MR_Y
Well-known member
When you hit 40, you are all too familiar with the wife saying that instead....Wouldn’t it be awesome if the software in the BMW threw up a message after detecting the bump saying “Should have kept it on”
-
Read the WELCOME ALL BMWFANATICS post.
2018 X3 20d xDrive
- Thread starter MR_Y
- Start date
ChrisPy
Active member
Last edited:
MR_Y
Well-known member
Small updates:
Gravel road driving protection:
The plastic wheel arch mouldings are doing an excellent job of protecting the paint from stone chips, especially when driving on gravel. The M Sport does not have this plastic protection, so something to bear in mind if you are looking to take an X3 on gravel.
As a counterpoint, here is my Macan with painted wheel arches. It has already picked up 2 stone chips. I will get them repaired and apply a VPS strip on each wheel arch.
The base X3 is better suited for gravel road driving.
Engine feeling a bit perkier:
Given that the Ford has been sold, the X3 is being used daily and on weekends. The car feels a bit perkier in normal driving and seems to respond better to throttle inputs. I will be keen to see how she feels on another interprovincial drive given that the engine seems to have loosened up a bit since the last long distance trip.
Minor trim issues:
Besides the flaking silver paint on the lower dash (as posted earlier):
- the rubber on the driver's interior door pull (not the handle, but the part you pull the door to close) is lifting off slightly. Will ask dealer to check at next service.
- I also noticed that the driver's door latch gets stuck slightly - when you try to open the door from the inside by pulling the handle, the door remains latched and requires a solid push to unlatch. The latch/catch mechanism seems to be sticking. Will ask dealer to check.
- The luggage cover edges scrapes against the D pillars on the inside of the boot/hatch (note that cover needs to be yanked towards you at an angle and then down into a groove). Since the luggage cover edges are black and the interior of the D pillars is white, these scuff marks are very noticeable. The luggage cover is a poor design and BMW should have either followed the more elegant and seamless design from the Mazda CX5 (the luggage cover opens and closes with the hatch opening and closing) or the straightforward sliding cover of Volvo. This is only an issue if you pack your X3 G01's boot to the brim - which I do, since my spare wheel takes up space.
- The front passenger window creaks when going down. Will ask dealer to check.
Besides the issues above, the rest of the car seems solid. However, the rear doors feel a bit too lightweight for a premium product.
Fuel consumption - based on my Fuelio.com logs:
Average so far: 6.9 l/100km
Worst: 8.45 l/100km
Best: 5.01 l/100km (long distance trip, mainly downhill)
Experience driving alone:
I took the car for an extended drive alone and really pushed it hard without having to worry about the welfare of passengers.
The car feels more fun to drive in this manner.
If pushing the X3 2.0d hard through twisty roads, it reveals a slight bit of RWD biased AWD character that puts a smile on your face - more so than when driving it in tamer conditions.
Alone on a quiet and twisty road, this is an SUV that you can enjoy and one that will make you smile when you give it the beans. You need to grab it by the scruff of its neck and it will reward you.
However, with a family onboard, you cannot really do this to extract that amount of enjoyment from the 2.0d.
If you have a family and need "enjoyment-on-tap", then the 30d can give you that without having to thrash it.
Gravel road driving protection:
The plastic wheel arch mouldings are doing an excellent job of protecting the paint from stone chips, especially when driving on gravel. The M Sport does not have this plastic protection, so something to bear in mind if you are looking to take an X3 on gravel.
As a counterpoint, here is my Macan with painted wheel arches. It has already picked up 2 stone chips. I will get them repaired and apply a VPS strip on each wheel arch.
The base X3 is better suited for gravel road driving.
Engine feeling a bit perkier:
Given that the Ford has been sold, the X3 is being used daily and on weekends. The car feels a bit perkier in normal driving and seems to respond better to throttle inputs. I will be keen to see how she feels on another interprovincial drive given that the engine seems to have loosened up a bit since the last long distance trip.
Minor trim issues:
Besides the flaking silver paint on the lower dash (as posted earlier):
- the rubber on the driver's interior door pull (not the handle, but the part you pull the door to close) is lifting off slightly. Will ask dealer to check at next service.
- I also noticed that the driver's door latch gets stuck slightly - when you try to open the door from the inside by pulling the handle, the door remains latched and requires a solid push to unlatch. The latch/catch mechanism seems to be sticking. Will ask dealer to check.
- The luggage cover edges scrapes against the D pillars on the inside of the boot/hatch (note that cover needs to be yanked towards you at an angle and then down into a groove). Since the luggage cover edges are black and the interior of the D pillars is white, these scuff marks are very noticeable. The luggage cover is a poor design and BMW should have either followed the more elegant and seamless design from the Mazda CX5 (the luggage cover opens and closes with the hatch opening and closing) or the straightforward sliding cover of Volvo. This is only an issue if you pack your X3 G01's boot to the brim - which I do, since my spare wheel takes up space.
- The front passenger window creaks when going down. Will ask dealer to check.
Besides the issues above, the rest of the car seems solid. However, the rear doors feel a bit too lightweight for a premium product.
Fuel consumption - based on my Fuelio.com logs:
Average so far: 6.9 l/100km
Worst: 8.45 l/100km
Best: 5.01 l/100km (long distance trip, mainly downhill)
Experience driving alone:
I took the car for an extended drive alone and really pushed it hard without having to worry about the welfare of passengers.
The car feels more fun to drive in this manner.
If pushing the X3 2.0d hard through twisty roads, it reveals a slight bit of RWD biased AWD character that puts a smile on your face - more so than when driving it in tamer conditions.
Alone on a quiet and twisty road, this is an SUV that you can enjoy and one that will make you smile when you give it the beans. You need to grab it by the scruff of its neck and it will reward you.
However, with a family onboard, you cannot really do this to extract that amount of enjoyment from the 2.0d.
If you have a family and need "enjoyment-on-tap", then the 30d can give you that without having to thrash it.
Last edited:
MR_Y
Well-known member
Strong motor, but due it being petrol and not an M40i, I feel that resale will struggle a bit in future.
MR_Y
Well-known member
Update
With the Macan in the workshop for 2 weeks, I am dailying the X3 and doing the boring family runabout stuff too.
Another dimension of this car has been revealed - its ease of use as a soccer mom (or dad) car....
Visibility is excellent, especially when driving through traffic at a snail's pace and when doing the congested school parking lot manuevers. The windows are large and give a good view out of your surroundings.
The lightweight steering, throttle, brake pedal and clickity-click gear selector feel at home in these conditions, when making tight parking turns or just driving in traffic on the highway. The way you operate the car feels effortless.
Even though it is a slightly large car (same size as first gen X5), it feels light on its feet in traffic.
When a gap opens up in traffic, just keep it in Sport and take the gap. Without having to deal with a full load, the car feels perky enough in cut and thrust driving.
In summary, it feels well suited as an urban runaround car and highway traffic cruiser. Whereas a more powerful car will feel like its being held back in these conditions, the 20d performs adequately.
For interprovincial travel with a full load, and going up hills, I will still recommend a 30d, but for everything else this 20d is almost perfect.
One gripe that is becoming more of a pain as I daily the car is the super tiny media screen. The back lighting is also pretty poor, so in bright conditions, you cannot really see details (such as media track info or other text info), even when cranking up the brightness setting. I can see why most buyers would have specced the larger screen. I am not complaining too much since I use my phone screen to run all my media and maps anyway.
I am still looking for a roofbox, though a small trailer may be a better long term solution. Will need to work out the sums on that.
With the Macan in the workshop for 2 weeks, I am dailying the X3 and doing the boring family runabout stuff too.
Another dimension of this car has been revealed - its ease of use as a soccer mom (or dad) car....
Visibility is excellent, especially when driving through traffic at a snail's pace and when doing the congested school parking lot manuevers. The windows are large and give a good view out of your surroundings.
The lightweight steering, throttle, brake pedal and clickity-click gear selector feel at home in these conditions, when making tight parking turns or just driving in traffic on the highway. The way you operate the car feels effortless.
Even though it is a slightly large car (same size as first gen X5), it feels light on its feet in traffic.
When a gap opens up in traffic, just keep it in Sport and take the gap. Without having to deal with a full load, the car feels perky enough in cut and thrust driving.
In summary, it feels well suited as an urban runaround car and highway traffic cruiser. Whereas a more powerful car will feel like its being held back in these conditions, the 20d performs adequately.
For interprovincial travel with a full load, and going up hills, I will still recommend a 30d, but for everything else this 20d is almost perfect.
One gripe that is becoming more of a pain as I daily the car is the super tiny media screen. The back lighting is also pretty poor, so in bright conditions, you cannot really see details (such as media track info or other text info), even when cranking up the brightness setting. I can see why most buyers would have specced the larger screen. I am not complaining too much since I use my phone screen to run all my media and maps anyway.
I am still looking for a roofbox, though a small trailer may be a better long term solution. Will need to work out the sums on that.
Last edited:
modocrat
Well-known member
Glad to hear you're enjoying the D
On Sunday my friend left his G01 30d LCi with me as I had to pick him up some 40km away after a cycle. I've driven a G05 30d previously but didn't really give it the beans. If Mr Plod was around on Sunday, I would have probably had my licence suspended, for good
I can't imagine what a M40d must be like..
On Sunday my friend left his G01 30d LCi with me as I had to pick him up some 40km away after a cycle. I've driven a G05 30d previously but didn't really give it the beans. If Mr Plod was around on Sunday, I would have probably had my licence suspended, for good
I can't imagine what a M40d must be like..
MR_Y
Well-known member
Less than a year in and on brand new tyres, another tyre picked up a puncture. This is the 3rd tyre that has been punctured in the last 7 months.
I refuse to believe that it is just bad luck. My Macan has Hankooks that are from 2019, have half life left and have had zero issues. These Bridgestone Alenzas are still newish (fitted Oct 2022) and 2 of them already had issues - 1 had to be replaced after a shoulder puncture, 1 was plugged. The latest victim has a slow leak - I can't see what is causing it.
Off to TWT tomorrow and hopefully it can be plugged.
Bridgestone Alenzas are crap tyres. Besides their propensity to pick up punctures, they handle piss poorly in the wet.
If the tyre cannot be plugged, then I will rather buy a set of Hankooks Ventus instead.
I refuse to believe that it is just bad luck. My Macan has Hankooks that are from 2019, have half life left and have had zero issues. These Bridgestone Alenzas are still newish (fitted Oct 2022) and 2 of them already had issues - 1 had to be replaced after a shoulder puncture, 1 was plugged. The latest victim has a slow leak - I can't see what is causing it.
Off to TWT tomorrow and hopefully it can be plugged.
Bridgestone Alenzas are crap tyres. Besides their propensity to pick up punctures, they handle piss poorly in the wet.
If the tyre cannot be plugged, then I will rather buy a set of Hankooks Ventus instead.
Last edited:
MR_Y
Well-known member
MR_Y
Well-known member
Doubt it. Macan travels same roads.
Could just be bad luck...
This tyre was the one I bought after another sidewall puncture in December 🙁
Anyway, it now makes financial sense to get tyre insurance. Especially since it will cover sidewall damage - and I had 2 sidewall incidents within 7 months.
MR_Y
Well-known member
Stability in cross winds
I noticed that the car moves around a bit in strong cross winds. Felt this on the N17 yesterday.
Granted, a high riding SUV will move around in cross winds. But, it felt a little disconcerting. Especially since my Macan (and even my ex EcoSport) felt more planted in similar (sometimes worse) weather conditions in the past.
I wonder if this has to do with the Alenza tyres or the fact that my X3 has the standard (comfort) suspension. Maybe M Sport suspension is more stable at high speed cross wind conditions?
I noticed that the car moves around a bit in strong cross winds. Felt this on the N17 yesterday.
Granted, a high riding SUV will move around in cross winds. But, it felt a little disconcerting. Especially since my Macan (and even my ex EcoSport) felt more planted in similar (sometimes worse) weather conditions in the past.
I wonder if this has to do with the Alenza tyres or the fact that my X3 has the standard (comfort) suspension. Maybe M Sport suspension is more stable at high speed cross wind conditions?
r0ckf1re
Well-known member
BouncyNinja
Member
Off
Topic, while I despise runflats, is it just me, or are the alenza tires more prone to punctures?
Had to replace all 4 of mine, they were delaminating on the inside, well, looked like someone clean cut them on the inside , it wasn’t a crack /tear from a puncture or from driving flat either
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
MR_Y
Well-known member
Yes, yes, yes.
Very shitty tyres.
My punctures in the last 7 months are in this thread.
MR_Y
Well-known member
Minor rant...
The OBC said that the brake fluid service is due in September.
Seeing that it is already August, I called up BMW and asked if I can book the car. They said yes.
I took the car in, service advisor read the key on the system, did all the checks, I signed my car in and I went away.
The car is still on Motorplan.
I get a call from the service advisor, 1 hour after I left the dealership, saying that BMW SA did not authorise the work because it is not yet September, when the brake fluid service would be due.
I asked him why did he (and the service booking agent) allow my car to be booked - surely they should have known BMW's rules regarding early servicing?
I also asked him why are BMW being finicky about this service, since it is only 1 month early. All my other car brands (while in Plan) allow services 1 month (or 1,500km) before they are due.
Anyway, no satisfactory response given.
Going forward, I will book services in the month of them being due. Unless, sooner on mileage.
The OBC said that the brake fluid service is due in September.
Seeing that it is already August, I called up BMW and asked if I can book the car. They said yes.
I took the car in, service advisor read the key on the system, did all the checks, I signed my car in and I went away.
The car is still on Motorplan.
I get a call from the service advisor, 1 hour after I left the dealership, saying that BMW SA did not authorise the work because it is not yet September, when the brake fluid service would be due.
I asked him why did he (and the service booking agent) allow my car to be booked - surely they should have known BMW's rules regarding early servicing?
I also asked him why are BMW being finicky about this service, since it is only 1 month early. All my other car brands (while in Plan) allow services 1 month (or 1,500km) before they are due.
Anyway, no satisfactory response given.
Going forward, I will book services in the month of them being due. Unless, sooner on mileage.
