2011 BMW X3 Review by Mike Hanley

The BMW X3 may have been a pioneer among compact luxury crossovers, but a number of competitors — including the Audi Q5, Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class and Volvo XC60 — have entered the fray since its debut as a 2004 model. Now, with the second-generation X3, BMW has new metal to take them on.

The 2011 BMW X3 is still the small luxury crossover of choice for driving enthusiasts, but its substantially more forgiving suspension tuning should make the new version far more appealing.

I tested the base xDrive28i, which starts at $36,750; with options, our test car's sticker price was $43,875. For a side-by-side comparison with the competitors mentioned above, click here.

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Avoid high engine speeds
Use 1st gear to get the vehicle in motion. Beginning with 2nd gear, accelerate rapidly. When accelerating, shift up before reaching high engine speeds. When you reach the desired speed, shift i ...

Switching the high beams on and offmanually
► High beams on, arrow 1. ► High beams off/headlamp flasher, arrow 2. The High-beam Assistant can be switched off when manually adjusting the light. To reactivate the High-beam Assis ...

Supplementary text messages
Addition information, such as on the cause of a fault or the required action, can be called up via Check Control. The supplementary text of urgent messages is displayed automatically. It is sh ...