since 1976
since 1976
By Lee Pang Seng
BMW has sent pulse racing with some of its performance road cars, racily and sportily decked out to awe the onlooker. For the performance variants carrying the M Sport logo, the vehicles tend to be less forward and more ordinary, leaving the dedicated badge to identify its sporty profile.
This was clearly the case of the BMW X3 30 xDrive M Sport. Other than the M Sport badge on the flanks near the front door, the striking bicolour alloy wheels are the other hint of its performance potential.
Such an approach should go down well with prospective BMW owners as most would prefer an understated vehicle that blends in with the general traffic rather stand out and invite cheeky people who might want to ‘gauge’ the car’s acceleration performance. It’s good enough that most would recognise the X3 as a BMW and that it is an M Sport variant is best left to the discerning few to appreciate.
The X3 30 xDrive M Sport was launched here in late April to provide a more premium model to the X3 20 xDrive M Sport. This is the fourth-generation version and BMW prefers to describe this category of vehicles as Sports Activity Vehicles (SAVs) rather than follow the general norm in Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs).
The X3 30 M Sport is typically BMW in body profile; its elongated front is somewhat balanced by the long body, quite akin to a stationwagon or an estate but in a taller form. We liked the dimension of the kidney logo as it’s not too big or too long as in some of the EV variants. However, it appears BMW might go back to the smaller dimension kidney logo that is featured in much earlier BMW range, if that on the latest X5 is an indicator.
BMW has also given the kidney logo a brighter look at night with LED (light emitting diode) surround that’s almost flashy. But this Iconic Glow Lighting kidney on the large Pearl Chrome grille grows on you and it definitely stamps its BMW identity more clearly during driving in night traffic.
By dimensions, the X3 is clearly in the C-segment SUV category with a body length of 4755mm, body width of 1920mm and an overall height of 1660mm. Its shorter height against many SUVs accentuates its sporty profile with a low-slung design, without curtailing good headroom for passengers all round. Its wheelbase of 2865mm is longer many of the SUVs in the same category.
Playing their sporty part are the 20-inch M Bicolour alloy wheels carrying the attractive Double Spoke style that borders on being racy and are exclusive to this model variant. They are of different widths between front and rear, with the 9J front wheels being fitted with 255/45 R20 tyres and wider 10.5J rear units carrying 285/40 R20 rubbers, both being the Continental EcoContact 6Q range. Completing the sporty outline are the M Sport brake discs in dark metallic blue (another breakaway from the norm of red or yellow).
The rear design perspective sees the new split rear light clusters that BMW says are characterised by a double L-shape, with the turn indicator positioned between the two lighting elements. Our impression on this new rear light cluster design is that it looks like a key and our preference leans towards some older patterns.
Being the more premium variant, the X3 30 M Sport comes with a more powerful 2.0-litre (1998cc) TwinPower Turbo engine. Like the X3 20, the X3 30 is also a mild hybrid being paired with a 48-volt system. In output, the X3 30 has almost 50kW (68hp) more at 190kW (258hp) at 4700 to 6500rpm and 90Nm more torque at 400Nm coming in early at 1600rpm and plateaus till 4500rpm.
That means better acceleration performance clocking the 0-100km/h sprint in 6.3 seconds against 7.8 seconds for the X3 20 variant. The X3 30 has a higher top speed too at 240km/h against 215km/h. Both variants come with an eight-speed Steptronic automatic transmission with xDrive all-wheel drive. The claimed average fuel consumption for both variants is the same though at 7.5L/100km (13.3km/l).
The electric mileage is low being a mild hybrid and the electric power is generally good for initial acceleration as well as passing assist on the highway. Stop-start urban traffic as well as deceleration and braking help to regenerate the battery so that electric power is available when needed.
This is made for some easy driving in the urban centre. A drive to Bentong, flowing with the traffic at an unhurried pace, the X3 30 M Sport was right at home meandering along the twisty stretches. We did put the X3 30 to the test through our favourite bends and corners and found xDrive all-wheel drive system less of an understeerer than many AWDs we have driven before, including the Mazda CX-30 AWD that was once in our garage.
Nevertheless, the feeling of understeer was there even though the body lean was well checked and there weren’t squeals from the Continental tyres as we explored its dynamic limits. Given the similar speeds that we took the X3 30 through our favourite winding stretches, our vote would still go to a front or rear-wheel drive vehicle where confident road handling was concerned.
Ride comfort was good though and for the roads we cover regularly that had its share of bumps, rumblestrips, speedbumps, dips and poor road patches, the X3 30 took to them well at a normal pace. Yes, there was that typical hardness expected but the damping performance was well set to handle road surface irregularities without a jarring effect. The Continental tyres were good complements to the suspension system – a MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear – to provide a comfortable ride for everyone on board.
On the open highway, the X3 30 M Sport would open up if you wish to chance the speed camera. It picked up speed quickly when we hit the accelerator pedal hard. Wind noise was pretty low, suggesting an aerodynamically efficient body that reduced air turbulence significantly. Suspension mountings were also well designed to reduce road roar picked up by the tyres over different surfaces from coming through.
We were reasonably well accommodated in the driver’s seat with its electronic adjustments although a bit bemused by the manual adjustment of the steering wheel column. We liked the curved panel that combined the 14.9-inch centre info display and the 12.3-inch driver’s instrument panel. An HUD (head-up display) is part and parcel of the features.
The GPS (global positioning system) map guidance is up to date and we used it for our Bentong adventure. It uses a camera to indicate the turning points with arrows as guidance, useful in the tight areas we covered while looking for a place to eat. Despite that we still made a few wrong turns, probably because we were looking more at the route guidance on the HUD or driver instrument panel than on the info panel.
Although the X3 30 is slightly longer than our Mazda CX-5, we were right at home manoeuvring the C-segment Beemer through the tight places and roads we had to drive through in Bentong. The remote 4D view that works like a 360-degree panoramic view was useful while parking in tight spots.
We also liked how BMW is keeping abreast of trends in locating the gearshift, electronic parking and stop-start button. It is all located within a small triangular slot on the centre console with the stop-start button in front, the electronic parking brake button at the rear and the knob-like gearshift in between. Of course, if you want a more engaging drive, use the gear knob to select Sport mode and use the steering wheel paddle shifts.
The sports seats for the driver and front passenger felt good and accommodating; they are wrapped in ‘Verganza’ perforated and quilted upholstery. There are active seat ventilation, lumbar support and electronic adjustments but the driver enjoys seat memory. Wireless handphone charging on the centre console is a standard item.
The Driving Assistance Plus covers a wide range of active and safety systems to suit driving in urban and highway situations. At the recommended price of RM358,800 on the road without insurance, the X3 30 xDrive M Sport is some RM106,000 more than the X3 20. That is the price to pay for a more premium drive and the X3 30 wouldn’t disappoint in that respect.
