[syenisch]

Hey everybody,

I have had my 135i for almost two weeks now and am so far very impressed with both BMW and the vehicle. My girlfriend may be shopping for a new SUV in the near future, and I can't help but hope she ends up choosing an X3. We'd both prefer the X5, but it's a little out of the price range. Can anyone chime in with their thoughts on the X3? How you like it, features you can't love with, features you can't live without, etc.... any help is good help!

Thank you very much!

[JoosyJoos]

I used to drive an X3 before my 335i. I was up in snow country and needed something with awd that was still somewhat fun to drive.

Its hard to compare an X3 with something like a 3 series but I'd say overall I was happy with the X3. I had a 2006 so it had the older 3.0 liter engine which was still a gem and never felt like a slouch to me.

The only problem I ever had with the X3 was a solenoid in the transmission that blew out on me.

Overall I'd say I liked the car but as far as driving joy goes it leaves much to be desired (only because its an SUV). I'm not so sure that would be a problem for your g/f though. The car is essentially a 3 series on stilts lol. Oh and if you are looking at buying used stay away from the sports package on the 2006 models. The suspension had horrible dampening and it felt like you were beating yourself to death when you went over rough roads.

[warmtoes]

Just so you know, there will be a new X3 the next model year if that matters to you. What it does mean is that you will probably get some good deals prior to the new models introduction.

And, there are quite a few new mid-sized SUV's like the X3 now with the introduction of the Audi Q5, MB GLK350 and Volvo XC60. I don't really know what any of them are like though.

[pseto]

X5s are a lot nicer than X3s. plenty of good, used X5s on the market now if you're looking for an e53. i'd suggest a MY 05/06 with the pano roof; check x5world.com for more details

[syenisch]

Thanks for the input guys. I hadn't even checked out MB's website because I figured there's no way they'd have any SUV's with a sub-$40k base price. The GLK looks pretty interesting.

I briefly browsed some 2010 X3 stuff and found that they're moving production over to the Spartanburg plant. Pretty cool. I just don't think the price will be able to compete with the GLK.