2023 BMW X3

SPEAKER: The 2022 BMW X3 is the best-selling vehicle in this German manufacturer's fleet. Why is that? Well, we were curious too, so they lent us one. 20,000 miles and one year later, and we've gotten to experience the pros and cons of this compact crossover and see how it lives up to its larger sibling, the X5. I just want to be like you. But alas, it's time to say goodbye. [MUSIC - BOYZ II MEN, "IT'S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE TO YESTERDAY] (SINGING) It's so hard to say goodbye. SPEAKER: And, in this video, I'll break down our experience, good and bad, over the past year and let you know what the experts think the vehicle is worth a year later. You'll hear from our team, including myself, on a few points we think you should consider before buying one yourself. If you like seeing these long-term test updates, go ahead and hit Like and Subscribe right now so we can do more of them. And, while you're at it, go to edmunds.com for all your car-shopping needs. So here's the deal. When we buy a car for our long-term fleet-- and yes, we use our own money-- we usually drive it for about 20,000 miles, keep it for a year, assess it, and then it back. For this X3, it's a smidge different. It's a loaner, meaning the manufacturer let us borrow it for a year to do a full assessment instead of us purchasing it. And now, our time with it is up. And the reason we're gazing over at the X5 to see how it measures up is because we think this is a viable alternative. Before we break down what we like and don't like, let me first tell you exactly what we got. Our term of choice is the X3 xDrive30i, the most popular trim. It's a 5-seater SUV starting at a little over $45,000. In BMW-speak, xDrive means all-wheel drive, which bumps up the overall cost from the base model just a smidge. Some highlights of its standard equipment are a Wi-Fi hotspot, 12-inch digital gauge cluster, and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There's also a ton of driver assist features too, like lane departure and blind spot warnings. In my experience, I have a love that those alerts and warnings aren't overly obnoxious like in other cars. [BEEPING] Danke schon, BMW. Oh, and just so you know, we wanted to get the full experience out of our X3. So we added the premium package, which runs a few extra thousand bucks, giving us things like a heated steering wheel, a panoramic sunroof, and heated seats. Ah, my favorite part. So out the door, the MSRP is a little over 51 grand. While it doesn't have a high number on our Edmunds ranking list and isn't as large or expensive as the X5, overall, our team has been impressed with the X3. So here's what we've liked about it. The main things that have stuck out is how versatile and competent it is. It's nice to drive, the storage is solid, and the cabin is a nice place to spend your time. BRENT ROMANS: The most memorable thing about it for me was comfort. You might think, well, BMW, the ultimate driving machine. But it was actually almost the ultimate comfort machine. I took it on a lot of long road trips, and I was always impressed with the ride quality. I think a lot of that had to do with the spec of our particular vehicle. Overall, like, it's just a nice luxury vehicle that you can get in and be comfortable and drive every day. SPEAKER: Next up is its utility, and utility is the X3's middle name. It has great cargo space, and excellent interior storage like those enormous side pockets in the door. Rarely do I find ones big enough to hold a thermos. Love it. There's a healthy 28 cubic feet behind the second row, which can easily be lowered, and gives more than 62 cubic feet of space. But even with great space, some of our team members struggled to get certain items just in the trunk, like these golf clubs. That said, we've had others fit desks and other pieces of furniture in it and have been just fine. Also for parents, you'll be able to put a car seat in with ease. See? Just like that, except if you're a content strategy director Josh. Then your experience might be a bit nuanced. JOSH SADLER: I went to install my daughter's car seat in the back seat rear-facing. I went to tighten the strap, as one must do. And applying just a normal amount of force as I would in any car, I found that the plastic covers on those latch bars popped off and ended up on the seat next to the car seat. Not a safety concern, I should say. The bars are obviously metal in the bottom of the seat. But it was a bit disconcerting that the parts themselves just popped off when I applied a normal amount of pressure to tighten the straps. SPEAKER: So what about its power? Well, that's actually another strong point. We think you're actually going to be pretty satisfied with how the X3 performs, chugging up large hills and accelerating on the freeway. No, we don't have the top trim with the six-cylinder engine, but the xDrive30i's 4-cylinder engine packs a pretty powerful punch. For me, it was one of the first things I noticed when driving this on the highway, was how much power it had and how smooth and quick the acceleration is. All right, let's talk about the cons. And just to be clear, it's not that we've found anything terribly bad, just things we were a bit less impressed with. For starters, the tech. I mean, it's decent, but does it wow us? Not really. Personally, I think this tech system is quite wonky. It says it has Apple CarPlay. When I tried to plug up to use it for my iPhone, it was just in and out. The sound system sometimes worked, sometimes it didn't. Navigation, sometimes worked, sometimes it didn't. I was never able to actually make calls through the car. So it just didn't come together for me, and I'm not the only one who had this experience. JAKE SUNDSROM: The first four months or so, we had a lot of problems with our phones staying connected to the X3. So it would connect initially, but after being connected for 30 minutes or longer, it would get buggy, disconnect, glitch out, and you'd have to really stop the entire car in order to get it connected again. BMW released an over-the-air update that did seem to address a lot of those problems, which was great. The past couple of months, though, has seen it kind of revert to a lot of its old problems. So same deal, you'd get connected, everything's fine. But after a while in the vehicle, it would start to disconnect, glitch out, and then stop working. SPEAKER: Now when it comes to fuel economy, this X3 runs a bit hot and cold depending on where it's driving. Around the city, not so great, but on the highway, it's a champ. The EPA estimate for it is at 24 MPG combining city and highway driving. And we've found it just about hits that long-term. But, during our initial formal fuel economy testing, we squeezed 27 MPG out of it. When it comes to maintenance, not that much here, aside from the routine oil changes, a couple of car washes. But, hey, like my grandma says, no news is good news. So, there it is, quick and easy. Not a ton of bumps in the road when it comes to owning this X3. Is it a 10 out of 10? No, but it is an 8 in just about every category. Even after a year, we still think this is a solid choice against rivals like the Audi Q5, Lexus RX and Volvo XC60. It doesn't really stand out in any one particular area, but it doesn't have any glaring weaknesses either. It's just a great all-arounder. Now that we've had our time with it, it's time for it to travel and experience new pastures. Well, actually, roads. But you get the point. So, how much is it worth now? Good question. Plugging the vehicle's information into our Sell My Car site, I see it's valued at up to $37,000 as we film this. Now, valuations vary, and we're in a particularly fluid market these days. But, that's not bad. Now the decision is truly yours. Will you take it home? Own it yourself, knowing that you'll be able to have a pretty versatile and luxurious experience? Let us in the comments below, and I'll see you next time. [MUSIC PLAYING]