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By Jonathan Crouch

The fourth generation X3 gets an edgier vibe for customers looking at an upper-mid-sized premium-badged SUV. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Reviewword count: 63

BMW's more boldly styled fourth generation X3 is a premium upper-mid-sized SUV that's a smarter and more sophisticated choice than the car it replaces, stacking up impressively against prestigiously-badged alternatives from Audi, Mercedes, Jaguar and Volvo in this sector. Like its rivals, dynamically targeted almost exclusively towards on-road use, it's another example of just how car-like a model of this kind can be.

Backgroundword count: 180

After years of evolution, this fourth generation BMW X3 gets a dose of revolution - on the more boldly-styled surface anyway. Underneath, things are rather different, this G45-era model continuing with the CLAR WE architecture of its predecessor and a familiar-looking range of combustion engines. Only combustion engines as it happens: the now-departed old Chinese-built electric iX3 will be reborn as a separately-platformed model based around the even more radical Neue Klasse X concept design. The X3 is a hugely important car for BMW to get right, the previous three generations having amassed over 3.5 million global sales. The first two designs, the E83 of 2003 and the F25 of 2010, occupied market territory for more compact family SUVs now covered by the X1. The third generation G01 model of 2017 shifted up-market, a car that (like its predecessor and this MK4 model) is mainly assembled in the US at Spartanburg, South Carolina; only the MK1 X3 was European-built (in Graz, Austria). In this G45 range, only the PHEV version hails from a different factory - Rosslyn in South Africa.

Driving Experienceword count: 312

Though this fourth generation X3 is combustion-based, BMW hasn't spent too much time altering the previous model's engine line-up. The two main changes are predictable ones; more EV range for the Plug-in Hybrid xDrive30e (which was embarrassingly short in that department before). And greater output for the powerful six cylinder 'M-lite' petrol model, now badged 'X3 M50'. More surprising perhaps is that diesel drive, dumped for the 3 Series model this car is based on, retains its place here, the 20d xDrive with a 197hp unit, 2.0-litres in size, like all four cylinder X3s are. There'll be a six cylinder diesel too. You're more likely though, to be pointed towards one of the 2.0-litre petrol models. Either the base 20 xDrive, which has a 48V mild hybrid 208hp petrol unit. Or the considerably pricier 30e xDrive, which pairs the same engine with a now-much larger 22.3kWh battery pack that powers an electric motor boosting total output to 299hp. EV range jumps to 56 miles. That only leaves the aforementioned petrol M50 xDrive, for now the flagship model until the M3-based X3 Competition variant arrives. The M50's twin turbo B58 unit should be fast enough for most, tuned to 398hp, spiriting the car to 62mph in 4.6s. Have the drive dynamics across the range been updated? BMW says so. There's a lighter, stiffer structure with a wider rear axle and an almost completely redesigned suspension set-up (double-joint strut front axle suspension and 5-link rear). Adaptive damping continues as an option, but the brand has stopped short of fitting the air suspension and 4-wheel steering systems you'll find in some rivals. It wants these to be the preserve of the larger, more profitable X5. You should also notice more accurate steering, the old dual-pinion rack swapped for a new belt-driven set-up. The maximum permitted trailer load is 2,500 kilograms, depending on the model variant.

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