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.

See also:

Performance Control
Performance Control enhances the agility of your vehicle. To enhance performance during sporty driving, the rear wheel on the inside of the curve is braked while the resulting braking effect is ...

Socket for OBD Onboard Diagnosis
There is an OBD socket on the driver's side for checking the primary components in the vehicle emissions. Emissions The warning lamp lights up: Emissions are deteriorating. Have the vehic ...

The concept
The iDrive combines the functions of a multitude of switches. Thus, these functions can be operated from a central location. Using the iDrive during a trip To avoid becoming distracted and posing ...