Fairly on the within: the BMW X3 M50 is a characterful however confrontational SUV

Gaze upon the visage of this BMW X3 and bear in mind it, for by the tip of the 12 months the present large and botoxy grille and physique styling will likely be completely usurped by the incoming Neue Klasse collection of vehicles. We’ve already had a preview of the 2026 X5 within the form of the BMW Neue Klasse X idea – the carefully associated X3 will little doubt get an identical frontal therapy when it follows on.

For now, we’re caught with the legacy of ten years of grille-centric design, because the signature aspect of BMW automotive design because the Nineteen Fifties has been pushed right into a place of ever better prominence. Behind that unforgiving entrance finish there’s a reasonably respectable automotive, if a mid-size SUV is what you’re after, replete with the supple dynamics and glorious in-car tech which have turn into synonymous with the model.

The inside is the X3’s robust level, bringing collectively one of the best components of current ideas and manufacturing vehicles right into a cohesive complete that isn’t overwhelmed by jazzy angles or extreme ambient lighting results. That’s to not say it’s remotely sober, however the sweep of the dashboard, bracketed by the illuminated door handles and cupholder/charging dock within the centre console, seems futuristic with out being overly flash.

With the snappy, intuitive iDrive working on the widescreen data show, there a only a few quibbles to be hand – among the heating controls are a bit of obtuse, maybe. The outside isn’t so profitable. The X3 gives the look of an inflatable balloon – each time one space of bodywork is pushed again or refined, one other lump pops out elsewhere. There’s no general sense of stability, with the kicked-up shoulder line on the rear feeling disconnected from the chamfered bonnet edges that circulation down from the A-pillars.

Maybe it’s all a query of scale. The grille is undeniably dominant, just like the flared nostrils of a very indignant bull. On the flip of the last decade, when the primary X5 launched BMW’s SUV division (SAV, within the firm’s personal parlance, for Sport Exercise Car), it cloaked its bulk in a design language derived from the corporate’s saloon automotive line. The unique concept for the X collection got here out of BMW’s Californian studios, the place measurement and standing have been carefully interlinked and there was a evident hole out there for a sportier, extra premium machine to make the most of the American love of scale.

That first X5, the E53, was 4.66m lengthy. As we speak, the X5 is 4.93m lengthy, whereas the X3 is available in at 4.75m. Nowadays you will get an X1, X2, X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7, alongside the electrical XM, iX1, iX2, iX3 and iX. The most important of the lot is the 7-seater X7, practically 5.2m of ‘full measurement’ SUV. Upscaling isn’t simply restricted to BMW, after all, however the deluge of X vehicles reveals the enduring recognition of SUVs.

As we speak, the flagship X3 M50 begins at round £65,000. Throw in some choices just like the Expertise Pack and a panoramic glass sunroof, and the automotive we examined was nudging £80,000. It’s a light hybrid, which is to say that the twin-turbo straight six engine will get a bit of bit {of electrical} help to spice up the efficiency. In Sport mode, the exhaust will get a bit rorty and overly dominant – there’s an identical stab of noise on start-up as nicely. While the M50 is just not a full-blown BMW M-honed mannequin, it has practically 400bhp. Energy is shipped to all 4 wheels by way of an 8-speed Steptronic transmission.

The X3 has been round since 2003, when the primary E83 technology successfully created the marketplace for ‘smaller’ SUVs. It wasn’t an particularly competent machine, particularly off-road, but it surely was profitable, therefore the enlargement to X1, X2 et al. The survival of the mannequin by to this fourth-generation machine implies that whatever the SUV’s altering standing, BMW isn’t about to desert the sector any time quickly.