BMW X3 SUV offers sporty driving experience

A growing number of people living in cities are packing up, when the spring starts, to escape the hustle and bustle of their daily life, and to take a pause amid the nice weather.

This seasonal factor boosts demand for family and leisure-oriented cars, including sport utility vehicles.

The new BMW X3, a midsize luxury SUV by the German carmaker, could be one of the best options for those who gear up for not only dynamic driving, but also safe driving with their family.

It has returned with improvements in many areas, including design, fuel efficiency and performance.

The new BMW X3 has come back with a more powerful figure with its new, modified twin circular headlights, a more eye-catching kidney grille, and new front and rear bumpers. Internally, most of all, it offers more space than the previous X3 ― the rear seat is spacious enough for three adults to fit comfortably.

But one of the most astonishing improvements has come from performance. The BMW X3 30D M Sport, the sport trim of the facelift of the second-generation BMW X3, is bulky-looking as a SUV, but drives like a sports car. The car’s new heart offers the driver a more fun and dynamic driving experience.

New additions also include a thumping 3.0-liter straight-six turbo-diesel engine. The new engine enables the car to have a powerful output of 258 horsepower and accelerate to 100 km in 5.9 seconds.

When the car switches to sports mode, it makes a great noise, too, which is an important factor for a driver to feel like they are driving a sports car. The driver only needs to adopt the normal setting when other family members feel uncomfortable in the sport setting. This change quickly makes the car very easy to drive like a sedan.

Fuel efficiency for the BMW X3 30D M Sport is satisfactory ― the diesel-powered car drives 13.9 kilometer per liter on the highway.

The car also includes the latest safety systems like lane departure warning and parking assistant systems. It offers mobile connectivity and its full-color head-up display projects important driving information in the driver’s field of view for easy and safe driving.

Despite a variety of strengths, the BMW X3 30D M Sport has some areas that need to be improved, such as its smaller navigational display and difficulty using it.

The expensive price of the BMW X3 30D M Sport, fixed at 83.9 million won ($76,700) with taxes, may also make Korean consumers likely to turn to cheaper options.

By Seo Jee-yeon (jyseo@heraldcorp.com)