F25 X3 xDrive20d SE - Ownership Thread

On 23rd January 2016 I will be collecting a 2011 F25 X3 xDrive20d SE from Dick Lovett as an Approved Used Car. The vehicle in question has 41,872 on the clock and is a one owner from new vehicle, originally supplied by Dick Lovett Bristol, registered June 2011 and taken in PX for another F25 X3. It is Titanium Silver with Dakota Black interior and light coloured headlining, being an SE model. Engine is the N47 2.0d mated to the wonderful ZF 8-speed autobox. Purchase price was 19,950 - a thousand pound discount on screen price.

Unusually for me, I have gone with an full-on SE model; normally preferring the M Sport bodykit and extras, but this time budget and utility was key for me over aesthetics. The car is, however, very well specced (invoice price was 40k new) and in addition to the standard spec, the car was fitted with the following options from factory:

ZXE - Media Pack - Business Advanced - small nav display, BMW Assist
ZXH - Cold Weather Pack - heated front & rear seats plus heated steering wheel, split-fold rear seats 40:20:40, automatic dimming ext. folding mirrors
ZXG - Visibility Pack - xenons, adaptive lights, headlight washers, high beam assist
3AC - Towbar. fully electric
4AD - Brushed Aluminium trim
420 - Sun Protection Glass
488 - Lumbar Support. driver & front passenger
633 - Enhanced Bluetooth telephone functionality
654 - DAB digital radio

The targetted options, in order of importance, were xenons (we now live in a very isolated rural Location so is VERY dark of an evening), autobox, leather and heated front seats. Everything else was a boon and the towbar will come in very useful since I have always carried my mountainbikes on a towbar rack and had been mulling over what to do for this season, given neither the Polo nor 1er had a towbar. Problem now solved although I'd have happily done a deal on a car without it, all things being equal.

What was the reason for choosing the X3?

The F20 118d which is going in for PX was the consumate all-rounder. At 53k miles it was performing exceptionally well and done 10k in our ownership over 8 months. BUT, the realisation that having moved to a rural location, where SUVs are less about fashion and more about getting around effectively, whatever the weather (we've been flooded in twice in two weeks), it became apparent that a 4x4 was the only way to remain mobile.

In spite of being a self-confessed BMW fanboy, we looked at a number of different options, each was dismissed for one good, or several reasons. Options for us were:-

- BMW X1 - don't offer much more than we already had. Wading depth not sufficient.
- BMW X5 - too expensive to run. Expensive tyres and juicy (averaged 26mpg from last two)
- Land Rover Freelander - too juicy (<30mpg), tales of unreliability, expensive for what they are.
- Land Rover Discovery - too juicy, unreliable, too big, expensive parts.
- Toyota Rav4 - again, wading depth not significant enough. Depreciation shocker. Cheap Plastics.
- Volvo XC60 - juicy. <30mpg from D5, D4 not in budget.

Key for us was the difficult combination of mpg requirement (need around 40mpg given how many miles we now cover just in doing the simplest trips). Also needed to have a good wading capability and capable of hoiking the family on trans-European roadtrips in comfort given our propensity to travel long distances on holiday. Matching these seemingly mutually exclusive demands was difficult and the X3 is about the only one I'm confident of achieving them in.

The fact it is an SE with base spec wheels means cheap tyres (full set of M&S winters is just 660quid for Pirelli Scorpians, which I will likely run all year round vs. 1.5k for a full set of rubber on the E70 X5). It is about utility - it will get muddy, will be well used, will be used on a daily basis by my wife who is no spirited driver. The importance is for comfort, utility, safety and not necessarily flat roadholding or sports seats, although i will concede that the SE seats are the only things which concern me.

The autobox will be a boon in several ways. Although we've both enjoyed driving the manual 118d, there have inevitably been several moments when we've thought we'd prefer the auto. The other fact is that I've always been slightly disappointed with the mpg from the 1er. My Uncle achieves well into the 50s, bordering 60s, mpg from his 120d which has the autobox and although we've averaged nearly 49mpg, I fear the differential is largely down to the fact the manual box car continuously revs too high in the 1er for the best fuel consumption. The auto is optimised for efficiency, so I'm hoping that in spite of the weight penalty and efficiency loss from the xDrive transmission, all things being equal, we'll still be in the 40's mpg-wise from the X3.

I shall continue to update this thread with first impressions following the drive back from Bristol to Essex tomorrow, running report, costings and the all important pictures!

 

Thanks mate. You're right, the lumber support is what gets me comfortable (pun intended) with them. Mind you, worst comes to the worst, a set of good sport seats from the breakers yard or a retrim is cheaper than a new vehicle.

 

Thanks for the comments @DiscusbT - wish you well with yours too. I was certainly open to the 30d as I know how refined and punchy the 6-cylinder is, but the only couple which came up in my search didn't have the spec I needed.

@Cooky - already a member there from my E70 days, but may show my face if I need anything F25 specific.

So, in answer to the "what's it like?" questions, the following first impressions.....

It's actually rather big!

May sound like a stupid thing to say, but having got used to the 1er and feeling very comfy in the hunkered down, sporty position (plus driving my Polo to & from the station every day), approaching the X3, it's apparent that it's a big car and I can certainly believe it's very close to the E53 X5 in dimensions.

When we arrived at the dealership (some 1.5hrs ahead of our handover appointment due to the drive from Bristol to Essex being somewhat shorter than planned!), the X3 looked very well prepped indeed. Apart from the 11-plate on it, it'd have been easy to mistake it for a new car. This impression later fell apart when inspecting the inside, where there had been some very sloppy valeting, about which I have complained and which will be escalated to the Line Management this week. However, the vehicle is in very good condition for a nearly 5yr old vehicle. A small scratch to the n/s rear door, which I didn't spot until we got home (quite deep but very thin, almost like a knife cut, but on the concave of the door so it's not too noticeable) and it's had some touch-up/spray to the rear bumper, but nothing severe by the looks of it, given I removed all the interior trim around the o/s rear light and boot panel to check for welding or mismatched panels. All looks good.

Driving it? Well, apart from having to get used to being up high again (which is both really nice and disappointing at the same time, loosing that sportiness of the low-slung 1er), it drives very well. It doesn't feel much wider than the 1er, in spite of being quite a bit bigger. Typical of the ZF 8-speeder, it does a great job of being in the right gear at pretty much 95% of the time. There's a slight bit of turbo-lag on the N47 if you're pottering and then make a demand for power when in Drive but once you make a solid demand for power, boost rises quickly and produces a very surprising turn of pace for such a small displacement in such a large and heavy vehicle. No such issues with lag when in Sport mode.

Steering is a bit light and it seems to be a bit more understeery than any BMW I've had before. I don't know whether that's the combination of summer tyres (it's on Dunlop SportMax all round, albeit non-RFT), the small rims or the SE Suspension - perhaps a combination of all three, but it's not particularly confidence inspiring on a twisty road. Having said that, as I'm typing, I've just remembered the tyres are brand new on the front axle so it may be a case of needing to scrub them in a bit.

The SE seats are, as I thought, the main bugbear. I don't think it's insurmountable as I had the same issue going from Comfort Seats in the 550i to sports seats in the E70 and then the less padded, narrower seats once again in the 118d. But, there's no doubt that they're not my favourite seats. Interestingly enough, it's not necessarily the support on the side bolsters that I'm missing, as I thought I would, but the thigh support from the extra bit of cushion you get on the sports seats and the tilt function you get on the seatbase of the sports seats. After a particularly uncomfortable 50miles, 100miles in to the journey home (during which I had massive buyers remorse! ), I managed to eventually find a nice position of tilting the seatback a bit further back than normal and having the steering wheel a bit closer than normal (note: not on my chest like some tiny women have it! ). Therefore it was much comfier for the last bit of the journey and I'm not too concerned about it since then. To be honest, doing 180miles in one go is always a bit of an ask in any car, but I will concede it's not as comfy as I'm used to. If it continues to be a pain (literally), then I'll source some new seats. I've already researched and looks like 1.3k is the price for electric heated seats (full set, with door trims etc), so cheaper than changing car. On the short journey we did to the local town, I had no comfort issues either as passenger or driver, so limited to the longer runs and even then, I hope my new-found position solves that.

All that said, it's much quieter than I was anticipating. The 118d on summer tyres for the run to the dealership, I was reminded it had loads of tyre noise. The X3 has less tyre roar and less wind noise than I remember on the X5 and made for a comfy place to be sat. Even the 4-cylinder engine didn't make itself heard unless exercising the right foot hard and even then wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Agricultural yes, but not unpleasant.

The Business Nav, which I also had concerns about was very good. Yes, a smaller screen than the Pro Nav, no funky full colour maps or gradient shading, but having been without in-built nav for nearly a year now, I'm completely over that. The Business Nav does exactly what I need it to, far better than I thought it would do too and whilst I used to view Pro Nav as a "must have", it's well down my list now as a "nice to have".

So, the mpg-question. I think I'm going to have to revisit my initial thoughts and perhaps remind myself that I was perhaps a little naiive. It is a big bus, the 8-speeder is very good, but it's impossible to tame the laws of physics in terms of moving a big, heavy bus around without fuel penalty. That said, it's still not bad for what it is! I set the cruise control at 72mph (don't ask me why, as I normally just set 70mph when on an economy run! :confused: ) and I achieved 44mpg average for the 180mile return trip. I fuelled up about 7miles from home and reset the trip - since then we've done another 10 or so miles, which is representative of our "normal" run these days - a mixture of country roads where 45-60mph easy cruising is possible for a few miles, then slower, more urban work through some villages, old market towns and then back to the easy NS limit cruising. We're seeing 36mpg on the current tank so far, so I guess my range will be somewhere between 34-37mpg in daily usage, which as I said isn't bad, but sadly not the 40mpg I was hoping to see. That said, it's pretty incredible when you consider the size and weight of the vehicle.

Compared to the 1er, I think we're still remarkably only c. 10mpg down. On an economy run, the 1er would produce around 53mpg (vs. 44mpg X3) and latterly I found the 1er was doing 44mpg since we've moved (vs. 36mpg we saw yesterday).

So far, its biggest fan is my 3yr old daughter who loves the space she's got after the 1er and also I presume the height so she can see lots more when on the move. She slept 2hrs out of the 3hr return journey so that is a mark of comfort too! I love the heated steering wheel, which heats up incredibly quickly and to a very nice temperature, unlike the seats which are typical BMW and burn your bot on any setting, even the lowest! Visibility Pack is great to have; I'd forgotten how great the adaptive lights were. Business Nav I've already mentioned and very pleased with. Nice to have DAB again, HiFi could do with fettling but can't afford another upgrade al a X5 system! And the electric towbar is pure wizardary! Love watching it fold itself down and back up.

So, so far, so good. I'm uninclined to believe it will be our favourite or best BMW (both of us really sad to say goodbye to the 1er), but hopefully it will do what we need of it, without problems, in comfort and without too high costs. And I suppose if it does all that, it will be a very good car indeed!

The to do list -

- I've ordered a set of genuine BMW rubber mats since they've proved themselves worth their weight in gold living where we do, they'll be going in tomorrow;
- I'm considering the boot liner and mudflaps but can't justify another 200quid (in total) out of the door at the moment;
- Needs a good valet/mini-detail inside (to be honest, limited to switches, doorcards and door bins, apholstery & carpets are fine);
- Private plate to go on when I have the logbook;
- Tyres - currently has good tyres on the rear and new ones on the front, but ideally need to change them all to run M&S all year round. Can't afford it at the moment, but on the to do list.

Oh and because neither Mrs Spuff nor I were particularly keen on buying it, there were no pictures taken when we bought it, or since. I'll try and take some when I'm next at home and post them up.

 

Thanks Peter.

And you've hit the mail on the head with the bit I've underlined. In some ways, I've got into this mode of thought with the 1er as that was a massive disappointment after coming out of the last X5. And what ended up being really strange there was the surprise that it had got under our skin and was actually rather more enjoyable than we thought. However, given my desire to drive something smooth, petrol, luxurious and beautiful, I have spent the last year getting used to viewing the car as just a tool.

Ironic though that both the 1er and the Polo have proved to be such wonderful companions, in spite of their diminutive size, power and "cachet".

But it's also a sobering experience, as a petrolhead, to wake up and really understand that cars are mostly just tools. We can lust after them and if we're really lucky, either because of surplus cash or a dearth of mileage, we can cherish them and dote on them, but at the end of the day, their purpose is as a practical mode of transport. Disturbing though it is for the ardent petrolhead such as myself, I console myself that I'm in the very fortunate position of owning a very nice SUV that an awful lot of the population would be pleased with, a very tidy station car which is a bit too good for the station run and a lovely motorhome which builds us memories. At the end of the day, I'm very lucky and it's chirlish to think otherwise.

 

Mileage - 42,500 / MPG 37.8

So, we're two weeks and 700miles in and my observations so far......

We actually quite like it!

Admittedly my wife does most of the driving and has done at least half of the 700miles so far with her daily trapsing around, but she really likes it and I've certainly been somewhat surprised. I've also managed to get myself sorted with the seats too - by pure chance, aswell. I just nipped down to the shops and rather than faff around with the seat for a short journey, I basically just shoved the seat back from my wife's setting and changed the mirrors. She has the seat at its highest setting, so whilst it felt comically high, it didn't aggravate my legs and hips so when I got back in the following time, I dropped the seat about half way and assumed something of a higher, more upright seating position and I've stuck with it. No longer am I going for the "feet out in front racer style" and something more akin to how one would sit in a Range Rover or something. And it works! It's very comfy and my thoughts are no longer headed towards changing out the seats.

Other than that, probably easier if I go with the pro's and con's...

Con's

- Turning Circle - now this is bordering ludicrous and dangerous! It's so wide that you can't do U-turns at even the biggest mini-roundabouts and making any tight turn is impossible! My 6.7m Long, 2.3m wide motorhome will turn on a six-pence. Why can't BMW make the F25 do an about turn?!
- Engine is noisey when extended. But otherwise ok. Easily got around by not extending it!
- A fair bit boatier than any other BMW I've ever driven. Definitely "slow in, fast out", there's no other way. Whilst the understeery-feel has been cured since the tyres have scrubbed in, the roll and ultimate lack of grip on faster corners ensures that spirited driving is conducted as a 4x4 owner might do in the last-gen Range Rover than the E70s I've been used to.

Pro's

- Comfy. Of this there's no doubt. It rides very well and is quite cosseting. In spite of my boaty comment above, not queasiness inducing - well damped.
- Reasonably quiet if the engine isn't extended. Still makes surprising progress even letting the autobox short-shift.
- Heated Steering Wheel! My new favourite gadget - heats up so quickly that it's actually really useful and I'd struggle to do without it going forwards.

So, at the moment, we're so far well-balanced at 3 all in terms of pros and cons! I can actually see this being a car we end up falling for. In just two weeks, starting with an uphill battle of having big shoes of the 1er to fill, the X3 has begun to win us over. It's caked in mud, which is what an SUV should be! And not being the M Sport, it looks very good in its new "dress", showing its utility.

Only one thing I've found wrong so far and that's that the cigarette lighter socket doesn't work by the front cupholders, so at some point it will have to go into BMW to have that rectified, but otherwise all good. Expecting big things from this beasty.

 

Interesting to hear - it could just be that I've been spoiled with the motorhome the fact that it has the incredible ability to tight the turn significantly in the last half of lock, which really pulls the thing around some tight turns. That and maybe that coming from the 1er, which had a tighter turning circle, has overemphasised a normal phenomenon.

Not sure what to suggest with the garage turn. Having had Top View on the X5, I'm not sure how much it would help you in your situation anyway, since the cameras are more skewed towards the sides of the car rearwards rather than towards the front, since I'm sure BMW always intended "Surround View" to pick up the fore position/pictures. FWIW I don't have a problem placing the front end of mine, but then at the same time, I don't want to major that comment too much as I'm sure my next post will involve "Oops, I clipped the front corner of the X3 at the weekend!"

 

Mileage - 43,750 / MPG 37.4

So, a bit of an update. Nothing too bad, but a few niggles emerging.

I don't drive the car much since Mrs Spuff is the Mon-Fri user. Got in the car over the weekend and noticed that the engine at idle had a real rough quality about it. Went away when above idle, but sounds like something is rattling under the bonnet or the engine is not idling properly. I didn't think too much of it until Mrs Spuff announced last night that she felt the engine was lacking in power when she did a 100-odd mile journey yesterday. I need to see for myself, but given how much she drives the thing, I've got to trust her. So that car is going in to BMW.

On top of that, I noticed at the weekend that the nsf window is failing to open properly. It drops then the motor labours, motor spins freely, then window drops......and so on and so forth. Presume the glass carrier is stuck.

Then the pesky lack of working cigarette lighter in the front. BMW may aswell see to that whilst it's in.

So all booked in with Elms Bishops Stortford for next Thursday, complete with 1er or 3er courtesy car. We'll see what happens.

 

Bit of a pain yesterday, got home to hear a hissing sound, which turned out to be the rear o/s tyre having received a puncture.

The tyres on my X3 are non-RFT and there's no spare, so I was forced into action with the sealant & compressor kit. An awful lot of the gumption ended up on the driveway, but eventually sealed the hole........sort of. Managed to hold its pressure overnight, but upon taking my daughter to nursery, my wife had the low pressure alert go off and she's limped to the nursery, filled the tyre with air and limped home again. She's got to pick little'un up a bit later and I'm hoping it holds for the 14mile return journey.

I was planning on using this unfortunate event to replace the tyres (all four) with a M&S marked tyre. But it seems that the only BMW endorsed tyres for the F25 X3 in my size are the Pirelli Cinturato P7 and Dunlop SP Sportmaxx TT, with which it is currently fitted. I was going to order either full winters (Pirelli Scorpians) or Continental CrossContact XL Sports (All-season) but I have read that the Transfer box on the F25 is just as senstive on as on the previous (E83, I think) model X3 so best to err on the side of caution and stay with the Dunlops, given the fronts are brand new.

All of this is annoying given I'm completely limited in terms of what I can run. The only upside is that I can source two rears for GBP 249 inc. mobile fitting, which is perfectly acceptable.

EDIT: - turns out that Dunlops can't be sourced with any firm timetable (currently everything on back order) therefore I've had to source 4 x Pirelli Cinturato P7's instead! I'll be trying to eBay the front Dunlops to try and recoupe some of the 485quid.

 

Arrrrggghh - that'd have been perfect!

No, doesn't make any sense to repair the rear. It was at 3mm when I bought it (pretty much on the minimum AUC limits) and pretty much where I would normally replace anyway, so not much to be gained from repairing it. Plus, I think it's too big, which is why the gumption has failed to properly stem the airflow.