USED BMW X3 4x4 (04 - 06)

My car

I recently purchased the 3.0sd twin-turbodiesel (not the 3.0d - for some reason, What Car? does not list my model, the 3.0sd) with all the extras.

The road holding of the car is very good - almost as good as my previous 3 Series. The engine is extremely powerful (286bhp, 580Nm torque) and provides all the necessary power to overtake.

The six-speed automatic (standard specification) makes the car frugal as well. It is also very spacious and has a very large boot.

The only down point is that it needed to have the passenger wing mirror replaced under warranty for sticking when the car was in reverse. Otherwise there have been no problems - it is an excellent car and very enjoyable to drive, with a soft rather than hard drive (avoid the sports suspension).

My car

We leased this car on a 1 year deal and I can't wait for it to go back in March. Having driven a Freelander previously, I couldn't believe how hard the ride is, every man hole cover is like a bash on the spine! The equipment on the car is extremely basic for the price and I'm just thankful we didn't buy it! During the recent cold weather, the rear of the car totally lost grip whilst turning a corner and the back of the car narrowly missed a bollard so I can't really rate its road holding capabilities either. The only saving grace is that it's been reliable but shouldn't that be expected of a brand new car? I'm going back Land Rover and it can't come soon enough!

My car

Thankfully, we have today seen the last of our 2005 2.0d unloved sport - it was bought for my wife ten months ago.

Ok, it looks good, but that’s it. Ours had the M sport body kit, which together with the sport seat’s raised edges, high floor pan and low headroom, made entry a painful contortion. My wife’s heels rarely touched the carpet, causing her hip and thigh pain.

Inside is tacky plastic, and acres of it, the ‘sensatec’ (acts like Velcro!) imitation leather of our vehicle sticking the occupants in place like superglue.

Do not try to pull away quickly in this car - the engine will almost certainly stall! Yes, I know it’s a diesel, but I have had many diesel cars, non of them suffering this problem.

Intuition? Forget it; each time you need to operate the satellite-navigation or computer, you really do need to stop the car! The menu system on this vehicle to access this is a tribute of non-compliance to rational thought and illustrates brilliantly how BMW has let technopohbia triumph over common sense. Driver aids should aid! The manual gearbox feels as though it's from a tractor, with reverse especially requiring a lumberjack’s arm for the gear lever to engage (that’s if you can depress the clutch), and the foot pedals skew over to the right causing the left foot to foul the footrest. Power steering? Try to park this car! Reliability has been good in 4000 miles, but the car has returned only 33mpg.

If you do consider this car please take an extended tes

My car

Bought an ex-dealer car with 9k miles on it at 12 months old.The spec was exactly what I wanted with the exception of not having heated seats which I miss in the winter as it has leather.It also came with the panoramic glass roof which lightens the interior brilliantly but is USELESS if you drive with it open above about 40 mph due to loud wind roar.Also has their own detachable towbar which was a must as I tow a caravan, very easy to use but as it's height is not adjustable double check the height of the tow-hitch at your caravan before ordering,mine only just tows level rather than a slight nosedown,but is still stable. Now done 22k miles,engine loosened up & pulls stronger at lower revs once over 15-18k miles.EXCELLENT service from Bowkers at Accrington,attended to a few warranty items at it's 1st service,which included corrosion on roof rails that other owners have talked about, and sticking rear brakes after being parked.Total service costs at 18k miles(it's first service) was only £165 !!! for a BMW,and next service not due for a further 18k. MPG around town averages 35mpg,increases to 40-44 on M/way runs,drops to 25-28 towing the caravan at 70-ish,on the continent of course.Ride is hard compared to a saloon but not to a trad'n 4x4,but compensation is that it handles like a sports car round the bends.Brilliant cruiser on the M/way and very versatile load carrier.