Test drive BMW X3 M40i: car tracks

The flagship of the X3 line delivers emotions that will leave no one indifferent.

The new generation X3 has changed significantly compared to its predecessor. Five centimeters longer, wheelbase five centimeters longer, one centimeter wider and 1,5 centimeters lower. Impressive, but still not indicative enough for dynamic qualities. Not only do the seats beckon with their comfort, but sports seats can be ordered for each model, if the customer so desires.

B58B30M0

However, when you do them and wrap yourself in a veil of raucous bass sound coming from somewhere behind the depth of the exhaust system, everything starts to change. Under the hood is a three-liter in-line six-cylinder engine. I told her "one", it's a three-liter six-cylinder engine. Turbo. gasoline. Or, to be precise, B58B30M0. Swift and at the same time screaming about speed. Up to 7000 per minute. So powerful that it easily powers 1,9 tons of M40i and carries them into space with its 500 Newton meters. His deep, voluminous voice controls the senses, reaching the ends of every nerve in your body and activating it. Including through the seat, which becomes a direct link between your nature and the nature of a unique machine.

Against this backdrop, it can happen that you ignore the infotainment system, which itself offers impeccable handling and control, gradually merging with the multitude of functions. Like email handling, the ability to receive weather data or stream music.

My God, this X3 not only sounds, it drives phenomenally – even though it falls into the SUV category. The M40i responds at the start of a corner, reliably communicates friction to the road with its responsive steering system, allows for slight lean and pulls so relentlessly out of the corner that you get there much faster than expected.

Model M not only plays the role of a leader in the line - it just is. Additional adaptive dampers get their settings, narrower operating range, added 15 percent anti-roll bars, a 30-minute increase in the vertical angle of the front wheels, an electronically controlled differential lock on the rear axle and 20-inch wheels. This chassis "package" delivers joy and some form of primal and rediscovery fun at every turn. You can steer the rear wheels precisely, while the front wheels follow the turning radius quietly. Driving comfort is, logically, more limited than other members of the model family, but by no means bad.

It is very interesting to pay attention to something that is not a priority in this type of car - fuel consumption. During a four-day test of the X3 M40i in various conditions, the average consumption was exactly ten liters per hundred kilometers, and a review of the on-board computer showed that 60 of the 600 kilometers traveled were so-called. . "Soaring" - transmission mode, which is activated when driving without traction. True, this is not the most impressive thing about this car, but it is an impressive addition to all the technological excellence that it has.

Text: Bozhan Boshnakov

Photo: Melania Iosifova