[JSpira]

My colleague Chris has written a fairly comprehensive review of the new X3 xDrive20d, after taking it on a weeklong drive starting in Munich and proceeding to Bavaria and then into Austria.

2011 BMW X3 Review and Road Test – The Road to Berchtesgaden

The streets around Munich were heavily covered with snow as I picked up our second-generation BMW X3 xDrive20d but I wasn’t worried. It was the perfect weather for the X3 to demonstrate its abilities.


The X3 came in an elegant space grey with beige interior leather. The look is softer; sharp angles have been replaced by soft contours and the awkward appearance of the last generation is gone. The new X3 looks just right.


Our X3 was very well equipped including many options which were not available on the previous model, such as the rear-view camera with top-view option, which provides the driver with a birds-eye image of the vehicle’s surroundings, a heads-up display, and electronic damping control (Dynamische-Dämpfer-Kontrolle), which, using data that the X3 is constantly collecting ranging from the position of the steering wheel to the strength of lateral forces, calculates and constantly adjusts the suspension for a smooth and sporty ride.