The new X3 finds its place in the pantheon of BMW’s offerings and the multitude of
four-wheel-drive vehicles zooming about in the market. by Ezanor MK

I’m “headin’ down the Atlanta highway”. But unlike the B-52s, I’m not looking for the “love getaway”. Instead, the new BMW X3 I’m driving is nosing towards Painted Rock Farm, where the international media are supposed to meet up at the mid-point range in the test-drive.

We’re in Atlanta, Georgia — which seems an odd choice for the launch of a model from the German  carmaker — as evidenced by the number of eyebrows I raise telling people where the event is being held.

However, it’s clear in the mind of BMW that this is the place to be, with the US its major target market and the X3 produced at its sole American plant in Spartanburg, North Carolina, just a few inches on the map, but in reality some 274km from Atlanta.

The new X3, codenamed F25 — or BMW X3 xDrive35i (3.0 six-cylinder petrol) and BMW X3 xDrive20d (2.0 four-cylinder diesel) in full — the first variants launched, make a handsome bunch as they line up outside our hotel for the drive.

In metallic mineral silver and space grey, the sports activity vehicles (SAVs) — you can thank BMW’s niche categorisation effort for that — look slightly menacing, with their big kidney-shaped grills and high stance, but beautiful as the morning light plays on the curves and creases.

The new exterior has already garnered some positive attention from the press gathered here, and also on the Internet after the pictures were first posted some months ago, compared with the first-generation X3 launched in 2004.

Indeed, as I spot one example of its older brother, I can’t help blurting out — uncharitable though it may be — that, straight on from the back, it reminds me of Proton’s box on wheels, the Juara.

No real complaints about the looks of the F25, though, and as we set out, I also marvel at the luxe feel of the interior. Being in the passenger seat for the first leg allows me to look around, turning this way and that to peer at the rear seats and legroom (plenty of space there), bounce up and down in my seat (plush but not too squishy), run my fingers over the dash (high-quality plastic feels thick, but with a slight yield to pressure from my finger) and try out the cubbyholes (the one in the door will take my point-and-shoot camera but not my DSLR, while the glove compartment is also on the small side).

I’m mostly muttering to myself, at this point, as my co-driver, a veteran motoring journalist, is concentrating on getting us out of the city and onto the highway, as directed by the sat-nav, which is integrated into the centre console and features an 8.8-inch, high-resolution screen, the largest on-board monitor in its segment. However, this may be for the benefit of passengers, as well as children in the back — they can just look at the display to see how far it is to the destination, instead of asking “Are we there yet?” every five seconds — since the navigation runs alongside speed data in the head-up display.

Since it is also separate from the radio, when my co-driver isn’t looking (“Don’t mess with the controls, I don’t want to lose the sat-nav,” he had warned me), I tinker with the buttons until I find a station playing some light tunes to accompany our journey.

From the highway, we get on to some country roads, passing by glades of trees in wonderful fall colours, and soon it is my turn to drive. Me being so litte, setting up for the right seating position takes a minute or two; the seat is boosted to the maximum height and moved forward slightly, the steering wheel is adjusted lower, and hey presto, I can actually see over the dashboard.

Reversing out of the petrol station where we had stopped, I forget to activate the reversing camera, which comes with a Top View system, and instead look out the rear window. It still feels miles away, but is easier to see out of than an MPV I once drove, despite the latter being all of 8cm shorter.

And because the X3 feels almost as big as a whale compared with the little car I’m used to driving back home, I gingerly ease it back onto the road, trying to keep in between the lines that seem to be too close to either side. I turn to my co-driver and ask if the roads in the US are smaller than in Malaysia. “No,” he replies laconically, “the car is big.”

At 4,648mm long, 1,881mm wide and 1,661mm tall, the F25 is 83 x 28 x 12mm bigger than its predecessor, bringing it closer to the X5 in size, and visibly bigger than the X1 at 4,454 x 1,798 x 1,545mm.

With the higher driving position, I lord it over the saloons and compacts that we pass. But, the F25 is no match for the Americans’ love for huge 4x4s, and I feel cowed as taller and more imposing Chevy Tahoes and pick-up trucks zoom past. It might find itself at home in Malaysia, though, among SUVs of a mostly similar size.

As for passenger capacity, it won’t fit 20, perish the thought, but five people will be more than comfortable. This disqualifies the F25 from carpooling a group of children to school or ferrying a big family for the balik kampung rush during the festive season, but a soccer mum would have no problems taking her children and all their kit to the field for practice, with the only possible concern being smudging the cream leather interior.

As for cargo space, 550 litres expand to 1,600 with all rear seats folded flat, and is plenty for a family’s luggage. The height of the hatch also makes it easy to load and unload, being neither too low, which might cause back problems, or too high, which could result in shoulder and arm strain.

With the eight-speed automatic transmission of the 35i, the drive is smooth, the engine ready to growl if pressed and content to purr when puttering along, which I’m doing, as I keep firmly to the back-road speed limits of 30mph (48kph) to 45mph. The unaccustomed height also makes me back off from taking corners too aggressively, though I suspect, with its four-wheel xDrive system, varying the torque to the front and rear wheels, and dynamic stability control, the F25 should act more like a saloon than a van, and offer great traction in the bends.

Following another stop, this time to take pictures of the F25 against the backdrop of the glorious autumn palette, my co-driver takes over for the last leg to the Painted Rock Farm in Palmetto, some 272km from where we started.

There, in the middle of a field, is a wooden pavilion — no rusting tin roof here — where we congregate for the launch briefing and lunch, which includes burgers and steaks right off the grill.

After lunch, we swap cars, and this time I set off in the 20d to tackle the 6.4km off-road course. Immediately, I forget that the diesel has a manual transmission and stall the engine. Luckily, with the Auto Start Stop function, it comes back to life as I press the clutch, and I just pretend that I meant it to happen that way. The Auto Start Stop function is great in that it conserves energy by shutting off the petrol engine when the vehicle is at rest such as at a traffic light. In everyday driving in KL though, I’m not sure I would be too thrilled with start/stop technology, especially as it has not become common in Malaysia. I can only imagine the embarassment, when you’re getting into gear — with the quite-loud rumble of the diesel engine, people around you might think that you’re turning back on the ignition after stalling. And in a traffic snarl, you’d be doing it repeatedly. I really don’t think I’m up for winding down the windows and telling the car next to me, “It’s a start stop thing, the engine cuts off … hey, where are you going?”

Lesson quickly learnt, I set off on the rocky trail of the off-road section, which comes complete with little stream, pitted paths and steep hills. Undoubtedly, the F25 is well up to the task, with its technologically advanced driving dynamics, drive train — the diesel engine churns out 184bhp and 380Nm of torque; the petrol, 306 and 400 — and braking. The steering also offers enough feel for me to catch a wayward rear slide and correct it — or perhaps the driving dynamics did that for me — without any heart-pumping, fishtailing action. So, the car won’t be shimmying wildly in conditions of less-than-stellar traction.

And, thanks to hill descent control at the touch of a button on the console, with speed set using the stalks behind the steering wheel, you can leave it to the vehicle to control your descent, without any drama — or indeed a foot on the brake pedal.

However, with a ground clearance of only 212mm, you won’t be able to take the F25 into our deep jungle, but it might do well on gravelly and uneven surfaces, such as the roads to the waterfall in Ulu Yam or a picnic spot by the river in Bentong, which would normally catch out low-slung saloons.

Job done, it’s time to head back. As the F25 meanders along the back roads, passing farms, patches of forest and  the beautiful countryside of Middle America, I conclude that the new X3 is so placed — a middling vehicle, in terms of size, carrying capacity and off-road capability. Not quite a saloon, not quite a people carrier, not quite an off-road warrior. Perfect for a getaway then, for the average family with two children and a dog. Right in the middle — that’s where it’s at.

Ezanor MK is a senior copy editor with The Edge

This article appeared in Options, the lifestyle pullout of The Edge Malaysia, Issue 840, Jan 10-16,