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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General information
Danger of burns from hot engine Do not open the cooling system while the engine is hot; otherwise, escaping coolant may cause burns.◄ Suitable additives Only use suitable additives; other ...

Configuring the prewarning
After the warning function is switched on, the following can be set via the iDrive: The prewarning can be switched on/off. The time of the prewarning can be set. These settings have no effe ...

Possible commands
Having possible commands read aloud Press the button. ›Help‹. Possible commands are announced. The digits from zero to nine are recognized. The digits can be spoken separately or combined in a ...