BMW X3 North American Details & Pricing

Press Release

BMW X3 North American Details & Pricing

BMW??????????????????????????????????????s second sports activity vehicle makes its debut

Four years ago, when it first launched the X5 Sports Activity Vehicle, BMW began its foray into the luxury-SUV market; it was seen as a bold move. In fact, the X5 has been so successful that it has helped to spur significant growth in the luxury SUV market, which has more than doubled since the X5??????????????????????????????????????s introduction. Today, increasing X5 sales have required expanding the capacity of the plant at Spartanburg, SC, just to keep up with the brisk worldwide demand. The X5 has clearly proven itself, with a six-figure production volume over its first four years and accolades like these:

• AutoWeek, September 30, 2002: ???????????????????????????????????Performance package second-to-none in the SUV class; styling, straight-line handling and overall feel undoubtedly BMW.????????????????????????????????
• Automobile Magazine Readers?????????????????????????????????????? Choice All-Stars, May ??????????????????????????????????????02: ???????????????????????????????????An SUV whose only performance limitation is the carbon-based life form attached to the steering wheel.????????????????????????????????
• auto motor und sport, a respected magazine from BMW??????????????????????????????????????s home country, July 9, ??????????????????????????????????????03: ???????????????????????????????????Enjoys great popularity, and satisfies its owners with high resale value.????????????????????????????????

In the midst of this success story, BMW was busy developing a second, somewhat more compact Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) that would :

• Bring BMW SAV values to a more accessible market segment.
• Advance even the standards of handling, agility and all-road, all-weather traction established by the X5.
• Apply BMW??????????????????????????????????????s current design direction to not just a new vehicle, but a new class of vehicle.

This new vehicle is the BMW X3.

Overview:

Compact ??????????????????????????????????????? yet roomy, practical and above all a thoroughbred BMW For an overall perspective on the new X3, consider this comparison of dimensions and weights: Thus the X3??????????????????????????????????????s exterior dimensions are not dramatically different, nor is the total interior and cargo volume ??????????????????????????????????????? though the X5 does remain the roomier SAV. Yet the X3??????????????????????????????????????s more than 600-pound lighter weight signals its different position, as do its base prices; and the X3 is powered exclusively by 6-cylinder engines whereas the X5 is offered with both 6-cylinder and V-8 power. The new SAV is offered in two models: X3 2.5i, powered by the famously smooth and sonorous 2.5-liter inline 6-cylinder engine of 184 hp and base-priced at $30,995 including destination charge; and the X3 3.0i, with 3.0-liter/225-hp engine and a significant upward increment of standard features at $36,995. These prices lie exactly $10,000 (X3 2.5i vs. X5 3.0i) and $15,200 (X3 3.0i vs. X5 4.4i) below the two current X5 models. Both X3 models come standard with a 6-speed manual transmission and are offered with an optional 5-speed automatic; both also embody the remarkable new xDrive all-wheel drive and traction system that the freshened ??????????????????????????????????????04 X5 Series incorporates. Legendary BMW 6-cylinder power
BMW 6-cylinder engines are of the inline variety ??????????????????????????????????????? a rarity these days as most vehicle makers have adopted V-6s, primarily because their compactness suits them well for tightly packaged front-wheel-drive cars. BMW stays with the somewhat longer inline layout because of its smoothness and sound, and indeed the expert media consistently applaud the Bavarians for doing so. In its first drive of the X3, the German magazine Auto Bild alles allrad noted of an X3 3.0i with automatic transmission that ???????????????????????????????????Even when one doesn??????????????????????????????????????t select the Sport mode, the smooth inline engine revs handily to its redline before the transmission shifts smoothly to the next gear.???????????????????????????????? Both X3 engines share BMW??????????????????????????????????????s M54 engine architecture, whose salient points include:

• Aluminum block and cylinder head
• Dual overhead camshafts/24 valves
• Double VANOS steplessly variable intake- and exhaust-valve timing
• Dual resonance intake system.

The X3 2.5i??????????????????????????????????????s 2.5-liter version produces 184 hp @ 6000 rpm and 175 lb-ft. of torque @ 3500 rpm; it powers this model to a 0-60-mph time of 8.6 seconds with the 6-speed manual transmission and 9.3 sec. with the 5-speed automatic and maximum speed is electronically limited to 129 mph. The upper X3 3.0i model gets the 3.0-liter version, with 225 hp @ 5900 rpm and 214 lb-ft. @ 3500; it delivers a decidedly lively 0-60 time of 7.6 sec. with manual transmission, 7.9 sec. with automatic. Recently developed, the ZF Type H 6-speed manual transmission is notable for its light weight and precise shifting; it truly provides a gear for every driving situation. The 5-speed automatic is a STEPTRONIC, with Sport and Manual modes, the latter offering driver-controlled shifting by ???????????????????????????????????flicking???????????????????????????????? the lever forward or rearward.