2025 BMW X3 Defends the Middle Ground

The tanned, gray-haired local in the current-gen BMW X4 M40i lead car is a veteran of this Autodrome de Miramas circuit in France and joined the BMW proving-ground team back in 1995. Even though the wiry professional test driver must know every single curb of this track, he and his crossover coupe didn't stand a chance against the big, bad, camo'd 2025 X3 M50 filling his rearview mirror (BMW is dropping the "i" from the model names of its gas-powered vehicles going forward, only using that letter for its EVs). "It's not just the extra 35 horsepower that's giving him a hard time," said the grinning Matthias Richter, the young vehicle dynamics project engineer strapped into the passenger seat of our prototype X3 M50. "The new model fields an extensively revised chassis, more precise and communicative steering, and a selectively beefed-up body structure for much improved handling and more tenacious cornering grip." Playing catch and release hasn't been this much fun in a long time.

First launched in 2003 and initially built by Magna in Graz, Austria, the X3 quickly became BMW's bestselling model and has racked up over 3.5 million deliveries to date globally. The fourth-generation version, which comes on stream in October 2024 in the U.S., will continue to be assembled in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Still based on the familiar CLAR WE platform, the new X3 is to be offered alongside the fully electric iX3 that's derived from the brand-new Neue Klasse architecture. We understand that the first versions to go on sale in the U.S. are the four-cylinder X3 xDrive30 rated at around 280 horsepower and the six-cylinder M50 good for approximately 390 horsepower. In addition to the hybrid-assisted gasoline engines, BMW will offer the upgraded xDrive30e plug-in hybrid believed to peak at a combined 300 horsepower.

Longer, wider, lower, and more slippery (with a coefficient of drag of 0.27), the new SUV is also roomier than its predecessor. Developed during the COVID-19 pandemic when the world almost ground to a complete halt, the X3 was significantly decontented in a rush move to curb costs. Accordingly, the interior of the lesser models looks drab and somber in its materials and generic displays, with a pair of quirky touch sliders popping up in the door panels. On the credit side, we must thank the designers for keeping the intuitive iDrive controller, which went missing in the latest X1 and X2. The driver-assist systems have learned a bunch of new comfort- and safety-enhancing tricks. Among them are automated lane change, active lane guidance, adaptive cruise control with traffic light recognition, and various collision-avoidance measures complete with brake intervention.

The new X3 also can switch from ultimate driving to ultimate parking machine. How about taking a front-row seat in your favorite street café before hitting a button on the My BMW App, which automatically moves this family-size SUV in the designated curbside space? The system can also memorize and repeat up to 10 different complex parking maneuvers, such as backing out of a super-tight underground garage. All the driver needs to do is brake, accelerate, and marvel at the technological progress. On the open road, the car uses a mix of short- and long-range radars, as well as four 3-D cameras to create a permanent 360-degree scan that covers cross traffic, cycle lanes, oncoming vehicles, and objects approaching from behind.

After that extensive but passive lesson in the new X3's capabilities, we're back at the wheel ready for an encore. Although some sources claim that the new X3 M50 will get a last-minute power boost to 421 horsepower, other channels suggest that the output will be kept below 400 horses because there is an unconfirmed X3 M Competition (codenamed G97) looming in the background. Outright performance, however, is not the main thrust here. The key improvements were made to the steering and the suspension. There are three variants to choose from: base, Sport, and M Sport. All three can be paired with VDC, which is BMW-speak for variable damper control. Unlike the X1 and X2, the VDC-equipped X3 actually offers two clearly different calibrations: Comfort and Sport. The same dual-mode philosophy was applied to the steering but thankfully not to the brakes. Matching these set-ups are various trim levels, as well as four wheel and tire sizes, which include for the first time extra-wide 22-inchers.