Ultimate AWD Machine

How many premium cross/utility vehicles can the U.S. market handle? BMW AG thinks at least one more, launching the all-new X3 this month.

The market's loaded, but excuse BMW for feeling entitled. It sells a rollicking 40,000-plus X5s annually, so BMW's 1-model CUV lineup is a handsome profit center.

Based loosely on the 3-Series platform, you might be tempted, when assessing X3's sheetmetal, to call it the little brother of the X5. But the X3 actually is larger than X5 in many critical measures, particularly cargo area and total interior volume. The X3 wheelbase is less than an inch (2.5 cm) shorter and the X5 is just 4 ins. (10 cm) longer overall than the new X3.

But BMW says it needed a “move-into” CUV, one priced less than the X5 and thus more accessible to first-time BMW buyers and first-time SUV intenders alike. As such, company execs confidently expect the new X3 to outsell the more-expensive — but not really larger — X5.

If the size-vs.-price-vs.-positioning equation sounds a little odd, we think so, too. Yes, the X5 offers a V-8 you can't get with an X3 and, frankly, a demonstrably plusher interior. But the hard fact is X3 could appear to be a smarter buy than the X5.

Another problem: The X5 used to be just about the best CUV to drive. Now, the X3 takes over that title.

Start with BMW's instinctual knowledge of proper suspension geometries. Toss in the electronic tag-team of the brilliant new xDrive all-wheel-drive system (reason enough to buy this ute, in truth), traction control and Dynamic Stability control, and you're left with a high-riding (8-in. [20-cm] ground clearance), 2-ton trucklet that has no business getting through the curves with such composure.

BMW's magic is in making all the electronic driver aids transcend their frontline purpose, which is to enhance safety. Invariably, today's multiple layers of chassis control serve only to further blunt your tactile connections with the vehicle. In the X3, the chassis manipulators work in harmony to add a new level of satisfaction.

Okay, but in their passion to perfect X3's software-meets-hardware chassis ballet, BMW engineers were so enthralled with the readouts from their graphing calculators they forgot to listen to their butts. You see, the X3's ride quality is about as refined as your kid's steel-runner sled.

It's hard to accept that to achieve the X3's admittedly superb handling the suspension has to be so startlingly stiff. The X3 pitches like a mountain bike when traversing speed bumps and craggy surfaces. Do this for a long-enough stretch and the relentless abrupt movements of the X3's body can be almost sickening.

The X3's front strut and 3-link independent rear suspension may be adapted from the 3-Series, but the famed suppleness of the latter's damping was not a part of that particular DNA splice.

Meanwhile, nobody will argue about the power — provided, at least, one opts for BMW's sparkling 3L DOHC I-6. At 225 hp and 214 lb.-ft. (290 Nm), the 3L inline-six makes easy work of most tasks, although it doesn't seem quite as carefree as in BMW's sedans, fettered as it is with the X3's 4,023 lbs. (1,826 kg).

Thinking of the base, 184-hp/175 lb.-ft. (237 Nm) 2.5L straight six? Don't, unless saving the substantial $6,000 difference between the X5 2.5i (base price $30,995) and the $36,995 X5 3.0i is your priority.

Either engine can be hooked to a 6-speed manual whose lever works like a scalpel, or a General Motors Corp.-made 5-speed automatic.

It's inside where you'll see why more financially secure customers might go for the X5. The X3 is pretty stark, particularly if compared to some of the glitzy CUVs that might be considered competitors, such as the Lexus RX 330 or even the Acura MDX.

The gauge cluster and entire dash treatment is minimalist, underscored by some design elements and textures borrowed — for better or worse — from the Z4 roadster. There's a lot of dark, unsightly plastic and the skimpy gauge package (speedo, tach, fuel, temp meters only) may work for the Z4 but doesn't present enough info to befit an off-roader.

But the X3 is pleasantly roomy. And checking the options boxes enables you to add some gloss — at a price, of course.

Summation: X3, like some of BMW's newer models — 7-Series, 5-Series — isn't the clinically faultless execution the company's delivered in the past. The X3 is brilliant dynamically, but its ride is abysmal. It's adequately and perhaps even appropriately packaged, but we presume a bit more equipment and luxury at this price point.

BMW is gambling buyers will respond to X3's crisp sheetmetal and superb levels of responsiveness and handling and forgive the harsh ride and cost-conscious materials and equipment specification.

The X3 is good, in some senses great, but not perfect — and BMW intenders may be expecting perfect.

2004 BMW X3 3.0i

Vehicle type: Front-engine, all-wheel drive, 5-passenger 4-door cross/utility vehicle

Engine: 3L (2,979 cc) DOHC I-6, aluminum block/aluminum head

Power (SAE net): 225 hp @ 5,900 rpm

Torque: 214 lb.-ft. (290 Nm) @ 3,500 rpm

Compression ratio: 10.2:1

Bore × Stroke (mm): 84 × 89.6

Transmission: 6-speed manual

Wheelbase: 110.1 ins. (280 cm)

Overall length: 179.7 ins. (456 cm)

Overall width: 73 ins. (185 cm)

Overall height: 66 ins. (168 cm)

Curb weight: 4,023 lbs. (1,826 kg)

Market competition: Acura MDX; Land Rover Freelander; Lexus RX330; Nissan FX35; Volvo XC90