BMW X3 M50 Review: Warmed-Over X3 Never Quite Hits The Mark

When the BMW X3 first launched in 2003, we’re not sure even the top brass in Munich could have known how big a success it would be. Four generations and over 20 years later, it’s still one of the most important models among an increasingly busy BMW lineup.

It’s not messing about with the launch of the fourth-gen, coming in hot with a spicy-ish M50 version sitting at the current top of the tree, above petrol and diesel four-cylinders and a plug-in hybrid.

Let’s be clear: this isn’t a full-fat M car. That’s a space reserved for the X3 M, which we can only assume is in the works. Think of it as a competitor to the likes of the Audi SQ5 and the old Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 — more rogan josh than a full-on vindaloo.

It’s not exactly lacking power, though, such is the faintly ludicrous way automotive performance has skyrocketed over the last decade or so. The numbers, produced by a 3.0-litre single-turbo straight-six, are 393bhp and 428lb ft of torque, sent to all four wheels by way of an eight-speed auto. There’s also some mild hybridisation at play — a 48V starter-generator sits out back within the transmission, imperceptibly filling in some gaps.

In isolation, the engine is a great example of why car people get a bit frothy about a good straight-six. The power delivery is constant and cashmere-smooth, and its bandwidth is wide.

What it’s not, though, is a particularly exciting engine. Apply the legumes, and it never really feels like a car with 393bhp and a 4.6-second 0-62mph time. There’s not much noise, either, just a muted grumble that even a bit of artificial enhancement can’t do much to up the excitement of.

It’s a similar story in the corners. Obviously, BMW knows how to make even a reasonably ordinary car drive well, and the M50 steers sharply and resists body roll impressively, hiding its 2055kg unladen(!) heft.

But there’s not much excitement to be had, either. Point car at corner, apply power, go through corner, repeat. In fact, it’s much like an enlarged version of the M135 we drove recently: very quick and effective, but lacking an edge of excitement.  Except because it’s a bigger, heavier car than the M135, all the responses are dulled that little bit more, and it’s just that little bit less satisfying to drive.

That’s something the full-fat M version will probably solve — it was certainly the case with the last-gen X3 M, although it came at the cost of a spine-compressing ride.

The M50, meanwhile, is a pretty tolerable thing day-to-day. It’s on the firm side, sure, but it’s not massively punishing, at least up front.

All the better, then, for enjoying the interior, which is the strongest point of the new X3 — and not just because from there, you don’t have to look at the strange mish-mash of design cues going on the outside.

No, BMW’s interior game is very good at the moment. There are plenty of nice materials in the X3, including ‘Veganza’ artificial leather and a similar knitted textile arrangement on the dash to the one found in the latest Minis.

BMW’s signature Curved Display is present and correct too, and is definitely one of the better thought-out versions of the car industry’s current blind obsession with minimal buttons and digital everything. It’s sensibly laid out and easy to navigate, getting all the basics right like keeping shortcuts anchored to the bottom of the screen.

The only real interior grumbles are that some of the more avant-garde design and material choices might put off some more traditionally-minded customers – but more fool them – and that the seats, while comfy, leave you sitting a bit too high. Largely, though, it’s comfy, spacious and befitting a car starting at £66,980.

Yep, this is a reasonably pricey car. Then again, the freshly revealed Audi SQ5 – likely to be one of the M50’s biggest foes – is an even more gasp-inducing £75,150. We’ve not had the chance to drive it yet, but while the X3 is hardly the most exciting thing, it’s only on very rare occasions that Ingolstadt’s produced a better driver’s car than Munich in the past. The Audi's quite a lot less powerful than the Beemer, too.

Still, the M50 never quite makes the best of its promising setup. It’s not bad to drive, just lacking in excitement. Perhaps it’s unreasonable to expect more from what’s effectively a fast-ish mid-sized SUV, and not even a full-fat M car at that. But it’s still a BMW, and BMW still lists it among its M models on its website, and yet there’s arguably more driving satisfaction to be found in a much older, less powerful rival like the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Veloce.

Nevertheless, the X3 M50 is a rapid, sure-footed and practical cross-country tool, and that’s all that a lot of people will ask of it. The thing is, though, if you crave all of those things in a BMW, what exactly is wrong with saving yourself more than six grand and getting the better-looking, more practical and sweeter-driving M340i Touring?