[Rbrown]

This may be of interest to some people.

Just back from a weeks holiday from Glasgow to the Lake District.

Have been down a lot and used to my 330d touring on the roads, so was keen to see how the X3 compared.

In summary - it was great!

In terms of load capacity - family of 2 adults and 2 kids. Everything fitted in the boot easily. Used to have roofbox on the 330d - so it was nice not worrying about that. I found the extra height good and the seats were very comfortable. Only stopped when my 4 year shouted the magic phrase - "I need a pee pee!".

The car is great on the motorway it just sits so nicely eating the miles. Cruises very nicely - not much road nice at all and a lot more comfortable than my previous car.

On the "fun" roads - the car excelled. Passing cars was a joy (especially in "sports" mode) and never missed a beat the whole holiday. Particular highlight was driving from Kendal up to join the motorway.

Overall mileage for the holiday = just under 500 miles.

Average mpg = 29.9 (was a bit disappointed I couldn't get it to 30!). This involved a combination of driving - I think some of the slow driving round the lakes increased the mpg. From memory, I used to get about 37 mpg in the 330d. I know the fuel economy isn't great - but its not that bad for the performance you get with it.

Car washed now and back to proper state!

[teaston]

Nice mate, not making the wait for my M40 easier though!

Surprised the boot is that much larger than the F31 though?

[Rbrown]

Originally Posted by teaston

Nice mate, not making the wait for my M40 easier though!

Surprised the boot is that much larger than the F31 though?

Its the height which makes all the difference. So much easier to load!

Loved driving it today - you will love yours when you get it. People just have no idea what it is!

[JustChris]

I got a little invite to our local dealers M tour (BMW UK arranged UK dealer tour of M2C,M3456 and an M4CS)

All their guys had X3 M40i with all their kit in. Should have taken some pics, let you guys down but there was some cracking hardware on display.

Keep an eye out for it coming your way.

[r1cey]

Originally Posted by Rbrown

Its the height which makes all the difference. So much easier to load!

Loved driving it today - you will love yours when you get it. People just have no idea what it is!

Loved my E83 X3 (even though it was only a 2 litre diesel), very practical and capable SUV, and had 6.5 years of happy motoring before swapping for my 2 litre petrol X-drive F30. Loved that too, but missed the extra space, and yearned for a six pot (having joined this forum back in 2013 when I bought the F30) and reading the posts from the usual suspects on here! .
My current M140i is very practical, an absolute hoot to drive, and the engine is just so the new X3 with that same engine, would simply be the perfect combination for me, and definitely on my radar next...

P.S. As mine is debadged, it's great making a chunt of other drivers, who simply don't know what they're up against (thinking it's just a little 1 series )