-
Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
2018 X3 20d xDrive
- Thread starter MR_Y
- Start date
MR_Y
Well-known member
My thoughts after many, many hours and kilometres (2,000km+) of long distance driving over the past 2 weeks.
Time to hand the keys to the SO for the next few months until the next family trip.
Pros:
- Comfortable seats. Not the softest but designed to not give you backache over long distances.
- ZF gearbox is buttery smooth and responsive in most conditions.
- Not a 3 series, but still handles very well for a family SUV. Steering has nice weight in Sport steering mode.
- Sport Individual mode is a nifty feature - having the Engine and Steering in Sport but with gearbox in Comfort (Sport holds gears a bit too long) is the best compromise for me for long distance driving. The M/S switch on the gearlever is good for overtaking in tricky situations.
- Engine has sufficient go for 90% of conditions.
- Spacious cabin for passengers of most body shapes
- Well built cabin that does not rattle or squeak even after gravel road driving
- Respectable ground clearance, plump tyres and a comfort oriented suspension make this a great gravel and poor tar road cruiser.
- Decent sounding audio system - no distortion at higher volume. Even though it is a basic system (no equaliser or mids adjustability), it sounds good to most listeners.
- Excellent fuel consumption - 6.5 average. I feel that one can get it below 6 litres per 100km if you avoid sport mode
Cons:
- Mid range punch is good for a 2.0, 4 cylinder motor but those drivers used to more torque will feel slightly short changed when overtaking, with a load, on hills. Not really a fault of the car, but just align your expectations accordingly.
- Spare space saver wheel (regardless of whether it was optioned with one at factory or if you fitted one afterwards) eats into the boot space. I am seriously considering a roof rack/box. Not a problem with a small family, but if all the seats are occupied, then luggage space is tight in the boot with that spare wheel eating up a chunk of it.
- Boot/hatch sliding luggage cover is badly designed. Because you have to pull it down slightly before it catches, it does interfere with a fully loaded boot's contents as you pull it. It would be better if the cover was hooked onto the hatch window, similar to normal hatchbacks or the Mazda CX5, so that it does not interfere with the luggage. This may be a personal gripe, especially since the spare wheel made the luggage sit higher up that normal in the boot area.
- Standard gearlever feels insubstantial and plasticky. When slotting into M/S, it does not feel that great to touch.
- No digital speedo readout is frustrating when driving long distance. Maybe a personal preference issue, since my EcoSport and Macan have this feature.
- The routing logic of the standard sat nav system leaves much to be desired. Even though it is great that I can send destinations from the BMW App (and also from Google Maps) on my phone to the car, via Connected Drive, the routing/navigation logic is very poor in the car. On more than one occasion it sent us long winded routes. Playing with the route settings did not help. The live traffic did work, but was very delayed. Sorry BMW, but your basic sat nav sucks. I guess they want you to upgrade to the fancier sat nav system.
- Road noise is quite loud at cruising speeds on national highways. I suspect it may be the Bridgestone Alenzas, but I also suspect that this car has less sound deadening materials than other cars in its league. I guess less sound deadening means less weight, which means better fuel economy and performance.
Summary:
As a family car, the G01 X3 20d is a good choice in this popular market segment. While it does not excel at everything, it excels at most things and with used prices (2018 models) undercutting similar engined used rivals from Volvo, Audi and Merc, it becomes a no brainer. It is the best of the 2.0 compact European SUVs. Add the reliability and fuel consumption of the proven 20d motor and it sweetens the deal.
Another thing to note is that the car does not feel precious - meaning that it is confident and comfortable getting dirty and being driven offroad (mild bundu bashing). The car takes the knocks in its stride. I don't see a GLC, Q5 or XC60 being as dirt ready as an X3. The interior of the X3 also feels like it can take on some abuse, whereas the other cars look and feel like fancy lounges inside and one will be reluctant to mess it up with dust and mud.
Anyway, that's my ramblings for this year on the X3 20d. The car will be called upon for the school and wife's work commute soon. The next long distance road trip being in April.
Time to hand the keys to the SO for the next few months until the next family trip.
Pros:
- Comfortable seats. Not the softest but designed to not give you backache over long distances.
- ZF gearbox is buttery smooth and responsive in most conditions.
- Not a 3 series, but still handles very well for a family SUV. Steering has nice weight in Sport steering mode.
- Sport Individual mode is a nifty feature - having the Engine and Steering in Sport but with gearbox in Comfort (Sport holds gears a bit too long) is the best compromise for me for long distance driving. The M/S switch on the gearlever is good for overtaking in tricky situations.
- Engine has sufficient go for 90% of conditions.
- Spacious cabin for passengers of most body shapes
- Well built cabin that does not rattle or squeak even after gravel road driving
- Respectable ground clearance, plump tyres and a comfort oriented suspension make this a great gravel and poor tar road cruiser.
- Decent sounding audio system - no distortion at higher volume. Even though it is a basic system (no equaliser or mids adjustability), it sounds good to most listeners.
- Excellent fuel consumption - 6.5 average. I feel that one can get it below 6 litres per 100km if you avoid sport mode
Cons:
- Mid range punch is good for a 2.0, 4 cylinder motor but those drivers used to more torque will feel slightly short changed when overtaking, with a load, on hills. Not really a fault of the car, but just align your expectations accordingly.
- Spare space saver wheel (regardless of whether it was optioned with one at factory or if you fitted one afterwards) eats into the boot space. I am seriously considering a roof rack/box. Not a problem with a small family, but if all the seats are occupied, then luggage space is tight in the boot with that spare wheel eating up a chunk of it.
- Boot/hatch sliding luggage cover is badly designed. Because you have to pull it down slightly before it catches, it does interfere with a fully loaded boot's contents as you pull it. It would be better if the cover was hooked onto the hatch window, similar to normal hatchbacks or the Mazda CX5, so that it does not interfere with the luggage. This may be a personal gripe, especially since the spare wheel made the luggage sit higher up that normal in the boot area.
- Standard gearlever feels insubstantial and plasticky. When slotting into M/S, it does not feel that great to touch.
- No digital speedo readout is frustrating when driving long distance. Maybe a personal preference issue, since my EcoSport and Macan have this feature.
- The routing logic of the standard sat nav system leaves much to be desired. Even though it is great that I can send destinations from the BMW App (and also from Google Maps) on my phone to the car, via Connected Drive, the routing/navigation logic is very poor in the car. On more than one occasion it sent us long winded routes. Playing with the route settings did not help. The live traffic did work, but was very delayed. Sorry BMW, but your basic sat nav sucks. I guess they want you to upgrade to the fancier sat nav system.
- Road noise is quite loud at cruising speeds on national highways. I suspect it may be the Bridgestone Alenzas, but I also suspect that this car has less sound deadening materials than other cars in its league. I guess less sound deadening means less weight, which means better fuel economy and performance.
Summary:
As a family car, the G01 X3 20d is a good choice in this popular market segment. While it does not excel at everything, it excels at most things and with used prices (2018 models) undercutting similar engined used rivals from Volvo, Audi and Merc, it becomes a no brainer. It is the best of the 2.0 compact European SUVs. Add the reliability and fuel consumption of the proven 20d motor and it sweetens the deal.
Another thing to note is that the car does not feel precious - meaning that it is confident and comfortable getting dirty and being driven offroad (mild bundu bashing). The car takes the knocks in its stride. I don't see a GLC, Q5 or XC60 being as dirt ready as an X3. The interior of the X3 also feels like it can take on some abuse, whereas the other cars look and feel like fancy lounges inside and one will be reluctant to mess it up with dust and mud.
Anyway, that's my ramblings for this year on the X3 20d. The car will be called upon for the school and wife's work commute soon. The next long distance road trip being in April.
Last edited:
MR_Y
Well-known member
Tyre update:
Looking to replace my tyre that was recently repaired. While the mushroom plug is good, I am concerned that it is too much on the shoulder.
Shockingly, there is no stock of 245/50 19 Bridgestone Alenzas in Gauteng from the major tyre dealers, even though this tyre is made in SA.
Went to BMW Midrand and they have stock.
Pricing is pretty much spot on with what the major tyre dealers were quoting.
Sadly, fitment and balancing (as with all dealer services) is pretty expensive (R400 for one tyre).
I asked my local TWT to do the fitment instead.
As posted elsewhere, I am considering tyre insurance given that this car will be used more often.
Looking to replace my tyre that was recently repaired. While the mushroom plug is good, I am concerned that it is too much on the shoulder.
Shockingly, there is no stock of 245/50 19 Bridgestone Alenzas in Gauteng from the major tyre dealers, even though this tyre is made in SA.
Went to BMW Midrand and they have stock.
Pricing is pretty much spot on with what the major tyre dealers were quoting.
Sadly, fitment and balancing (as with all dealer services) is pretty expensive (R400 for one tyre).
I asked my local TWT to do the fitment instead.
As posted elsewhere, I am considering tyre insurance given that this car will be used more often.
Last edited:
m0lt3n
Active member
Nice thread, thanks for putting in the time to update it.
I may also soon be in the market for something similar, basically applying the same duties now to an F25 Msport and the suspension is really not made for bad roads. (I fitted 18 inch rims with oversized non runflats at 1.7bar to compensate, transforms the car for the most part)
I may also soon be in the market for something similar, basically applying the same duties now to an F25 Msport and the suspension is really not made for bad roads. (I fitted 18 inch rims with oversized non runflats at 1.7bar to compensate, transforms the car for the most part)
MR_Y
Well-known member
Some fuel consumption stats from my Fuelio log.Sub 5.5 litres/100km was achieved during long distance holiday travels.
With more daily traffic duties, consumption is stabilising around 7.3.
Long term average of 6.6 is pretty respectable. I expect this to creep up to around 7, then dip back to under 7 after the next holiday trip.
Interesting to compare this to my Ford EcoSport fuel results...
Filing 93 octane, my average fuel only cost per km on the EcoSport 1.5 petrol is R2,10 per km. My X3 20d is at R1,72 per km, noting that while 50ppm is more expensive than 93, the 20d is more fuel efficient.
Last edited:
MR_Y
Well-known member
Wife was driving the car and I found this alert on the app.
The right rear tyre was triggering the alert.
When I looked at the tyre, it looked fine.
I drove to TWT Rivonia and they took off the tyre and saw this mother fudger...
After just replacing the left rear tyre, I was in no mood to replace the right one now. Glad that it fell in the safe area to repair. Mushroom plug fitted. All good.
Worth noting that the BMW App is a neat app and is well worth considering if you don't drive the car often but want to monitor what's going on. The alert also came up on the car's dash.
The right rear tyre was triggering the alert.
When I looked at the tyre, it looked fine.
I drove to TWT Rivonia and they took off the tyre and saw this mother fudger...
After just replacing the left rear tyre, I was in no mood to replace the right one now. Glad that it fell in the safe area to repair. Mushroom plug fitted. All good.
Worth noting that the BMW App is a neat app and is well worth considering if you don't drive the car often but want to monitor what's going on. The alert also came up on the car's dash.
Last edited:
Yes, I love the BMW app. Even have a type of a widget or whatever it’s called on my homescreen which is handy.
The 3-D remote camera is also very nice!
The BMW app for their bikes are even more impressive with a lot more data around each trip.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
MR_Y
Well-known member
Thanks man. Didn't know about the widget. Will add it.
Yes, I love the BMW app. Even have a type of a widget or whatever it’s called on my homescreen which is handy.
The 3-D remote camera is also very nice!
The BMW app for their bikes are even more impressive with a lot more data around each trip.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
MR_Y
Well-known member
Short story:
The standard Bridgestone Alenza tyres are crap in the wet. Full stop.
Long story:
Over the past few days, the rains have come down hard and frequently in Gauteng. I had the opportunity to drive my EcoSport (shod with 205/60 16 Goodyear Assurance Armorgrip), my Macan (staggered setup 255/55-235/60 Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 18s) and the X3 (245/50 19 Bridgestone Alenza 001 RFTs) on the same stretch of highway and urban roads.
The X3 has the newest tyres of the lot - fitted in October and have less than 10,000km. For reference, the Macan tyres are more than 4 years old and have 35,000km. The Ford tyres are almost a year old and have 14,000km.
All my tyres are pressure checked regularly and tread depth is still good. The X3 having the best tread.
On the highway at safe speed (say 100kph) in the rain, both the Ford and Macan remain rock solid and can push through to 120kph with no issues. However, the X3 tyres seem to be more prone to slightly aquaplane or momentarily skip a beat when it drives through the same wet roads at the same speeds.
I find this very odd.
Upon further Googling, it appears that the Alenzas are not the best tyres in the wet and are (based on user reviews) also prone to pick up punctures more easily than other similar specced brands (granted, I may be subject to confirmation bias here since 2 tyres on the X3 were punctured in the space of a month).
Anyway, the X3 will need to be driven at less than moderate pace in the wet until all the tyres are up for replacement with a better brand.
Given the stellar performance of my Hankook Ventus Evo tyres on the Macan, I may consider them for the X3 in future.
Bottom line, Bridgestone Alenza 001 is far from the best tyre for the X3.
The standard Bridgestone Alenza tyres are crap in the wet. Full stop.
Long story:
Over the past few days, the rains have come down hard and frequently in Gauteng. I had the opportunity to drive my EcoSport (shod with 205/60 16 Goodyear Assurance Armorgrip), my Macan (staggered setup 255/55-235/60 Hankook Ventus S1 Evo 18s) and the X3 (245/50 19 Bridgestone Alenza 001 RFTs) on the same stretch of highway and urban roads.
The X3 has the newest tyres of the lot - fitted in October and have less than 10,000km. For reference, the Macan tyres are more than 4 years old and have 35,000km. The Ford tyres are almost a year old and have 14,000km.
All my tyres are pressure checked regularly and tread depth is still good. The X3 having the best tread.
On the highway at safe speed (say 100kph) in the rain, both the Ford and Macan remain rock solid and can push through to 120kph with no issues. However, the X3 tyres seem to be more prone to slightly aquaplane or momentarily skip a beat when it drives through the same wet roads at the same speeds.
I find this very odd.
Upon further Googling, it appears that the Alenzas are not the best tyres in the wet and are (based on user reviews) also prone to pick up punctures more easily than other similar specced brands (granted, I may be subject to confirmation bias here since 2 tyres on the X3 were punctured in the space of a month).
Anyway, the X3 will need to be driven at less than moderate pace in the wet until all the tyres are up for replacement with a better brand.
Given the stellar performance of my Hankook Ventus Evo tyres on the Macan, I may consider them for the X3 in future.
Bottom line, Bridgestone Alenza 001 is far from the best tyre for the X3.
Last edited:
Yulz9081
Honorary ///Member
I concur with the Alenzas in wet. I sometimes pushed it a bit in the wet because of Xdrive in the beginning of my ownership and it handled well initially but every so often in either heavy rain or large puddles of water, the X3 tends to aquaplane a bit and the whole car slides to the left or right ever so slightly. It has been quite scary even at speeds as low as 80.
The mini on P zero's feels more planted in wet even with fwd.
The mini on P zero's feels more planted in wet even with fwd.
Last edited:
r0ckf1re
Well-known member
Got P zeros on my X3, even at higher speeds in the wet it performs exceptionally well. Excellent tyre IMO. Drove back from Alpine Heat in mostly wet roads today and it handled well.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
MR_Y
Well-known member
An observation on the standard high beams on the base X3 GO1....
So, last night I went out to the bundus and on my way home I had to use high beams for most of the journey.
I was disappointed to see that the high beams are just halogens (the dipped beams are LED). I have used high beams on this car before for a second or two, but did not realise then that these are basic halogen lights.
During extended use on pitch black roads, the halogen main beam lights are totally inadequate in illuminating the road ahead. I am pretty sure that my F30 320d LCI had LED main beams. BMW could have just made the G01 standard high beams LEDs, to complement the LED dipped beams - I wonder if they did that with the G01 LCI?
So, last night I went out to the bundus and on my way home I had to use high beams for most of the journey.
I was disappointed to see that the high beams are just halogens (the dipped beams are LED). I have used high beams on this car before for a second or two, but did not realise then that these are basic halogen lights.
During extended use on pitch black roads, the halogen main beam lights are totally inadequate in illuminating the road ahead. I am pretty sure that my F30 320d LCI had LED main beams. BMW could have just made the G01 standard high beams LEDs, to complement the LED dipped beams - I wonder if they did that with the G01 LCI?
Last edited:
And you didn’t notice this visually? It is very easy to spot the differences between the different lights. It’s almost the first thing I look at when looking for a new car. Normally I wanted Xenons as a minimum but lately a car must have adaptive LED’s at least. Once you had them you won’t want to go back to xenons (for me at least).
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
MR_Y
Well-known member
The dipped beams are LEDs. I thought that the main beams would be too.
Dynamic lights are overkill.
Just LED dipped and LED mains are sufficient in a base model. But seems that one is forced to go full dynamic lights to get that.
MR_Y
Well-known member
Based on the spec sheet for the G01, which I should have read, the standard spec has LED dipped beams and fog lights, but halogen main beams.
The next step up is LED main beams. A bit cheeky from BMW to make this optional when most cars have both main and dipped LED or Xenon as standard in this league of car.
The highest spec is dynamic lights which tilt/move with the steering wheel. Here, agree that it should be an option.
The next step up is LED main beams. A bit cheeky from BMW to make this optional when most cars have both main and dipped LED or Xenon as standard in this league of car.
The highest spec is dynamic lights which tilt/move with the steering wheel. Here, agree that it should be an option.
Okay, wasn’t aware they split them up like that sometimes, that’s a bummer!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
