Say Hello To The New BMW X3 And Its Massive Front Grille

BMW has just pulled the wraps off the new X3, and my, what big teeth it has! Taking a leaf out of the 7-series’ book, the X3 has a massive pair of kidney grilles dominating the front end.

But we won’t get too caught up with the third-generation, ‘G01’ X3’s sizeable gnashers, as the vehicle does bring with it some interesting points of discussion. First up, despite being longer and wider than the old one, it’s actually lighter than the outgoing model. 55kg lighter in fact, thanks in part to the “increased use” of aluminium in the construction of the engines and the suspension components.

The second detail of note is the new M Performance version. Dubbed the ‘M40i’, it’s packing a 3.0-litre, twin-scroll turbocharged straight-six that’s good for 355bhp and 369lb ft of torque. Use the launch control system, and you’ll see the usual 0-62mph sprint dispatched in just 4.8 seconds. The top speed is electronically capped at 155mph.

Sound a bit much for you? The oh-so sensible 187bhp, 295lb ft 2.0-litre diesel xDrive 20d might be more up your street. Or there’s the xDrive 30d, with 261bhp and a whopping 457lb ft. The latter diesel model will do 0-62mph in 5.8 seconds, and is good for 49.6mpg on the combined cycle.

The 2.0-litre, inline-four xDrive 20i and xDrive 30i petrols will be available in December, and markets outside of Europe will be treated to a rear-wheel drive xDrive 20i.

On the tech front, all cars will come with BMW iDrive fitted as standard, with the same gesture control interface seen in the 7-series and 5-series available as an option. BMW’s semi-autonomous Personal CoPilot systems are optional too, with a lane change assist function arriving later in 2017.

Does this seem like your kind of substantially-grilled SUV? The Audi Q5 rival starts at £38,880.

First UK deliveries will be taking place in the fourth quarter of 2017.