BMW X3 Review
Published: 3rd June 2007
BMW X3
Safety and Security 
The BMW X3 comes pretty much with every safety option including Dynamic Stability Control.
These days it is rare to find a car without six airbags and as standard the X3 has the usual complement. Our test car was fitted with optional (£220) side airbags for the rear passengers so we had eight airbags but of course in our opinion safety never should be an option.
Further standard safety equipment on the BMW X3 3.0d M Sport includes:
Brake Force Display, DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) including Hill Descent Control (HDC) and Trailer Stability Control (TSC), ISOFIX anchorages for two ISOFIX seats, rain sensor with auto headlight activation, remote control alarm/Thatcham cat. 1 immobiliser, side impact protection system, tyre puncture warning system and warning triangle and first-aid kit.
Comfort and Refinement
The interior of the BMW X3 is Tardis-like, from the outside the X3 does not look particularly large but we found the cabin spacious, with good front and rear legroom. The middle seat rear passenger might complain about the intrusion of the transmission tunnel on leg room.
The rear seats are straightforward to fold down and it is even easy to remove the retractable load cover. With the rear seats in place there is an impressive 480 litres of luggage space, with the 60:40 split fold rear seats laid flat (well nearly flat) this increases to 1560 litres. The rear tailgate opens/closes with ease and the loading lip is low. If you should need to place anything on the roof there are roof rails and with a towing limit of 2000kg, the X3 makes the ideal holiday partner.
Visibility is good, with a commanding view of the road ahead although shorter drivers may feel that rear vision is compromised. Unlike some SUV’s the X3 felt at home both in the town and out in the country.
How It Looks - Exterior
There is no mistaking that this is a BMW with its trade mark double kidney front grille. In some ways it remind us of a BMW 1 Series on stilts, with the tell tale Hofmeister kink at the base of the C-pillar.
The X3 is over 10cm shorter than the X5 but only 2cm narrower, it is 6.6 cm lower than the X5 and it has a drag coefficient Cd of 0.35.
There are eight metallic paint colours available, white and black being the only two flat colours.
/ 