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:

On the front passenger seat
Deactivating airbags After installing a child restraint fixing system in the front passenger seat, make sure that the front, knee and side airbags on the front passenger side are deactivated. ...

Increasing or reducing speed
The speed can be changed in the range from approx. 4 mph/6 km/h to approx. 15 mph/25 km/ h by pressing the accelerator or brake pedal lightly. A target speed within the same range can be spec ...

Strength of the driver's and front passenger airbag
The strength with which the driver's and front passenger airbags are triggered depends on the position of the driver's and front passenger seats. To maintain the accuracy of this function over ...