The new BMW X3 is no longer completely new, as the “G45” has already been on the market for a year. It recently received a five-star rating in Euro NCAP crash tests. That’s a good thing, but what happens when you try? avoid an accident? That’s what Spanish journalists are concerned about km77 Get started by putting the luxury crossover through the dreaded moose test.
The evasive maneuver has claimed many victims over the years. Most famously, the Mercedes A-Class tipped over during a Swedish magazine test in the 1990s Teknikens World. BMW models have also had mixed results in previous tests, with some performing well and others not so much. This time, km77 tested two versions of the new X3: the M50 and the smaller 20d xDrive. However, the result was largely the same for both.
The test drivers were surprised by the X3’s handling and its tendency to understeer: “We didn’t expect his reactions. They amazed us.” To check the results, km77 I requested a second X3 M50 from BMW, but the results were almost identical. The M Performance variant only completed the course at entry speeds of 67 km/h (41.6 mph) and 69 km/h (42.8 mph), while the diesel model was unable to exceed these values.
For comparison: The previous generation’s X3 xDrive20d achieved a significantly higher starting speed of 81 km/h (50.3 mph) in the moose test in June 2022. Going back even further, the pre-facelift version reached a speed of 76 km/h (47.2 mph) in January 2018. With the G45, drivers found it was difficult to steer the car cleanly from one lane to the next.
While km77 Although the team found the X3’s moose test performance disappointing, the crossover redeemed itself in the subsequent slalom run. The M50 variant completed the course in 24 seconds, putting it on the same level as the i4 eDrive40 and only a tenth of a second slower than the smaller iX1. Meanwhile, the 20d xDrive took 25.3 seconds, making it 0.8 seconds slower than its G01 predecessor in the 2022 test.
Videos of the 2022 and 2018 tests are included below for your reference.
