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:

Automatic transmission: transporting your vehicle
Note Your vehicle is not permitted to be towed. Therefore, contact a service center in the event of a breakdown. Do not have the vehicle towed Have your vehicle transported on a loading platf ...

Switching on/off the automatic climate control
Switching off With the blower at its lowest setting, press the left side of the button to switch off the automatic climate control. Switching on Press any button to switch the automatic clim ...

General information
Instructions for voice activation system. To have the available spoken instructions read out loud: ›Voice commands‹ ...