... price was $72,800.... picked it up for under 55 with nothing but sales tax to add... It was cheaper than much of the similar spec’d used 2018s with 15000km or more...
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02-28-2020, 05:39 PM	#9
chassis Colonel 6633 Rep 2,326 Posts Drives: 9Y0 Cayenne S Join Date: Mar 2019 Location: Einbahnstraße iTrader: (0) Garage List 2020 Porsche Cayenne S [7.69]	I didn't play with the EQ, but did pull it up on the iDrive. Regarding ASD, I can't say I noticed engine noise piped into the cabin. Regarding prices, I use cargurus as an estimate for market pricing.
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