New BMW X3 is a smooth operator

Have you seen the state of the roads? In fact it might be more accurate to ask whether you have felt the state of the roads?

Where I live they are shocking, full of potholes and loose gravel. Where they have been repaired they resemble a patchwork quilt of lumpy asphalt.

Billiard table smooth? We wish. More like a ploughed field that has been left baking in the sun.

The result is a choppy, uncomfortable and often painful ride where the impact of hitting the craters sends your internal organs crashing into one another, spleen, kidneys, liver colliding like meteorites striking a moon.

That’s the reality of modern motoring and some cars handle it better than others, while many struggle to cope at all.

Fortunately, BMW knows a thing or to about ride, that’s why its cars handle so well. But the X3, or giving it its full title of G45 X3 20d M, takes it to another level courtesy of adaptive suspension.

Even on the most challenging of surfaces the X3 smooths the ride like a patisserie chef mirror glazing a chocolate cake; it’s incredible.

No ricochet changes in direction, no unsettling loss of composure and most importantly no pain. Organs remain intact and in their correct places, it’s miraculous.

But the suspension and steering offer much more. The handling is awesome too. The steering tracks so accurately it feels like it is possible to simply think your way around each bend, instinctively, with minimal effort from thought processes or your hands on the wheel.

It slices through the twists and turns with scalpel effect making the X3, which is a SUV if you remember, as capable cross country as any sports car or sports saloon.

Grip is immense too thanks to sticky rubber and BMW’s well-proven xDrive all-wheel-drive and like the rest of the extensive Beemer range the X3 is a car that motorists will love to drive, I mean really drive. It is so much more than a vehicle in which to commute, it’s a car that needs to be taken out for fun.

In order to do this it has the mechanical companions of a super-slick automatic gearbox and creamy smooth, lusty diesel. The gear changes are imperceptible and the kickdown ultra-responsive.

The 2.0 diesel is so smooth and refined that every time I refuel I actually double and triple check that it’s not a petrol motor and I use the correct diesel nozzle at the pumps.

With close to 200HP on tap and 400Nm of torque it will sprint, climb, overtake and cruise with aplomb while returning close to 50mpg when asked.

The new look has hints of iX with similar proportions, lines and lights. It is characteristically BMW with kidney grille and roundels but fresh and modern at the same time.

Inside is a lesson in luxury. It wants for nothing, particularly in M-spec, fits like a well-worn shoe and is beautifully crafted in typical BMW fashion.

I love the extended glass dashboard which offers all the information you could ever need and is simple and intuitive to operate. The design is angular and interesting on the eye and the infotainment is excellent, especially the sound system.

Panoramic sunroof boosts cabin ambience even further during the day, while ambient lighting enhances the cabin environment at night.

Scoop all of the above together in a glorious automotive melting pot then dress it up with the feel good factor of carrying the BMW badge and the X3 will definitely fill a hole in your life.

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