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Irish Independent

BMW X3 review: Old-fashioned, diesel-powered crossover is really hard to beat

Now, some whizz-kids out there may think I'm talking about effortlessly juicing up your phone, but you'd be wrong. After back-to-back EVs – and one which came with a charge card that refused to work on either ESB or the EasyGo networks – it is such a joy to climb into an old-fashioned, full-fat diesel. That unbridled happiness almost bubbled over into giddy excitement when I discovered that there was a whopping 950km of oil-burning range on the clock. The cherry on top was the fact that my ride this week was the stunning BMW X3 SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle). Now in its fourth generation and the German marque's biggest seller, this new offering has upped the ante again in the luxury compact crossover segment. Design-wise, it goes straight for the jugular with a bold new look that features a massive kidney grille (similar to the 5 and 7 Series) that is illuminated by LED surrounds (optional), new L-shaped headlights and a flat bonnet with subtle creases around the BMW badge. A faint shoulderline up the flanks gives it a sleeker look, as do the flush door handles (which I'm not a big fan of), while the stonking 20-inch two-tone rims add a pinch of sportiness. At the rear it's a much more sobering affair, with a blocky, more functional design, but the new wraparound 3-D light clusters look funky and help give the X3 a slippery drag coefficient of 0.27cd. It is bigger than its predecessor – adding 34mm to the length and 29mm to the width, while the height is reduced by 25mm. Inside, the cabin is a mixed bag and you can't help but get the feeling BMW is trying to be a bit of everything here. The vegan leather seats are top notch and super comfy, but the knitted fabric in the upper dash and especially around the door tops is not particularly pleasing to the eye or the touch. There is also far too much hard, scratchy plastic – especially in the upper doors (it's even emblazoned with the X3 logo), central storage bin and charging tray – not what you'd expect from a car this price. ADVERTISEMENT That said, I did love the massive digital dash comprising two high-definition screens, one an instrument cluster and the other an infotainment system, powered by BMW's Operating System 9 and controlled through the iDrive rotary dial in the centre console. Another feature which I really liked was the interactive lightbar, showcased previously in the flagship 7 but which now runs around the console and the doors. It looks cool, especially on dark roads, and changes colour to signify danger or when the hazards are activated. It is loaded with lots of kit as standard, including three-zone automatic climate control, acoustic glazing, comfort access, automatic tailgate, electric folding exterior mirrors, and BMW Live Cockpit Plus with BMW Maps navigation. Space on board is ample, with decent head and legroom for five adults. The boot is bigger too – 570 litres of luggage that increases to 1,700 with the rear seats folded flat. So, what is the new model like to drive? Very pleasant and super refined. In fact, the insulation and noise damping is so good only those with the sharpest hearing could tell that a diesel was throbbing under the bonnet. The two-litre, four-cylinder unit is twinned to a sublime eight-speed automatic gearbox to generate a meaty 197bhp that sends power to all four corners. Initially, I feared that the sheer bulk of the X3 – which is not too far shy in size to the original X5 – may take its two-tonne toll on overall performance, but I needn't have worried. There was oceans of low-down grunt and under hard acceleration it was quite sprightly, with a 0-100kmh sprint in 7.7 seconds. Grip was phenomenal thanks to the xDrive setup and the steering precise and informed. The ride, even on M-Sport suspension and 20-inch rims, was not too harsh, although it did tend to crash through, rather than drive over, potholes. It proved really comfortable on longer jaunts and the economy is hard to beat – returning 5.8 litres/100km or nearly 50mpg. For the more eco-conscious, there is a plug-in hybrid available with a claimed EV range of 90km. All in all, though, the X3 is a fine car and anyone trading up or down from an X5 will not be disappointed. Just keep an eye on the extras as it can shoot up from the entry price of €70,405 to an eye-watering €104,474 for my test car.