From the rear, the only marked difference is the single, double-tipped exhaust exiting on the left side where the X5 sports dual exhausts exiting at the corners.
On first impression, people familiar with BMW interiors will feel right at home in the X3. Controls are where they should be and feel the way they should, with the proper directional movement, resistance and detents. Instruments are easy to read at a glance and communicate the proper and necessary information. The display for the optional navigation system is one of the most thoughtfully positioned of the lot, rotating up out of the top center of the dash so it's visible to driver and navigator but nestled unobtrusively halfway down in the recess where it stows when not in use.
The front seats are supportive and comfortably bolstered. The standard seats are more comfortable than the sport seats and quite adequately restrain the occupants' posteriors when the way turns winding. Seatbelts feel right, properly tensioned. Ranges of seat adjustment are extensive, to the point a six-footer can enjoy major amounts of headroom and actually put the steering wheel and forward footwell wall out of reach; at these extremes, however, rear-seat legroom is seriously diminished.
Dimensionally, the X3's interior compares favorably with its most likely direct competition, the Lexus RX 330 and Infiniti FX35, giving up an inch or so here and gaining the same there. In many measures it bests the more expensive X5. There's almost an inch more legroom in front and about half an inch more in the rear, for instance. Front-seat headroom is about a half inch less than in the X5, but rear-seat headroom is nearly an inch greater. On the downside, the X3's rear seat is quite firm and virtually flat, like a church pew, where the X5 and the others offer more form fit and comfort. The X3's rear center head restraint is fixed, offering no vertical adjustment.
Storage areas are numerous and flexible, many fitted with netting that stretches to accommodate odd shapes and medium-sized water bottles. Rear-door map pockets forfeit several square inches to the Europeans' unabated addiction to ash trays. Cargo area, though, is impressive, exceeding the X5's by 2 cubic feet with the rear seats folded, and slotting in between the RX 330's 84.7 cubic feet and the FX35's 64.5.
So much for the tape measure. Where the X3 disappoints is in the intangible and tactile, how the interior looks and feels. Yes, it's roomy. And yes, the seats do their job, and admirably. The stereo, too, is a quality unit surrounding occupants with balanced sounds.
But textures and materials generally come across as plasticky and low budget. Metallic trim accents remind us of discount wallpaper. There are two front cup holders, but the one mounted on the center console is sized more for soda pop cans than coffee cups or water bottles and looks like an afterthought, something cobbled together and glued in place forward of the armrest/storage bin. German designers cannot understand Americans' fondness of cup holders. The passenger cup holder pops out of the end of the dash by the door, where it gets bumped by knees when the passenger is climbing in or out of the car. Door closings are followed by a hint of a hollow echo, instead of the solid "thunk" so common on BMWs.
Driving the BMW X3 is a memorable experience, for the most part a quite pleasant one. It's not a BMW 3 Series by any stretch. But neither is it anything like a run-of-the-mill SUV, quite different even from either the Lexus RX 330 or the Infiniti FX35, both of which tend toward the luxury end of the scale, while the X3 leans more to turning two-lanes and the occasional twisty dirt track into a fun drive.
As readily as the X3 swallows up mile after mile of high-speed highway, and as confident as it feels in the wet, it really shines on dusty, gravel-strewn back roads and slushy boulevards. Granted, its xDrive must obey the laws of physics, but within those limits and working with the X3's multi-faceted Dynamic Stability Control system, it accomplishes feats beyond the talents and reflexes of all but the most accomplished off-road drivers. Unerringly, just about the time the driver senses the X3 begin to slide and intuitively readies a saving countersteer, the xDrive calmly tucks the rear end back in line. The first few times, an aware driver might feel a bit out of sorts, almost offended or even insulted, but soon comes to anticipate the initially odd but very timely correction.
For this, demi-extreme type of driving, the Steptronic automatic is the transmission of choice. It frees the driver to focus on braking, accelerating and steering through the fun parts, yet can be held in a specific gear if the incline or traction so dictates, or invites. This isn't to besmirch the manual transmission, as it's everything people who know and like BMWs have come to expect and appreciate. Shifts are smooth and precise, clutch engagement predictable and gears properly spaced to keep the engine in the sweet spot of its power band, although it is geared a bit high for relaxed long distance cruising. In short, we prefer the automatic.
