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:

Head airbags
In a lateral impact, the head airbag supports the head. ...

Sport program and manual mode M/S
Activating the sport program Activating the sport program Push the selector lever to the left out of transmission position D. The Sport program is activated and DS is displayed in the instrum ...

The concept
If the vehicle is equipped with Active Cruise Control with Stop & Go, the collision warning is controlled via the cruise control radar sensor. The system issues a two-phase warning of a dan ...