- suv 98,780
- 2,346 below average
- 14,990 good
- Sandy, UT
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- ksl.com
- 2,346 below average suv 98,780 gasoline silver automatic
Like the rest of the premium crossover segment, the x3 has been viewed by some brand diehards as a blatant cash-grab. Despite this, we wanted to see if the 2011 bmw x3 xdrive28i could break through the enthusiast's wall of prejudice. The 2011 bmw x3 is roughly the same size as the original x5. The 110. 6-inch wheelbase is essentially unchanged, but there's now three more inches of overall length for an even 183 inches from tip-to-tail. The styling uses that new room to stretch, and the dynamically straked profile makes the increase look like at least double that. Clamping the stubby, original x3 in a taffy pull and giving it a yank leaves the 2011 x3 looking both familiar and like a part of the modern bmw family. The carefully detailed bodywork plays up its conservative image to good effect. The bangelized original lines have been matured without radical changes. Bmw has also brought the interior of the 2011 bmw x3 up to par with the rest of the range. Like the exterior changes, bmw hasn't gone and reinvented the steering wheel, so the design of the dashboard and door panels does little more than look and feel like a current bmw interior. Materials and fit-and-finish are improvements, though the shifter and spring-loaded blinker stalk are still annoying to use for some. The clean design isn't avant-garde, but it means clear ergonomics, and the eight-way power front seats are fantastically comfortable. Rear seat passengers get a newly liveable area, benefiting the most from the size increase. The latest implementation of idrive is finely tuned and the standard lcd has crisp graphics, but pales in comparison to the optional 8. 8-inch display that's the automotive equivalent of an ostentatious plasma screen. A benefit of the continued refinement of idrive is an uncluttered center stack. Analog gauges are clear, there are real cupholders and the sand beige leather and warm-toned fineline sienna wood trim created an inviting atmosphere, especially when paired with the big, airy panoramic moonroof – worth every bit of its $1,350 price tag. Visibility in all directions is not hindered by gigantic pillars and the elevated crossover seating position makes for confidence-bolstering sightlines, too. Engineering skill is shown off with a composite block of magnesium alloy for light weight, a valvetrain twiddled by valvetronic and double vanos systems that do away with a throttle plate, and other slick, efficiency-boosting technology like brake-energy regeneration. All the whiz-bang results in 240 horsepower and 221 pound-feet of torque from 3. 0 liters, but the issue at hand is how this engine and its attendant eight-speed automatic transmission behave out on the road. Peak torque plateaus between 2,750 and 4,000 rpm, and the eight-speed transmission does its best to keep the engine in the lip-smackingest meat of the powerband, but not even bmw can overcome the fact that the x3 weighs 4,100 pounds. That's about the same as the original x3, so kudos for keeping weight in check, but it's a heavy load for the available torque to cope with, wide powerband and cornucopia of gear ratios aside.
14,990 Sandy, UTSandy, UT at ksl.com