Distance: 827 km
Location: Ontario, New York
Date: April 21-22, 2023
Up front: Whoever bought this car just went through the online checkout and accepted all the stock options—stock rims, stock glossy fake wood panels, and stock interior and exterior colours. It doesn’t feel as luxurious as the competing Mercedes-Benz GLC, but it will last forever—or until your lease is up. The Sensatec faux leather doesn’t disappoint, it feels a lot more supportive than Mercedes’ Artico synthetic leather-like material. BMW is good at making leather-looking materials, I recall being impressed by the seats on the pre-facelift first-generation X1 from a decade ago.
There’s plenty of adjustment on the driver’s seat but the steering wheel doesn’t come down far enough for my liking. The layout is logical, but the controls are not. The digital gear stick has been a perennial sticking point for driving enthusiasts but that has been partially remedied by the availability of paddle shifters. BMW’s signature iDrive is easy to use but refuses to connect to Apple CarPlay. The digital gauge cluster takes a little getting used to; the speedometer and tachometer are on opposite ends of the screen so I find my eyes darting all over the place during spirited driving.
In the back: No complaints in the back seats. Two USB-C charging ports and generous leg and headroom will keep passengers happy. The seating position is upright enough for older folks to feel supported, too. The rear seats can’t be folded down from the boot, which is a bummer because mainstream Japanese brands now have that feature. The cargo cover fits under the false floor, but is finicky to remove with two buttons mounted on the window sill instead of the cover itself.
This car has less utility than the budget-conscious Mazda 5. The boot space is lacking for active lifestyles, it’s missing a 12V outlet in the back, and not quite long enough to fit a bicycle inside without taking the wheel off. You could squeeze it in, but it’ll hit the back of your seat every time you brake. The 5-series wagon does a better job at supporting sporty owners, I remember BMW aired an ad with a couple fitting scuba diving gear in the back of their 1996 E39 wagon equipped with a sliding false floor.
Driving: It’s a star on the highway but the overly sensitive pedals make it a chore to navigate around the city in start-stop traffic. The accelerator has mild feedback until pressed hard for the turbo to spool up and the brakes either do nothing or launch your face into the windscreen. Although the electric driver assistance features are less invasive than rival brands, they don’t work in heavy snow or rain, which is when those assistance features are most needed.
Between sport, comfort, eco, and intelligent drive modes, they don’t do too much. Press down hard in comfort and it’ll accelerate just as quickly as in sport. I’d rather BMW give me a true six-speed manual instead of the compromised modes that seem to only hold revs and change everything to red. If colours made a car faster, everyone and their uncle would tape a stripe down their bonnet. It’s still a fun car to drive, but it’s lost the roots of the first generation X3 from two decades ago that came equipped with a straight-six M54, cousin to the then-M3’s S54 powerhouse.
