2025 BMW X3 30 xDrive: More Is Less

Cars have never been faster or more capable than today. Everyday cars possess acceleration, braking, and handling abilities once reserved for supercars on buff-book covers. But is more always better? All automakers pack their fleet with features and technologies that let them stay competitive and relevant, but in the process, any personality a car might have can get lost in the sauce. After some time behind the wheel of a 2025 BMW X3 30 xDrive, I wonder how much of an improvement it is on the car it replaces.

The X3, BMW’s compact luxury SUV, is its second-best-selling model in the United States, behind the larger X5. Roughly one in every five vehicles that leaves a BMW dealer is an X3, which means it resonates with customers, likely those who would have landed in a 3 Series twenty years ago. A new, fourth-generation X3 debuted last summer; we’d been waiting for the opportunity to drive one to understand in what direction BMW intends to take this showroom staple.

Earlier this spring, I accepted the keys to an Arctic Race Blue Metallic X3 30 xDrive. To our tester’s $50,675 base price, the options sheet tacked on $10,200 more in options. Of note: A $2200 M Sport package (stiffer suspension, racier steering wheel, exterior styling flourishes, variable steering ratio, thicker anti-roll bars); a $3400 Premium package (heated steering wheel, heads-up display, panoramic sunroof, and more); 21-inch wheels for $1550 (more on those in a bit); and that snazzy blue paint for $650. All told, the car rang the register for $60,875—no small sum, but around the norm for well-equipped vehicles in this segment.

Specs: 2025 BMW X3 30 xDrive

• Price: $60,875
• Powertrain: 2.0-liter turbocharged inline four-cylinder; eight-speed automatic; 48-volt hybrid system with integrated electric motor and starter generator
• Output: 255 hp (4700–6500 rpm); 295 lb-ft (1600–4500 rpm)
• Layout: Front-engine, four-door, five-passenger, all-wheel-drive SUV
• Weight: 4176 pounds
• 0-60: 6.0 seconds (est.)
• EPA Fuel Economy: 27/33/29 mpg (city/highway/combined)
• Competitors: Mercedes-Benz GLC, Volvo XC60, Audi Q5, Genesis GV70, Acura RDX

BMW has undoubtedly toned down the X3’s surfacing for this fourth-generation car, opting for relatively flat, expansive surfaces and fewer sharp creases on the bodywork. It’s evocative, if you squint, of the Neue Klasse X concept that bowed late last winter. The styling left me feeling a bit cold, but the stance of the car is magnificent. This new version is longer, wider, and lower than the outgoing model by 1.3 inches, 1.1 inches, and 1.0 inches, respectively. At six feet tall, I could stand next to the new X3 and see the whole roof, which only amplified the “hot hatch” feel.

Headlamps and taillamps tend to mark out focal points on a car’s exterior. Of late, these designs are getting increasingly intricate, with LEDs and shapes galore. The X3’s taillamps are massive, and in the dark, they have a formidable presence. They also feel like the most exciting part of the car’s exterior, which, for the rest of the car, seems like a missed design opportunity.

If the X3 has any stylistic precedent, it is probably the 2023 BMW XM, the first product since the M1 supercar to be developed without a counterpart in the standard BMW lineup. That car’s smooth lines and multi-colored, multi-patterned surfaces signaled a major shift for products to come.

With the XM, BMW asserted that it would be focusing on creating “an emotional engagement with the interior, particularly through technology,” according to Dr. Adrian Posselt, who was responsible for the digital experience in that vehicle.

You can see the next iteration of those efforts borne out in the X3’s cabin. A massive curved display sits atop the dashboard, housing two screens—one for your instrument cluster, one for the central infotainment screen. It’s a handsome unit, with crisp graphics and a solid user interface. Most of the interaction with the center screen will be through touch, but BMW retained the console knob, which we salute.

Some warts remain, however. To open and close the vents in the front, the X3 has little touch panels with a backlit icon that you slide your finger along. Why this can’t just be a physical piece of plastic is beyond me; this would become infuriating if it broke, and probably (or expensive) complicated to repair.

Plenty of other switchgear gets relegated to electronic control. The result is an experience that feels cheaper than before, rather than more impressive. On the inside of the front doors, there’s a matte plastic panel with touch icons for locking and unlocking the doors, as well as opening and closing the nearby vents. It’s flimsy and lacks the premium feel you’d expect from a BMW interior. Ditto the door handles, which may be even worse in this respect.

Seating feels middle of the road—neither offensive nor incredibly comfortable. Like the chassis, the front thrones are more enjoyable when you’re moving with purpose, but they lack the plushness of competitors who champion old-school, total-comfort luxury. (Like, whisper it: A Nissan Murano.) Space is ample in the second row, and with all of the seats down, the X3 still boasts plenty of cargo volume in its greenhouse. That panoramic roof on our tester was magnificent, and we spent most of our time with the sunshade peeled back, inviting what little sun Michigan’s late spring offered.

Things round back into usual BMW form under the hood. The variant we tested utilizes a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder coupled with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system. That powerplant pairs with an eight-speed automatic transmission and drives all four wheels through BMW’s xDrive system. The four-pot (internally dubbed the B48B2002) benefits from a host of upgrades, including redesigned intake ports and a new dual-injection fuel system. Power output rings in at 255 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque, and BMW says it will scamper to 60 mph in six seconds flat.

The powertrain is delightful for around-town bops and still has enough grunt to hold its own over the highway. The engine is smooth and refined, even near the top of the rev range, where other competitor offerings tend to get raspy. Better yet, the engine seems to get better the harder you cane it.

The chassis, even more so. Point the X3’s long hood at a wiggly backroad and you’ll unearth serious pace courtesy of massive grip. It takes deeply antisocial inputs to make the X3 warn you of its limits, but I found myself frequently wanting to play in that space.

Unfortunately, this responsiveness and engagement come at a price: A stiff ride. The 21-inch wheels do not help, nor do the low-profile high-performance summer tires. Road undulations are head-tossing affairs, and small potholes (the ones that would make an Arizona resident gasp) punished the occupants. Buyers seeking a sporty character and image but who also care about livability and comfort should be mindful that the X3, at least as optioned here, leans into sporting-means-harsh. (The larger, straight-six powered X3 M50i may be a different matter, as that one gets adaptive suspension as standard, so not only will it enable corner carving, it should also better accommodate more typical use.)

If you like the M Sport Package’s styling tweaks but want a more manageable ride for somewhere that lacks ribbon-smooth roads, spring for the extra $500 Dynamic Damper Control option in the configurator; it adds electronically adjustable dampers to the mix that we suspect would soften this chassis’ edges. Most ordinary luxury SUV customers would likely find the fixed M Sport suspension too unforgiving.

It’s not so much that the bones of this car are that far off the mark. It’s spacious, has ample storage, and despite a few missteps, the lion’s share of the technology on offer here is quite good. But the X3 feels like it tried to chase a Platonic ideal of an older BMW by adding stiffness and grip, and the result just doesn’t quite work on anything but perfect roads.

It makes me ponder what would be left of the X3 without all of the M Sport elements. On paper, the resulting car sure seems promising for the roads most of us live with: 19-inch wheels wrapped in tires with proper sidewall, standard softer suspension, satin-aluminum exterior trim, and oh yeah, a few extra thousand off that MSRP. (I configured one online with a heated steering wheel, the big panoramic roof, and remote start for $53,250 out the door.)

I suspect that there’s still some special sauce left over, even without the gnarly bits. Don’t be surprised if that one ends up being the hot ticket. Less, in this case, may well be more.

2025 BMW X3 30 xDrive

Price: $50,675/$60,875 (Base/As-Tested)

Highs: Superb four-cylinder engine, superb chassis tuning on the right road.

Lows: Befuddling tech complicates the interior. M Sport suspension is far too stiff in this configuration for day-to-day use on imperfect roads.

Summary: The envelope of outcomes is wide with the new BMW X3; just be sure you’re discerning about what you’re using it for, because choosing wrong can spoil this car’s appeal quickly.