Cars - BMW X3

	Cars - BMW X3

The BMW X3 is a compact luxury crossover SUV based on the BMW 3-Series automobile platform. The X33.0i won the Canadian Car of the Year Best New Sport Utility Vehicle award for 2005.

History and development

Along the heels of a very successful and ongoing production run of the BMW X5, BMW decided in the early millennium that it wanted to compete with the likes of the Freelander and other small luxury SUV's just as the X5 had previously done so well in its respective classes. Thus the X3 (internally known as E83), was born.

What thus emerged was a concept unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in 2003. Dubbed the xActivity, BMW previewed to the public for the first time what a smaller SAV based on a 3 series platform would look like. The concept had no windows, for the most part no roof, and a sleek futuristic interior. Only the basic shape of the car would emerge as the BMW X3.

Just as BMW used many parts from the E39 5 Series parts bin in the making of the X5, the same occurred in the X3's development, whereby BMW engineers reused 3 series parts. In-fact complete sets of parts came straight out of the E46 330xi, emerging unscathed in the X3 (e.g. rear suspension).

xDrive

When the BMW X3 premiered in late 2003, BMW announced that it would be using a new 4 wheel drive system to power it and its bigger brother - The (refreshed) X5.

Instead of a 60-40 (rear-front) power split (which all millennium 4 wheel drive BMW's exhibit - 325xi, 330xi, early X5) with power being cut to wheels which lost traction through DSC (Dynamic Stability Control), xDrive allowed both of these vehicles to split power between the front and rear axles through use of a multiplate clutch located between the gearbox and the Cardian shaft. This setup allowed xDrive vehicles to split power in virtually any way it pleased. If the car felt like it was in a threatening situation (note not an unstable one), xDrive would react immediately, often before the driver ever knew of its intervention, to alleviate traction and control of the vehicle. xDrive is also closely knit with DSC. In the case that wheelspin stills occurs while xDrive is or has been shifting power, DSC can brake independent wheels to regain traction. xDrive also helped in cornering. When the vehicle felt it was about to understeer or oversteer the vehicle would cut traction to either of the front wheels or rear wheels to help regain stability and keep the driver on the road.

There are two key things about xDrive. The first being that it was one of the first technology used to intervene before the driver was apparent that the car could ever be unstable. The second being that its intervention is transparent to the driver.

Reaction

Right from the start, the BMW X3 had been criticized for its harsh ride and poor interior by critics. BMW rectified both in 2005, with a slightly softer ride and by matching plastics and carpeting in the 2005 X5's. It has also been criticized for not being built at a BMW factory.

The automotive press however for the most part had mixed views of the X3 ranging all over the spectrum - unusual for BMW, but then again not so unsual for modern BMW's.

2005 model year changes

Bluetooth could actually be ordered straight from the factory (part of the Premium Package) and functioned without dealer intervention. (Although the BMW X3 was originally offered and promised with Bluetooth support in 2004, none of the cars that shipped from the factory actually had it installed. Few were able to get it to work with a little bit of tinkering from their dealer.)
Interior was vastly upgraded with changes to all plastics (making them match, unlike the 2004 model). Also instead of having grey carpeting which was present on all 2004 X3's, the 2005 X3 came with carpeting that matched the leather ordered (with the exception of the Terracotta interior, whose carpeting is black).
Slightly softer suspension.
Front wheel fenders are one piece, as opposed to the two piece found on 2004 models.
A 2.0d engine became available in some markets - joining the 2.5i and 3.0i engines (found stateside) as well as the 3.0d engine sold elsewhere in the world.
An 'Open-Door' indicator was added to rectify the complaint made by many on the 2004 models.

2006 model year changes

The new R6 engines available across the rest of the BMW lineup were, as with the 2006 X5 & 2006 Z4, curiously absent from the 2006 X3. It is rumored that the X3 will not get the R6 until the all-new BMW X5 is released in 2007 which will include the R6 engine amongst other newer engines. The X3 will receive, however, redesigned monochromatic front and rear fascias to replace the flat black bumpers. Also, the 2.5i variant will no longer be sold in the U.S., as buyers tended to go more for the 3.0i model.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for BMW X3 ]

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article BMW X3; it is used under the GNU Free Documentation License. You may redistribute it, verbatim or modified, providing that you comply with the terms of the GFDL.