I drove a buddy's tuned X3MC a couple times last year, but just around the neighborhood, nothing crazy. Didn't really get to open her up.
Finally had time to do a proper test drive in one today, and liked it a lot more than I had planned.
I'm looking for something to replace my F80, and it's come down to the F90, F97, or Macan Turbo.
I've been following this forum quite a bit over the last year or two, and have seen a number of folks who have come from the F80, but thought I would share some quick thoughts for anyone trying to make a similar decision.
—Good—
It's a fucking *hoot* to drive. Does it inspire the same confidence as my F80? No, and it never will. It's an SUV. But it's a blast, and the AWD system and rear diff do excellent work. I got that low-RPM lag in my friend's, but not in the one I drove today. Weird, but I'm not complaining.
Great seating position and visibility. Is that terribly important? No, but I'm a dad, so you'll get dad impressions here.
Road/wind noise wasn't nearly as bad as I had assumed it would be. It's quieter than my F80, but in a good way.
Good front seats.
Excellent tech. Great improvement over the F8x generation. Can't get into it all here, but was easy to use, and intuitive.
The reclining rear seats were a surprise. Angled as upright as they will go yields that much more boot space. A lot? No, but it could help make the difference in getting everything in there on your next Home Depot run without having to put the seats down (and take out 2 car seats, make the kids ride on the roof, etc.
). Very cool.
Value. Nobody in this segment can touch this motor or drivetrain, full stop. The lease rates for this car are very reasonable imho, and represent a bit of a bargain, particularly for what I'm comparing it to. A bit of utility, and a not-terrible cabin to boot make it a very good car to lease. I wouldn't buy one if you paid me in gold bullion, but that's a whole other discussion.
—Bad—
Sound. This thing needs an aftermarket exhaust. So did the F80 though...
Interior is a bit bland. Maybe they'll open up the Individual program with the LCI. Until then, it's kind of a letdown (other than the seats), and feels a bit downscale. Needs the full leather treatment at least.
Looks. Very subjective, but it just looks like an X3. To mod it otherwise, as we've seen in these forums, requires a good amount of $ at least imho. The car today was DG over Black/Midrand beige. No CF parts. Moonroof. Pretty blah.
—Equivocal—
Ride. A bit harsh. Does it need the MSS springs? Probably. Could I live without them? Probably. Do I care about the damping and my comfort? No, but I do care about being thrown around while trying to hold down a 2 ton car at...well, "highway" speeds. I could live with it though
The fuel tank is a bit small for a car this size, but I'm no engineer
—Overall—
I'm not totally sold, but I'm very pleasantly surprised, and could picture myself riding around in one of these for a few years. It definitely has some demons to deal with, and it's a bit of a mystery if or how the LCI will address them, but I'm a bit hesitant to pull the trigger on one of these when it's right around the corner. My lease matures in 3 months.
This comes from someone who generally hates SUVs and crossovers, so tbh I think my impressions say a lot for this car. I would normally just shake my head and tell you kids to get off my lawn, but it's a pretty good car.
Obviously, the F90 is costly, and doesn't offer any real utility over my F80, but it has proper BMW styling with a monster V8. The Macan represents perfect Porsche balance, but leasing a new one will cost about the same as an F90, while leaving me wanting in the raw performance department (even with a COBB tune). Will have to see how the F90 and Macan lease numbers shake out, but I might just join you F97/8 lunatics.
