SkiddMark takes the new 2011 BMW X3 xDrive20d SE, UK model, to the snowy Innsbruck ski resort in Austria. While near of the recent reviews of the new X3 were focusing on the driving experience on dry pavement and some mild offroading, the Uk folks put the premium compact SUV through a far more hard road.

"The route of our test took u.s. from Innsbruck in Austria south-westward to the ski resort in Sölden, covering effectually 200km in total. We followed a mix of twisty alpine roads and autoroutes, venturing through a few villages forth the way. Get-go matter that struck me was how much quieter the new X3 has become, all of the cars we drove were fitted with 17″ Pirelli W210 Scottozero 2 wintertime run-flat tyres and despite this the new X3 cruised along like a v-serial. Information technology retains its predecessor'southward lower driving position and yous'd be hard pressed to initially discover the increase in size.

The commencement car nosotros jumped into was the xDrive20d SE Auto and information technology wasn't until later in the evening that I realised it was fitted with BMW's new 8-speed transmission – to exist honest y'all'll hardly notice those extra gear ratios, in that location'due south no hunting betwixt gears or overly-frequent changes. Dissimilar some of BMW's other X-models the xDrive20d SE Auto is denied any steering-bicycle paddles, so you'll accept to resort to the selector stick, but information technology's a very intuitive process and we were soon making swift manual selections when the need arose.

We spent an equal amount of time in cars fitted with the 6-speed manual manual and most of the fourth dimension preferred its more driver-oriented feel on the twisties, the only downside was the familiar glut of torque when pulling away from a junction in 1st gear. If you spend more fourth dimension commuting through towns and motorways so go for the 8-speed auto, otherwise we'd opt for the manual and salvage ourselves £ane,500 – the shift quality is clean and direct and suits the 2.0d engine well.

Our test cars were fitted with Variable Damper Command (VDC) – a £910 optional actress, Variable sport steering (£370) and Performance Control (£120). VDC incorporates electronically controlled dampers which adapt to road surface conditions and the mode of driving, y'all can either leave it in Normal to sort things out itself or manually influence the damper settings via Bulldoze Dynamic Command, choosing between Sport and Sport+ modes.

Fifty-fifty on the Sport+ setting the ride was still perfectly comfy, the merely discernable divergence beingness the tighter torso command. Too as damping behaviour, VDC can as well adjust the graphic symbol of the accelerator, engine response, ability steering weight, DSC response thresholds and even the shifting dynamics of the automated manual, so it's a clever scrap of tech and much more than simply a ride control system.

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Was it enjoyable to drive? Yeah, in and then far every bit any 2.0d SUV can be – nosotros reached our destination earlier than planned and so perhaps information technology'south not the best motorcar for sightseeing, but its 181 bhp two.0-litre turbo diesel engine never struggled on the steeper climbs and always punched confidently out of the corners – information technology's a car you tin drive just like any other sporting BMW, so there'south no danger of brand dilution or any reason to question the evolution of BMW's Dna."

Total review at SkiddMark