2006 BMW X3 Review (continued)
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Walkaround

The BMW X3 looks a lot like the bigger X5. Only when parked side by side are the differences noticeable, and then only to the extent of inches or less.

The 2006 BMW X3 gets a few new exterior touches. Most noticeable are the body-color front and rear bumpers. There's the traditional twin-kidney grille, of course, its chrome vertical slats complemented by a chrome strip along the base of the side windows.

From the front, the stance looks much the same as the X5, with fenders tautly blistered over wide and widely spaced tires, giving the X3 a BMW-like, road-grabbing face. This is no real surprise, as the X3 is but 0.7 inches narrower than the X5; its track is within 1.5 inches of the X5's track, which is the distance between the left and right wheels.

The X3 looks like the X5 in side view as well, though the cut line from the front wheel wells to the front doors was eliminated for a cleaner look. A mild character crease bridges the space between the fender blisters, and a relatively low beltline adds openness to the side windows. The trademark dogleg in the rear quarter window has been stretched a bit, however.

Physical measurements support the visual similarities. The X3's 110-inch wheelbase is less than 1 inch shy of the X5's. (The wheelbase is the distance between front and rear wheels. Overall length comes up short of the X5's 183.7 inches by only 4 inches. The X5 is just 1.5 inches taller than the X3.

From the rear, the only marked difference between the two is the single, double-tipped exhaust exiting on the left side where the X5 sports dual exhausts exiting at the corners.

Interior Features

People familiar with BMW interiors will immediately feel at home in the X3. Controls are where they should be and feel the way they should, with the proper directional movement, resistance and detents. Instruments are easy to read at a glance and communicate the proper and necessary information.

The display for the optional navigation system is one of the most thoughtfully positioned of the lot, rotating up out of the top center of the dash, gray instead of black, so it's visible to driver and navigator but nestled unobtrusively halfway down in the recess where it stows when not in use.

Passengers will climb in over aluminum doorsill trim with the BMW logo and will find refined interior trim and materials. We like the Maple Sycamore dark wood trim.

The front seats are supportive and comfortably bolstered. The standard seats are more comfortable than the Sport seats and quite adequately restrain the occupants' posteriors when the road turns winding. Seatbelts feel right, properly tensioned. Ranges of seat adjustment are extensive, to the point a six-footer can enjoy major amounts of headroom and actually put the steering wheel and forward footwell well out of reach; at these extremes, however, rear-seat legroom is seriously diminished.

In terms of roominess, the X3's interior compares favorably with its most likely direct competition, the Lexus RX 330 and Infiniti FX35, giving up an inch or so here and gaining the same there. In many measures it bests the more expensive X5. There's almost an inch more legroom in front and about half an inch more in the rear, for instance. Front-seat headroom is about a half inch less than in the X5, but rear-seat headroom is nearly an inch greater. On the downside, the X3's rear seat is quite firm and virtually flat, like a church pew, where the X5 and the others offer more form fit and comfort. The X3's rear center head restraint is fixed, offering no vertical adjustment.

Cargo area, at 71 cubic feet, is impressive, exceeding the X5's by 2 cubic feet with the rear seats folded, and slotting in between the RX 330's 84.7 cubic feet and the FX35's 64.5. Caesar the 170-pound mastiff was happy here, with the second row of seats flipped down.

Storage areas are numerous and flexible, many fitted with netting that stretches to accommodate odd shapes and medium-sized water bottles. Rear-door map pockets forfeit several square inches to the Europeans' unabated addiction to ash trays, however.

So much for the tape measure. Where the X3 disappoints is in the intangible and tactile, how the interior looks and feels. Textures and materials have been improved, but there's still no mistaking the X3 for one of BMW's luxury sedans. There are two front cup holders, but the one mounted on the center console is sized more for soda pop cans than coffee cups or water bottles and looks like an afterthought, something cobbled together and glued in place forward of the armrest/storage bin. The passenger cup holder pops out of the end of the dash by the door, where it gets bumped by knees when the passenger is climbing in or out of the car. Door closings are followed by a hint of a hollow echo, instead of the solid thunk" we expect of BMWs."