Is Our BMW X3 the Perfect SUV for a Road Trip?

• I took our BMW X3 on a two-week, 1,500-mile holiday journey.
• Over that time and distance, I found plenty of things to like and dislike.
• The X3's range was a big highlight, while the cabin was disappointing.

Why you should pick the X3

Range

This is something that is often discussed when it comes to electric vehicles, but it remains an important consideration for gas vehicles as well, especially on long drives. The X3 easily gets over 500 miles with its 17.2-gallon tank, and after its last fill-up, the range meter read over 550 miles. That meant we were able to drive from the San Francisco Bay Area back to Los Angeles without stopping, taking advantage of a traffic-free window. And it means you save time on a regular basis because you'll be filling up less frequently, and having one less errand to run is great.

Safety technology

The BMW's driver aids worked pretty flawlessly during my time with it; the only hiccup was the lane keeping aids getting a bit confused in the middle of a downpour on the highway at night. However, the adaptive cruise control, cameras and other features performed very well. 

I was most impressed by the X3's parking assistance systems. Its automatic parking system for parallel parking was really easy to engage; you simply pull up right in front of the spot you want to back into, stop, engage reverse, and activate the system with a single press of a button on the steering wheel. Then, when you release the brake pedal, it steers into tight spaces quickly and confidently.

Screens

Both of the X3's screens, the 12.3-inch instrument cluster and the 14.9-inch touchscreen, sit behind a single piece of curved glass and look fantastic. They are high-resolution and responsive, and BMW's infotainment system boasts great graphics, although the control scheme leaves a bit to be desired (more on that later).

What I came to really appreciate was the instrument cluster, which features a view that mirrors the maps being used via Android Auto or Apple CarPlay from your smartphone. It allows the main screen to be used for various purposes while still providing the driver with a view of upcoming turns and navigation. It pairs very well with the head-up display, featuring large arrows and distance indicators.

How it drives

Even in an SUV where driving dynamics might not be the focus, if you spend a lot of time behind the wheel of anything in a short time, you will inevitably come to appreciate the things it does well (or doesn't). And while the X3's steering is a bit numb for enthusiastic driving, it handles better than expected and feels quite agile.

Our X3 is a 30 xDrive, featuring a 255-horsepower turbocharged inline-four engine, which helped keep the price down while providing ample range. Although that number might seem modest, the X3 still feels plenty punchy, even when loaded up. There wasn't a time on the trip when I felt like I needed to jump up to the 393-hp M50 xDrive, even though that thing would probably be more fun.

Why not the X3

Cabin isn't luxury-grade

Echoing a common refrain by several of my colleagues about the X3, the cabin just isn't all that nice. It's not really down to any one reason in particular, but a mix of issues. Too many plastics here. Touchpoints that don't feel premium there. Those trim pieces on the door look rather cheap, though they do turn red when vehicles are approaching to warn you not to open the door before looking (there are those great safety systems again).

And to top it off, the X3 is also a bit noisy at highway speeds. My wife commented, "Why's it so loud in here?" on the first leg of the journey, which was a bad sign since we still had well over 1,000 miles to go. And you can't really turn up the stereo to cover it because, especially for a luxury vehicle, it doesn't sound very good either. The whole experience just doesn't feel luxurious enough to live up to the BMW roundel on the hood.

Not that comfortable

For a vehicle with a luxury tag, the seat and ride comfort leave something to be desired. Although the seats are fine on shorter drives, after a long day behind the wheel, I found myself wishing for a bit more support. The back seats are the same way, though they naturally have a good recline angle on the backrests.

The ride quality was also a letdown. If the road is perfectly smooth, then the X3 is happy; but any road seams or bumps get transmitted into the cabin (and the seat) without enough of a buffer. This stiffness in the suspension is why it's sneaky fun to drive; it's also something I'd trade off for a touch more compliance.

Small cargo area/back seat

Even though most of our trip was taken with just two of us in the BMW, we felt it was confining for anyone else who hopped in, and the cargo area was smaller than expected. That's especially true given that the X3 isn't all that compact. Its exterior footprint is larger than that of other compact SUVs like the Honda CR-V (the BMW is about 2 inches wider and longer). On top of that, it's got an extra 6.5 inches of wheelbase, and that usually translates into more cabin space overall.

However, when examining the interior dimensions, the CR-V not only offers 4 more inches of rear legroom but also boasts a larger cargo area, with about 8 cubic feet of extra cargo space for gas models and 5 cubic feet for hybrids. Those numbers don't really make sense given the BMW's extra size.

Controls

This might seem a bit broad as a single complaint, but that's because the control scheme as a whole feels somewhat obtuse. The BMW infotainment system is very powerful and can customize or change many aspects of the vehicle, but it can feel overwhelming to find what you're looking for, and some commonly used features are buried deep in menus. For example, if you want to change the following distance for the adaptive cruise control, that's a simple button on the steering wheel in most vehicles. In the X3, it's about four menus deep.

And even the air vents complicate things unnecessarily. When you're trying to direct the air, you're not moving the vent itself, but a small rubber piece next to it. And you can't see the direction that it's pointed because it's buried in the dash. Does it make the interior look a bit sleeker? I guess. But it also makes something that should be simple an exercise in frustration.

Would I take it again?

Even with equal whys and whys nots, I think if given the chance, I'd take the X3 on a road trip again. If you can recalibrate your expectations on the luxury front, there's a lot to enjoy, including the nice screens and the SUV's ability to cover a lot of miles. As long as you're not bringing more than, say, three people along (four people would get tight), this BMW is a pretty good companion for a weekend getaway. Just remember to pack lightly and avoid potholes along the way.