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:

Manual transmission
Shifting Shifting into 5th or 6th gear When shifting into 5th or 6th gear, push the gearshift lever to the right; otherwise inadvertent shifting into the 3rd or 4th gear could lead to engine ...

DTMF suffix dialing
DTMF suffix dialing can be used for gaining access to network services or for controlling devices, e.g., to make a remote inquiry of an answering machine. The DTMF code is needed for this purp ...

Instrument panel in Black Panel technology.
Like so many aspects of the new BMW 5-Series sedan, its instrument cluster combines BMW tradition with advanced, beautiful new executions. Here the entire cluster is in a high-resolution Black Pan ...