U.S-spec X3 models were well-equipped, with standard equipment such as: the BMW Business A/M-F/M-CD radio (with optional dealer-activated Bluetooth functionality for wireless phones), an eight-speaker premium audio system, leatherette-trimmed seating surfaces, dual power front bucket seats, aluminium interior trim accents, keyless entry, and seventeen-inch (17") aluminium-alloy wheels. The X3 was initially criticised for its harsh ride, austere interior, lack of off-road capability and high price. The X3 3.0i won the Canadian Car of the Year Best Sports Utility Vehicle award for 2005. Styling exhibited interacting concave and convex surfacing, characteristic for the company at the time along with a reinterpreted Hofmeister kink.īMW upgraded the model in 2005 and facelifted the model in 2007, with revised body bumpers, engine, interior trim, and suspension. The X3 featured an upright, high H-point seating configuration, marketed as "command seating". The X3 was conceived to combine the agility of a compact model with the driving experience of the company's X5. BMW markets the crossover as a Sports Activity Vehicle, the company's descriptor for its X-line of vehicles. The system used an electronically controlled multiple-plate clutch to enable infinitely adjustable, fully variable distribution of torque from front to rear with the capability of up to 100 per cent of engine torque going to either axle. All X3 models feature BMW's all-wheel drive system, with a default 40:60 torque split between the front and rear axles and the ability to direct all torque to either axle. The X3 premiered in September 2003 at the Frankfurt Auto Show (Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung), sharing its rear suspension with the E46 330xi and using an automatic four-wheel drive system marketed as xDrive. The X3 is smaller than the X5 and X6, and bigger than the X1 and the X2.Īn all-electric variant is sold as the BMW iX3.Īs a precursor to the X3, in 2003 BMW presented the xActivity concept vehicle at the Detroit Auto Show featuring the 3 Series platform and a fixed-profile convertible body style with reinforced longitudinal rails connect the A-pillars to the rear of the car on both sides, eliminating B- or C-pillars. In 2008, BMW started competing with the Mercedes-Benz GLK-Class (renamed GLC-Class since 2016), and numerous other SUVs in this segment. The car was the first mid-size, premium SUV on the market. About 76,000 units will be manufactured there annually. The third generation of the BMW X3 is manufactured at BMW South Africa's Rosslyn plant, a facility that underwent a major upgrade to prepare for the X3 production, replacing the long-running 3 Series production in the plant. BMW manufactured the second-generation X3 at their Spartanburg plant in South Carolina, United States. The first-generation X3 was designed by BMW in conjunction with Magna Steyr of Graz, Austria-who also manufactured all X3s under contract to BMW. Now in its third generation, BMW markets the car as a Sports Activity Vehicle, the company's proprietary descriptor for its X-line luxury vehicles. The BMW X3 is a compact luxury crossover SUV manufactured by BMW since 2003, based on the BMW 5 Series platform.
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