It’s rare that a BMW cabin disappoints. Sadly, this one does. It’s not an aesthetic issue – more that the quality of some of the materials is wanting. Careful attention to colour and trim choice is recommended: the tan colouring of the hard plastic around the centre console on our test car didn’t do it any favours.
Those expecting to gaze down on other road users might find the low driving position too car-like, with little steering-wheel reach adjustment and pedals frustratingly offset to the right.
The front seats are excellent and the back seats inviting, although those in the Sport-spec cars offer more lateral support. Jump from an X5 into the X3 and the reason for the smaller car’s comfort becomes clear: junior is very nearly as big in every area that matters.
The boot is cavernous, and accessed via a usefully low load sill, but while folding the rear seats down liberates a generous 1560 litres of space, it doesn’t create a perfectly flat floor.
A single CD player, rear parking sensors and 17-inch wheels are standard; metallic paint (£525), sat-nav (£1425), leather seats (£1125), a CD changer (£275) and automatic gearbox (£1350) all require an expensive dip into the options list. It’s also worth bearing in mind that opting for two-pedal motoring takes the 2.5 to within £1950 of the 3.0 version, which gets an automatic gearbox as standard.
Few cars have withstood the ravages of the used-car market better than the X5, and you can expect your SE X3 2.5 to still be worth 66 per cent of the list price in three years’ time. But with group 16 insurance, costly options, and an average fuel consumption figure in the low 20mpgs, you’ll be thankful for every penny saved.
Company car drivers in particular would be advised to wait for diesel versions. Both petrol X3s fall into the top 35 per cent tax bracket, making them an indulgent perk. The diesels will comply with Euro4 emissions requirements and should be far easier on the wallet.