BMW X3 20 xDrive 2025 review

The BMW X3 may have started its life as a niche offshoot of the towering 3 Series nameplate, but such is its growth in prominence over the past two decades that it’s now BMW’s best-selling model globally and has been freshly rejuvenated to thrust it towards the 2030s.

The fourth-generation G45 X3 you see here isn’t a completely new model – it shares its CLAR platform, 2865mm wheelbase length and core drivetrains with the previous G01 model – but it’s visually all-new, with hardware substantially upgraded to deliver the best-driving medium SUV in the business, regardless of price.

To build on the X3’s already-impressive packaging, BMW has widened it by 29mm, lengthened it by 34mm and lowered it by 25mm. And to enhance its already-strong dynamic ability, BMW has broadened its tracks (16mm front, 45mm rear), honed its suspension geometry, revised its steering hardware, and fitted adaptive dampers as standard on M Sport models.

The Australian line-up consists of three X3 variants, all featuring ‘xDrive’ all-wheel-drive and standard M Sport package. The entry-level X3 is the 20 (tested here) – with 140kW/310Nm and an $86,100 sticker before on-road costs.

Above it sits the X3 30e – a plug-in hybrid evolution of the 20, with a 19.7kWh battery, total system outputs of 220kW/450Nm and a before on-roads price of $102,500. And the storming 293kW/580Nm X3 M50 six-cylinder turbo-petrol for $128,900 before on-road costs.

The existing all-electric iX3 will continue for now but will be replaced by a totally new EV model line later in 2025 – based on BMW’s Neue Klasse X concept shown in early 2024. Meaning that the emergence of the G45 X3 marks the divergence of BMW’s combustion-engined medium SUV line-up from future electric SUV models.

What are the X3 20’s features and options for the price?

BMW Australia has comprehensively increased the base X3 20’s level of standard equipment over the previous rear-drive 20i model, for around a $4000 increase in price.

New standard equipment includes:

• ‘xDrive’ all-wheel drive
• 48-volt mild-hybrid engine tech
• Acoustic glazing
• Adaptive suspension
• ‘Iconic glow’ illuminated kidney grille
• Curved 12.3-inch driver’s display and 14.9-inch touchscreen
• Operating System 9 software
• Driving Assistant Professional with steering- and lane-control system
• M Sport package
• Anthracite M headlining
• M Sport leather steering wheel
• Parking Assistant Plus (surround view, reversing assistant, drive recorder)
• Heated front seats
• ‘Verganza’ perforated faux-leather upholstery
• Tyre-pressure monitoring system

This is in addition to features such as:

• 19-inch M light-alloy wheels with run-flat tyres
• Adaptive LED headlights
• Electric tailgate
• Keyless entry/start
• Three-zone climate control
• Six-speaker 100-watt sound system
• DAB+ digital radio
• Electric front seats
• Adaptive cruise with stop-and-go
• Head-up display
• OTA upgrade capability
• Wireless Apple CarPlay/wired Android Auto
• Wireless phone charging

Our test car also included an Enhancement Pack ($6000 – metallic paint, alarm system, panoramic glass sunroof and 15-speaker, 750-watt Harman Kardon surround-sound audio), as well as a Comfort Pack ($4000 – front seat ventilation, heated steering wheel, rear-seat heating, rear door sunblinds, rear privacy glass, luggage net), and 20-inch M double-spoke alloys ($2000) with a tyre-inflation kit (replacing run-flats).

How does the X3 20 drive?

If there’s one area where the BMW X3 has consistently performed strongly, it’s driving dynamics. Not the flawed first-generation model, but definitely the next two, and now this fourth-generation G45.

BMW wanted to deliver the best handling and steering in the premium-medium SUV category with the new X3, and it has succeeded.

From the moment you turn the G45 X3’s steering wheel, there’s a tangible sense of poise and connection from its chassis, and the more lock you wind on, the greater the involvement with its handling balance and suspension composure.

Now that the X3’s standard M Sport package includes adaptive M suspension with adaptive damping, there’s a newfound fluency to the way it strings corners together, as well as a newfound absorbency to its ride quality.

Our test car featured optional 20-inch M alloys with mixed-width tyres (Pirelli P Zero 255/45R20 front and 285/40R20 rear) which aren’t run-flats (unlike the standard 19s) so perhaps they improve its ride.

Whatever the result, this is the first regular X3 wearing M Sport kit and 20s that doesn’t crucify its passengers for the sake of looking tough.

With standard acoustic window glazing, the G45 X3 is quiet as well – isolating its passengers from external noise without isolating its driver from what’s going on underneath.

And that also applies to the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine, even when being repeatedly extended to the redline … which can be often on challenging roads. It whirrs away with a subdued spirit that lacks rasp and sporting zest, yet it sounds quite pleasant.

With only 140kW (from 4400-6500rpm) and a decent 310Nm (from 1500-4000rpm), there isn’t a whole lot of engine to lug around 1855kg, despite the new X3 being both stronger and lighter. Yet in regular driving situations and urban commuting, this drivetrain is excellent.

Expertly calibrated and working with a superb eight-speed automatic, the X3 20 is brilliant at making the most of everything that it has – to the point where it rarely feels underdone when hammering around hilly cities like Sydney.

But we suspect the X3 would’ve been no less economical but much more effortless had it used the 190kW/400Nm engine tune from the 330i – putting it on par with the 190kW Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 and 185kW Audi Q5 2.0 TFSI.

Perhaps BMW has restricted engine availability to give the 225kW plug-in hybrid 30e some breathing space. Either way, if you aren’t too interested in genuine performance, you’ll look long and hard to find a drivetrain as finessed as the X3 20s.

What is the X3 20’s interior and tech like?

Right-sizing the exterior of the new X3 has also played out well in its interior. With a less-obtrusive dashboard design, front passengers feel blessed with space but they also feel like they’re in a smaller car than a 1920mm-wide medium SUV.

This works for both the intimacy of the driving experience, as well as a feeling of airiness.

In terms of design, the new asymmetrically shaped dash blends beautifully with the doors and offers an optional knitted cloth covering (for $1200) that also extends into the door tops (front and rear) to make the X3 feel plusher.

But it almost needs that cloth overlay to make it feel luxurious because the plastics and finishes don’t look or feel as expensive as in the previous model.

The standard M Sport interior gets a vinyl-clad dash with knitted M tri-colour stripes, which is nice. But it’s the plastics around the centre air vents, door air vents and the door pulls that look and feel hard and non-premium.

And the door panels with ‘X3’ written on them, next to the new adjustable air-flow touch sliders, were unexpectedly flimsy in our test car and could be flexed significantly.

All that aside, the rest of the interior quality is fairly impressive, including well-stitched perforated ‘Verganza’ faux-leather upholstery in the M Sport covering excellent seats front and rear.

And cabin practicality is near impossible to fault with plenty of space, a huge centre bin with dual phone holders (and single wireless charging) and doors that can all take 1.5-litre bottles.

As a family conveyance, the X3 does a terrific job in providing great vision and genuine comfort for four people, though you need to add the Comfort and Enhancement packs to get a glass roof, ventilated front seats, heated outer rear seats and a decent Harman Kardon stereo.

But what Australia’s mandatory M Sport fitment precludes is the delightful cloth trim of the European X3, as well as its classy two-spoke steering wheel. Instead, we get vinyl and a needlessly thick three-spoke M wheel.

Like the impressively finessed cabin comfort and practicality, the X3’s boot is excellent.

Measuring 20 litres larger at a best-in-class 570 litres below a smooth, high-quality luggage cover, the X3’s split rear backrests fold almost flat to expand its luggage capacity significantly. For a medium SUV, the new X3 goes some way towards offering a near-large level of cargo space.

Is the X3 20 a safe car?

The BMW X3 hasn’t been independently crash tested by Euro NCAP since 2017 – meaning there is no official star rating for the new-generation of X3. The previous model received five stars, and we’d expect the new G45 generation to be no different.

Standard safety equipment on the 2025 X3 20 includes the Driving Assistance Professional bundle that includes:

• Adaptive cruise control (up to 210km/h)
• Steering and lane-control assist
• Lane-change assistant
• Active/adaptive navigation
• Lane-keep assistance
• Active side collision protection
• Road priority and wrong-way warning
• Front cross-traffic alert
• Emergency stop assistant
• Emergency lane assistant

Other safety features fitted include:

• Forward collision warning
• Front AEB with pedestrian and cyclist detection
• Lane-departure warning
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Rear collision prevention
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Rear cross-traffic AEB
• Speed-limit assistance (with auto function)
• Vehicle exit warning

In our experience, the X3’s active-safety aids proved wonderfully subtle yet highly effective, with mainly the lane-keep assistance making its presence known – providing light, subtle adjustments to steering angle without removing control from the driver.

Compared to the litany of utterly hideous electronic safety systems we’ve experienced lately – most of them on Chinese-brand EVs, as well as several Korean vehicles – BMW’s pragmatically German approach to safety assistance is joyfully considered and reassuring.

What are the X3 20’s ownership costs?

The official combined fuel consumption figure for the mild-hybrid X3 20 xDrive is 7.5L/100km, drinking 95RON premium unleaded, which calculates to 867km of range from its 65-litre tank.

In comparison, Mercedes-Benz’s more powerful GLC 300 uses 7.7L/100km combined while Audi’s similarly grunty Q5 2.0 TFSI quattro achieves 7.2L/100km combined.

Over more than 700km of testing, we averaged an excellent 7.6L/100km in the X3 20 – including a return trip from Sydney to Bathurst averaging 6.6L/100km, which is bang on the official Extra Urban figure.

Recommended service intervals are approximately every 12 months or 20,000km, depending on your driving demands. BMW offers two Service Inclusive Basic packages – three years/40,00km or five years/80,000km, with the five-year package costing $2475 for an X3.

BMW’s new-vehicle warranty in Australia is five years/unlimited kilometres, combined with a 12-year/unlimited-kilometre Body Rust Perforation warranty. Roadside assistance for the X3 petrol line-up is three years/unlimited kilometres.

The honest verdict on the X3 20

There’s much to be said for conserving resources and making the most of what you have, which is what BMW has achieved with the new G45 X3. It isn’t completely new from the ground up, but it’s an excellent example of how to hone and refine an existing formula, giving it enough life to survive into the next decade.

The X3 we tested here – a 2.0-litre AWD automatic with M Sport accoutrements and 20-inch wheels – is surprisingly cohesive as an overall package and impressively capable in almost all areas.

It’s a pity that BMW chose the 140kW engine tune for the base X3 rather than a 190kW version in a potential X3 30, however if you value outstanding urban driveability and don’t place too many challenging demands on your X3 20, it’s a capable and sophisticated powertrain.

Yet even when you do, it eagerly offers up everything that it has.

The only area where the new X3 appears to have taken a backwards step is in some of its interior plastics – in particular the door pulls, the door air-vent area and the lower dash section. They’re not in keeping with its excellence elsewhere, from its fabulous seating to its terrific packaging and otherwise classy finish.

If you want the best-handling medium SUV on the market, however – regardless of price point – the new BMW X3 finally delivers what its branding promises.