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Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
2018 X3 20d xDrive
- Thread starter MR_Y
- Start date
MR_Y
Well-known member
Ja, M Sport seats would be the bomb. But my wife is happy (she will drive the car the most), so no real complaints.
You can feel this car was tuned for our SA roads. Very impressed with gravel road composure at speed. Proudly made in SA.
MR_Y
Well-known member
Update
The car is being properly valeted today by a trusted mobile valet specialist. I get him to perform a deep clean valet after buying a used car. You will be surprised how much gunk is in the fabric, floors, leather and crevices from the previous owner that is not visible to the naked eye.
Will post pictures later.
If you are keen on a valet at home, or even a straight forward car wash at a reasonable rate, contact Shimmer Auto Emporium. Mobile car wash and valet.
+27 60 635 6363
[email protected]
The car is being properly valeted today by a trusted mobile valet specialist. I get him to perform a deep clean valet after buying a used car. You will be surprised how much gunk is in the fabric, floors, leather and crevices from the previous owner that is not visible to the naked eye.
Will post pictures later.
If you are keen on a valet at home, or even a straight forward car wash at a reasonable rate, contact Shimmer Auto Emporium. Mobile car wash and valet.
+27 60 635 6363
[email protected]
MR_Y
Well-known member
Updates
BMW Sandton dealership aftersales experience:
BMW Sandton dealership aftersales experience:
- Steering wheel part has been fitted by BMW Sandton and all is fine - no noise. It appears that this issue is common. The wiper and indicator stalks' clip can break in the steering wheel column and make a clicking noise when you turn the wheel. The fix is not that simple, since besides installing the new clip (or ring switch) it also requires recoding of the stalks' functions.
- I also asked them to fix a loose section of leather under the front passenger seat. All sorted now.
- Worth raving about the customer service at BMW Sandton:
- Easy and quick check in process. No waiting for service advisors, no queueing. The whole service team were on hand to assist.
- I was offered a courtesy car since they were not sure upfront whether the fix would be completed in one day. They already secured this courtesy car as soon as the part arrived at the dealer a few days ago, so that my mobility was not impacted when the car was booked in - real proper, prior planning here.
- The courtesy car was a 2019 X3 20d M-sport with about 42,000km on. Still quite impressed that they provided such a nice courtesy car (with more than 1/2 tank fuel too). If you recall my issues with Porsche last year - they provided a busted up Cayenne, with over 100,000km, less than a 1/4 tank fuel and bald tyres as a courtesy car while my Cayman S was in for a gearbox. Porsche can learn something about customer service from this BMW dealership!
- I got the general feeling that this "new" BMW Sandton branch is run like a well oiled machine.
- I drove the 2019 X3 20d M-sport for a decent amount of time and can compare it to my 2018 X3 20d base model:
- The M-sport has better steering feel when pushing the car hard. Not sports car good, but has less vagueness around centre point vs the base model, regardless of the drive mode.
- This M-sport seats are very good. Not Volvo good, but a lot more supportive (better side bolstering and lumbar support) than the base model's flatter feeling seats. I am not a fan of the extended thigh support though.
- This M-sport model came optioned with the larger infotainment screen and the digital driver display. Much better than the screens in the base model, which have annoyingly small and dim readouts for most information.
- This M-sport also came optioned with ambient lighting, that really classes up the look of the interior in the dark.
- As great as the above features are, the ride quality on gravel roads is not as composed as that of the base model that has relatively plump rubber and standard (i.e. soft) suspension. The M-sport feels slightly fidgety at speed on my local gravel road. The M-sport suspension (not adaptive) and the large rims thump and bump hard and that car is definitely more tuned for tarmac than gravel.
- There is obviously no difference in performance, especially since this M-sport did not have the Sports Autobox.
- Given the price difference between a used M-sport and a used base X3 20d, and given my/wife's gravel road comfort needs, the M-sport (even with all the nice features) does not make economic sense to me. If I had more tar road needs, it may swing me - though, then I would opt for a 30d or M40i/d...
MR_Y
Well-known member
Very happy with the car's performance in mud. The only limitation is the slightly road biased tyres, so some sliding was evident at speed. However, the car sailed up a muddy slope during the heavy rains today with ease.
The engine, while not being very powerful, has that low down torque that pairs well with the ZF box to get you out of tricky situations offroad. Granted, not proper bundu bashing, but for medium level offroad gravel and mud, it works well.
I have a trip to KZN lined up next month and will be sure to post pics of some rural road driving. Will also be the first long drive with this car.
My current average fuel consumption is 7.0 litres per 100km. Mix of heavy traffic and some highway use. That 7.0 is with the car in Sport mode and start/stop switched off. As comparison, my V60 CC D4 (2.4 5 cylinder diesel) averaged 8.9 in the same conditions.
The engine, while not being very powerful, has that low down torque that pairs well with the ZF box to get you out of tricky situations offroad. Granted, not proper bundu bashing, but for medium level offroad gravel and mud, it works well.
I have a trip to KZN lined up next month and will be sure to post pics of some rural road driving. Will also be the first long drive with this car.
My current average fuel consumption is 7.0 litres per 100km. Mix of heavy traffic and some highway use. That 7.0 is with the car in Sport mode and start/stop switched off. As comparison, my V60 CC D4 (2.4 5 cylinder diesel) averaged 8.9 in the same conditions.
r0ckf1re
Well-known member
Mine is almost always on 9.1. Also hardly ever if never sees a highway. I've got 20s and that seems to be the contributing factor to the fuel economy.
Sent from my SM-N986B using Tapatalk
MR_Y
Well-known member
Any DPF issues with such short distances?
MR_Y
Well-known member
As per my posts here, I am generally very happy with this car.
Today, I noticed something when cleaning the car that is the same issue that I had on my 320d F30 LCI (which was also made in SA, like the current X3).
The bonnets in both my old F30 LCI and my current G01 do not sit completely flush. There are these small gaps, rather misalignments, that are noticeable when you look up close. Neither car has been accident damaged. Seems that this is an issue with SA made BMWs, at least those that I owned?
Anyway, slightly disappointing given that my Indian made EcoSport has better body panel alignment than this BMW that costs almost twice as much.
More an OCD concern than a real concern though, since the rest of the car is pretty well put together. The interior quality is excellent (much better than F30) and not one rattle squeak after many hard drives on gravel roads.
Notice the misalignment on the left vs the right where the bonnet centre meets the grilles.
Notice slightly raised body panel gap on this side of the bonnet
The other side of the bonnet is flush fitted.
Today, I noticed something when cleaning the car that is the same issue that I had on my 320d F30 LCI (which was also made in SA, like the current X3).
The bonnets in both my old F30 LCI and my current G01 do not sit completely flush. There are these small gaps, rather misalignments, that are noticeable when you look up close. Neither car has been accident damaged. Seems that this is an issue with SA made BMWs, at least those that I owned?
Anyway, slightly disappointing given that my Indian made EcoSport has better body panel alignment than this BMW that costs almost twice as much.
More an OCD concern than a real concern though, since the rest of the car is pretty well put together. The interior quality is excellent (much better than F30) and not one rattle squeak after many hard drives on gravel roads.
Notice the misalignment on the left vs the right where the bonnet centre meets the grilles.
Notice slightly raised body panel gap on this side of the bonnet
The other side of the bonnet is flush fitted.
Attachments
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MR_Y
Well-known member
Really impressed with the functionality of Connected Drive.
Screenshots below.
See how much fuel and estimated range you have. Useful if you haven't driven the car in a while. Also you can lock, unlock, flash the lights, hoot and start the aircon all remotely. I am not brave enough to remotely unlock if the car is outside my house.
The estimated range below equates to about 7.4 litres per 100km.
Check the status of doors and windows.
Quickly see your upcoming services and book them from the app
Yes, some may say that these features are gimmicks, but they are certainly nice to have.
Some driving comments:
Average fuel consumption is at 7.4 litres per 100km. That is with driving through traffic and highway driving.
I don't like the Comfort steering (too soft/light) and I feel that the full on Sport mode makes the engine feel too strained for cruising (especially since it is a diesel after all). So, I configured Sport Individual mode to have Comfort steering and Comfort transmission, but with Sports steering. Car feels a lot better to drive in this setup, especially when cruising.
Eco mode neuters the engine too much and is not even considered.
Have a long trip planned for December and will revert on its long distance abilities. So far, so good.
Screenshots below.
See how much fuel and estimated range you have. Useful if you haven't driven the car in a while. Also you can lock, unlock, flash the lights, hoot and start the aircon all remotely. I am not brave enough to remotely unlock if the car is outside my house.
The estimated range below equates to about 7.4 litres per 100km.
Check the status of doors and windows.
Quickly see your upcoming services and book them from the app
Yes, some may say that these features are gimmicks, but they are certainly nice to have.
Some driving comments:
Average fuel consumption is at 7.4 litres per 100km. That is with driving through traffic and highway driving.
I don't like the Comfort steering (too soft/light) and I feel that the full on Sport mode makes the engine feel too strained for cruising (especially since it is a diesel after all). So, I configured Sport Individual mode to have Comfort steering and Comfort transmission, but with Sports steering. Car feels a lot better to drive in this setup, especially when cruising.
Eco mode neuters the engine too much and is not even considered.
Have a long trip planned for December and will revert on its long distance abilities. So far, so good.
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Scotty88
Active member
I find my connected drive is very laggy and sometimes it is hit or miss. Are you having a similar experience?
Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk
MR_Y
Well-known member
If it's loadshedding, the cellphone towers are impacted and the lag is pretty bad. Otherwise, it works fine. I managed to sound the hooter 90km away from my car (I was in Midrand, car was in Springs) within a minute.
However, the onboard internet browser in the car is pretty slow.
Scotty88
Active member
OK It makes sense now. I researched it and I read a article that the data is sent via satellite and not GSM?
I thought that is why it may have terrible latency. Do you know where the sim card is located?
Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk
MR_Y
Well-known member
According to BMW SA's website (https://www.bmw.co.za/en/topics/fas...d-drive/bmw-connected-drive-overview.html#faq), the Connected Drive works via mobile network:
What is an active SIM card and what is it needed for?
In BMW vehicles from 2013, a SIM card is permanently installed and always active. This SIM card is the basic prerequisite for the use of ConnectedDrive as well as the fulfillment of legal requirements such as the legal emergency call.For the provision of ConnectedDrive services such as BMW Intelligent Emergency Call, Concierge Service, Teleservice, etc., data is exchanged between the vehicle and BMW via the mobile network and processed at BMW for service provision.
I don't know where the SIM Card is located - some say under the seat, some say in the boot...
While all this technology is great, I can hear the more paranoid members of this forum squirming uncomfortably at the thought of allowing BMW to have access to all your personal information, including your movements and whereabouts. Taking it further, if you can remote unlock/lock your car with an app, I wonder how easy it is for your car to be hacked online....
Scotty88
Active member
Thanks for the information!! Ya it's rather scary, I'm sure there is major encryption on the back end. It's probally safer than pressing your key now days.
I have no load shedding at the moment and the latency is still terrible. 30 seconds or so and the command goes through.
Will get bmw to check it out for me.
Sent from my SM-G998B using Tapatalk
MR_Y
Well-known member
30 seconds is not bad.
I would regard that as normal...
Matt Watson did a test in the UK and it too about that time too to flash his lights on his 850iM a few years ago.
MR_Y
Well-known member
I noticed that the top edge of the windscreen has no factory tint. I find this odd because most new cars have some slightly darkened glass on the top of the windscreen.
Not sure if it is a factory option to get sun protection on the windscreen.
When driving the car in the mid morning, the sun does come through quite strongly. The wife is not happy.
I chatted to my VPS guy and he said that he can apply a strip of tint, not too dark, on the top section of the windscreen.
The windscreen, like most SA made BMWs, is the Chinese brand FUYAO. Wonder if the sun protection option uses Saint Gorbain or Pilkington instead.
Edit:
Sun protection glazing is an optional extra code SA420. It includes sun protection on all glass areas. Sneaky bastards...
Anyway, will go head with the tint strip, hopefully it blends in nicely.
Not sure if it is a factory option to get sun protection on the windscreen.
When driving the car in the mid morning, the sun does come through quite strongly. The wife is not happy.
I chatted to my VPS guy and he said that he can apply a strip of tint, not too dark, on the top section of the windscreen.
The windscreen, like most SA made BMWs, is the Chinese brand FUYAO. Wonder if the sun protection option uses Saint Gorbain or Pilkington instead.
Edit:
Sun protection glazing is an optional extra code SA420. It includes sun protection on all glass areas. Sneaky bastards...
Anyway, will go head with the tint strip, hopefully it blends in nicely.
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CK4LIFE
Active member
Will it not affect factory warranty should you make windscreen claim.?
modocrat
Well-known member
If perhaps you were wondering why you couldn't send destinations from Google Maps to your MyBmw App.. The issue is now resolved with another app update from Google.
MR_Y
Well-known member
Highly doubt it.
It is not impacting the functioning of the windscreen.
