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0i won the Canadian Car of the Year Best New Sport Utility Vehicle award for 2005. History and developmentAlong the heels of a very successful and ongoing production run of the BMW X5, BMW decided in the early millennium that it wanted to compete with the likes of the Freelander, Lexus RX and other small luxury SUV's just as the X5 had previously done so well in its respective classes. Thus the X3 (internally known as E83), was born. What thus emerged was a concept unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in 2003. Dubbed the xActivity, BMW previewed to the public for the first time what a smaller SAV based on a 3 series platform would look like. The concept had no windows, for the most part no roof, and a sleek futuristic interior. Only the basic shape of the car would emerge as the BMW X3. Just as BMW used many parts from the E39 5 Series parts bin in the making of the X5, the same occurred in the X3's development, whereby BMW engineers reused 3 series parts. In-fact complete sets of parts came straight out of the E46 330xi, emerging unscathed in the X3 (e.g. rear suspension). Austrian automotive contractor Magna Steyr of Graz, Austria performed additional development work and has been contracted to manufacture all first-generation X3's.
xDriveWhen the BMW X3 premiered in late 2003, BMW announced that it would be using a new 4 wheel drive system to power it and its bigger brother - The (refreshed) X5. The two key things about xDrive are, first, it being one one of the first technologies used to intervene before the driver was ever aware that the car could be unstable, and second, it being transparent (i.e. unknown) to the driver.
ReactionRight from the start, the BMW X3 had been criticized for its harsh ride, poor interior and lack of off-road ability. BMW addressed the first 2 points in 2005, with a slightly softer ride and by matching plastics and carpeting in the 2005 X5's. It has also been criticized for not being built at a BMW factory. However, Magna Steyer, the factory in Austria has won numerous awards for quality and is the highest rated car assembly factory in Europe. The automotive press however for the most part had mixed views of the X3 ranging all over the spectrum - unusual for BMW, but then again not so unsual for modern BMW's. Jeremy Clarkson even said that the X3 was for people who are clinically insane.
2005 model year changesBluetooth could actually be ordered straight from the factory (part of the Premium Package) and functioned without dealer intervention. (Although the BMW X3 was originally offered and promised with Bluetooth support in 2004, none of the cars that shipped from the factory actually had it installed. Few were able to get it to work with a little bit of tinkering from their dealer.); Interior was vastly upgraded with changes to all plastics (making them match, unlike the 2004 model). Also instead of having grey carpeting which was present on all 2004 X3's, the 2005 X3 came with carpeting that matched the leather ordered (with the exception of the Terracotta interior, whose carpeting is black).; Slightly softer suspension.; Front wheel fenders are one piece, as opposed to the two piece found on 2004 models.; A 2.0d engine became available in some markets - joining the 2.5i and 3.0i engines (found stateside) as well as the 3.0d engine sold elsewhere in the world.; An 'Open-Door' indicator was added to rectify the complaint made by many on the 2004 models.;
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