The tanned, gray-haired local in the current-gen BMW X4 M40i lead car is a veteran of this Autodrome de Miramas circuit in France and joined the BMW proving-ground team back in 1995. Even though the wiry professional test driver must know every single curb of this track, he and his crossover coupe didn’t stand a chance against the big, bad, camo’d 2025 X3 M50 filling his rearview mirror (BMW is dropping the “i” from the model names of its gas-powered vehicles going forward, only using that letter for its EVs). “It’s not just the extra 35 horsepower that’s giving him a hard time,” said the grinning Matthias Richter, the young vehicle dynamics project engineer strapped into the passenger seat of our prototype X3 M50. “The new model fields an extensively revised chassis, more precise and communicative steering, and a selectively beefed-up body structure for much improved handling and more tenacious cornering grip.” Playing catch and release hasn’t been this much fun in a long time.
First launched in 2003 and initially built by Magna in Graz, Austria, the X3 quickly became BMW’s bestselling model and has racked up over 3.5 million deliveries to date globally. The fourth-generation version, which comes on stream in October 2024 in the U.S., will continue to be assembled in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Still based on the familiar CLAR WE platform, the new X3 is to be offered alongside the fully electric iX3 that’s derived from the brand-new Neue Klasse architecture. We understand that the first versions to go on sale in the U.S. are the four-cylinder X3 xDrive30 rated at around 280 horsepower and the six-cylinder M50 good for approximately 390 horsepower. In addition to the hybrid-assisted gasoline engines, BMW will offer the upgraded xDrive30e plug-in hybrid believed to peak at a combined 300 horsepower.
Longer, wider, lower, and more slippery (with a coefficient of drag of 0.27), the new SUV is also roomier than its predecessor. Developed during the COVID-19 pandemic when the world almost ground to a complete halt, the X3 was significantly decontented in a rush move to curb costs. Accordingly, the interior of the lesser models looks drab and somber in its materials and generic displays, with a pair of quirky touch sliders popping up in the door panels. On the credit side, we must thank the designers for keeping the intuitive iDrive controller, which went missing in the latest X1 and X2. The driver-assist systems have learned a bunch of new comfort- and safety-enhancing tricks. Among them are automated lane change, active lane guidance, adaptive cruise control with traffic light recognition, and various collision-avoidance measures complete with brake intervention.
The new X3 also can switch from ultimate driving to ultimate parking machine. How about taking a front-row seat in your favorite street café before hitting a button on the My BMW App, which automatically moves this family-size SUV in the designated curbside space? The system can also memorize and repeat up to 10 different complex parking maneuvers, such as backing out of a super-tight underground garage. All the driver needs to do is brake, accelerate, and marvel at the technological progress. On the open road, the car uses a mix of short- and long-range radars, as well as four 3-D cameras to create a permanent 360-degree scan that covers cross traffic, cycle lanes, oncoming vehicles, and objects approaching from behind.
After that extensive but passive lesson in the new X3’s capabilities, we’re back at the wheel ready for an encore. Although some sources claim that the new X3 M50 will get a last-minute power boost to 421 horsepower, other channels suggest that the output will be kept below 400 horses because there is an unconfirmed X3 M Competition (codenamed G97) looming in the background. Outright performance, however, is not the main thrust here. The key improvements were made to the steering and the suspension. There are three variants to choose from: base, Sport, and M Sport. All three can be paired with VDC, which is BMW-speak for variable damper control. Unlike the X1 and X2, the VDC-equipped X3 actually offers two clearly different calibrations: Comfort and Sport. The same dual-mode philosophy was applied to the steering but thankfully not to the brakes. Matching these set-ups are various trim levels, as well as four wheel and tire sizes, which include for the first time extra-wide 22-inchers.
In the steering department, BMW replaced the traditional dual-pinion layout with a brand-new so-called axially parallel design (APA) that’s claimed to advance handling and response. Supporting the trick steering are the wider rear track, a more rigid body structure, stiffer anti-roll bar attachments, revised pivot bearings, beefed-up control-arm mounts, and an uprated front axle geometry with more camber. “It’s a scalable system, tailor-made to match different axle loads,” explains Stefan Gress from the vehicle dynamics team. “Benefits include improved directional stability, more turn-in grip, and reduced understeer all the way to the limit. The new steering literally puts the road in the driver’s hands.” For cost reasons and to protect the more profitable X5, the smaller X won’t be available with air suspension or rear-wheel steering.
We take to the track one last time in the M50 xDrive before hitting the open road in the slower but more frugal PHEV. The outer loop of the pan-flat single-track Miramas handling section is mainly second-, third-, and fourth-gear turf. Devoid of runoff areas, the ancient sun-bleached tarmac dotted with a few freshly surfaced sections here and there leaves zero room for error. Only at the very end of the vast site, where a small off-road section is tucked away behind unkempt shrubbery, does the course go up and down a couple of times before curling back past the old pig farm and a block of stables. Instead of leaving all systems in Sport, we switch the steering into Comfort, and DSC Off is only one more nudge away. This gives us a bit of extra drama at the exit of the slow corners and also allows a more playful attitude through the long 70-mph bends where the electronic rear diff permits a broader scope of sidesteps.
We next set off on a tour of the Miramas hinterlands in the xDrive30e PHEV. While the previous version was rated at 292 horsepower and had an electric range of only 28 miles, insiders are predicting a minor increase to 300 horses for the latest one, while the zero-emission range is expected to increase to 60 miles thanks to a bigger battery. Although this is by no means a light vehicle, the combustion engine and the e-motor provide commendable verve and stamina. As long as the state of charge does not drop below 10 percent, there is always enough ballsy instant torque on tap for one more pedal-to-the-metal passing maneuver. Going all out is a challenge on the bumpy and winding ancient mountain roads with their sudden corners and blind crests. Dampers in Sport? No. For maximum compliance and control, Comfort is the only option. The steering also feels less erratic and better connected in Comfort.
The PHEV is shod with Goodyears (255/45R-20 front, 285/40R-20 rear) featuring marginally softer sidewalls and a less extreme rubber compound for smoother breakaway characteristics and a less harsh response to ridges and potholes. Thus equipped, the X3 does a remarkable job soaking up bumps, balancing along crumbling hard shoulders, and straddling all sorts of evil speed bumps. Downsides? The e-motor occasionally doesn’t fill the turbo hole, the steering feedback is at times not quite as clear and linear as expected, and the brakes need a fast and firm foot to reel in the substantial 4500 pounds of mass and momentum. All in all, however, the new X3 feels more mature, grown-up, and dynamically classier.
If our prototype drive is anything to go by, the fourth generation of the most popular BMW globally does a convincing job defending its traditional middle-ground position against the sportier and even more entertaining Porsche Macan and the more relaxed and somewhat cushier Mercedes-Benz GLC.
Although I was born the only son of an ornithologist and a postal clerk, it was clear from the beginning that birdwatching and stamp collecting were not my thing. Had I known that God wanted me to grow to 6’8″, I also would have ruled out anything to do with cars, which are to blame for a couple of slipped discs, a torn ligament, and that stupid stooped posture behind the wheel. While working as a keeper in the Aberdeen Zoo, smuggling cheap cigarettes from Yugoslavia to Germany, and an embarrassing interlude with an amateur drama group also failed to yield fulfillment, driving and writing about cars became a much better option. And it still is now, many years later, as I approach my 70th birthday. I love every aspect of my job except long-haul travel on lousy airlines, and I hope it shows.