r/BMWX3

For the past one week, I’ve been driving my friend’s 2024 BMW X3 xdrive30i alongside my own 2024 Volvo XC60 B5, and I just wanted to share my personal experience. I drove around 1000 miles with the BMW. After this experience, I want my next car to be BMW.

To me, BMW felt like an energetic, aggressive, mischievous younger sibling who is ready to throw a punch. While Volvo felt like a calm and composed older sibling. 

1. The cold start caught me off guard. I didn’t expect the 30i to have that kind of roar. It many not be as loud as M cars but it is loud enough. My XC60 just makes a loud engine sound, but not a growl that puts smile on my face.
2. From a stop, the BMW feels more eager to go and has punchier acceleration. I feel more connected with the car. My Volvo is nearly as quick as X3 with 6.5sec from 0-60 but acceleration is smoother and relaxed, not much fun but get's the work done.
3. At higher highway speeds of 80+, the BMW feels effortless and feels like it wants to stay at that speed. With my XC60, I am much more aware of the speed. It feels like I have to throttle more to maintain higher speeds and as soon as I lift off the pedal, the car starts slowing down pretty quickly. BMW seems to carry the momentum better and just keeps gliding.
4. On highway corners, handling is excellent with X3. I get more feedback from steering, and confident enough to take the corners with the same highway speeds. My Volvo handles good too, but I am not confident enough to cross the corners without slowing down, and I can feel more body movement. 
5. I am impressed by BMW's fuel efficiency. Even in the sport mode I am getting around 30 MPG. It's a genuine shock to me how it has that fuel efficiency even though it went above 4000RPM several times. In normal mode I get around 27 MPG with my Volvo on highways, the polestar (sport) mode drains the fuel like anything. In winters I get around 19 MPG on my Volvo. 
6. The biggest let down for me with BMW is the interior and the seat comfort. I felt my Volvo’s seating comfort is much better, and it is more roomier inside. The materials used for the BMW interior could have been better. This is my only complaint.
7. Technology wise BMW is well advanced with iDrive with a lot of customizations and options. My Volvo kept it minimal without providing any fancy features like ambient lighting, gauge cluster customization, automatic parking etc. My Volvo has the buggy Google based infotainment system. BMW locks and unlocks itself when I walk away or approach it. I wish my Volvo had that.
8. Talking about the design, both has their own design language, and honestly I love them both equally.

I am not sure about the longterm reliability or maintenance, and also not sure about latest X3s. But, as soon as my XC60 builds around $10k in positive equity, I am ready to swap it with the so called "Ultimate Driving Machine". Atleast I will get a CPO one.

Hey guys,

Looking for some opinions.
I bought a 2019 BMW X3 M40d with the factory 21” Bridgestone run-flats. The front left tire is worn noticeably more than the front right (pics attached), especially on the shoulder.

I think the previous owner probably drove with the wrong tire pressure, because since I’ve owned the car I’ve kept the pressures correct and the wear now seems to be nice and even.

The rear tires still have plenty of tread left.

Here’s my dilemma: I don’t really want to buy another pair of Bridgestone run-flats. I’d like to switch to a different tire, but with xDrive I’d rather replace all four tires at the same time instead of mixing tread depths and potentially causing issues with the transfer case.

So what would you do?
- Do these front tires look like they need replacing now?
- Would you be comfortable driving them for the rest of the summer?
- Am I putting unnecessary stress on the front diff or transfer case by waiting until all four need replacing?
- Or am I overthinking this?

I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from
people with xDrive experience. Thanks!

Stock 21in rims. I’m going to add an exhaust and I’m wonder how quad tips pair with the wheels. Should I also get aftermarket rims to make it look more aggressive, lowering springs, or just keep it stock?

last image is AI GENERATED

And might have almost reached redline once (as far as I know). I swear I tried to keep it under, but I’m a human not a German-engineered super machine. How strict are the guidelines and why?

Anyone else prefer the 2024 and older bmw x3 for the actual physical buttons? I’m currently in a 2026 x3 rental while my 24 x3 is getting serviced and this has been the most confusing experience ever trying to use this touch screen to control mostly everything

It is a lease :( my car was parked and he backed his car into mine

I think my car is special. Daily settings in the 2nd image

Hi everyone,
I have a 2010 BMW X3 that I bought with 148,000 km.
When I purchased it, I noticed some hard shifting between 1st-2nd and 2nd-3rd gears. It would improve as the transmission warmed up, but it was still noticeable.
I decided to change the transmission fluid. The old fluid came out very dark, but it didn’t smell burnt. The magnet had the expected sludge on it, but I didn’t find any metal shavings.
I replaced the transmission pan and filter, then filled and adjusted the fluid level exactly according to the service procedure, with the vehicle level and the transmission temperature between 30°C and 50°C.
The vehicle now feels much more responsive and efficient. However, after driving about 300 km, I still notice the hard shift from 1st to 2nd, and especially from 2nd to 3rd. Once the transmission has been warmed up for about 15 minutes, the issue almost disappears.
Considering how dirty the old fluid was, I’m thinking about doing another drain and fill to dilute the remaining old fluid that’s still in the torque converter and get the transmission fluid as clean as possible.
My question is: should I reset the transmission adaptations with a scan tool, or should I leave them alone?
I’ve heard a lot of horror stories, and opinions seem to be mixed.
Thanks in advance!
BTW: It’s the GM transmission.

I wonder if the X3 will get the Vancouver Green Metallic…
When ordering my X3 in October, they had British Racing Green as an option.

It would be good to get this colour in a non-monolithic design that features “door handles”. I dearly hope the G45 X3 LCI doesn’t delete the door handles. I’ve tried to use these on the Mustang Mach-E, and they are impossible to use. I miss the door handles on the G01 so much, especially the unlock sensor in the rear door handles.

Leave it to BMW to delete a feature like opening the sunroof, only to add it back in as a new innovation…
X5 Marketing: The standard two-part panoramic glass sunroof flood the spacious interior with light. The front part can be opened, giving you a blast of fresh air at the touch of a button.

Love it!!!!