Any opinions re: X3 vs the following competitors?

RX330, and here's why.

After purchasing (not leasing) 3 Bimmers, which handled beautifully but all seemed to fall apart well before warranties expired, I went Lexus for my last 3 cars. Two coupes, then the GS300, and now have ordered an RX330. Yep, I just drove the X5 and the X3, and yes, I sure could feel every twitch in the pavement thru the steering wheels. But what good is feeling the road if the &*(! Bimmer is not ON the road -- it's always at the dealership waiting on a part? What good is cornering if the lame-[Oops!] a/c can't keep my 530i interior cool in North Carolina summers? What good is BMW heritage if the depreciation is so bad after 2 yrs that even the dealers are embarrassed?

Maybe you guys who lease don't notice such stuff, but go out and purchase these cars with cash and you'll feel my pain. Go buy a Lexus and try to remember the last time you even thought to open the hood, or be concerned about driving it to Florida without worrying about some part failing, or get thoroughly spoiled by no-rattles no-road-noise driving. It's amazing how much road noise attributes to stress on trips, and how soothing it is to drive listening to a quality Mark Levinson system (versus those pathetic optional radio systems in the BMWs).

I will buy a Bimmer again, but only when they provide me valet and loaner service like Lexus does when it needs service. [Yep, they come to my office, pick up my Lex, and leave me a new Lex to drive while they fix the seat belt tension or whatever minor thing they decide to tweak.] Until BMW matches the Lexus service, I'll keep buying the sure thing. I've been burned too often, have waited too many cold mornings idling outside the BMW service dept garage door at 7:30am waiting for them to finish their coffee and let me in so they can listen to the rattling precision of the compressor on my 3-month-old $56,000 German driving machine.

on this board?

I've owned five bmw since 1995. 95 m3, 99 m coupe, 00 323, 02 X5 4.4 and 02 M3. None gave me any problems at all.

indicates that "satisfaction" with German car owners - this year - say the top 7 cars sold in Germany are Japanese; and they only have 10% of the market!

Porsche rates 8th in satisfaction; BMW ranks 11th and VW, AUDI, and Mercedes are 30th+ in owner satisfaction!!; per European Car; April '04 issue.

Guess you gotta love Bimmers for reasons other than owner "satisfaction".

Larry, Albany, NY
94 740i (very "satisfied"... but evidently newer models don't bode too well?!)

Nine BMW's owned since 1987...some repairs, but I can only think of one--water pump implosion on '91 M5 at 66K miles--which actually prevented me from driving the vehicle....NO repair issues which have ever left me unable to proceed during a roadtrip.

Time in shop actually LESS than 2 Acura's owned mid 90's.

That Lexus loaner/valet policy of which you avail yourself is a thing of beauty....I <i>know</i> that the Lexi dealers in my area don't offer door to door delivery for service appointments, so obviously you have found your home with Toyota/Lex.

I too wanted to buy an X3. But I had a problem with the interior - just doesn't seem like a luxury vehicle to me. In fact, I think BMW intended this for a fairly young outdoorsy-type person. I loved the x3's drive characteristics. But I own an 03 M3, and do not need this as a sports car, and my wife will be the primary driver. And she could care less about cornering, and is interested in comfort, and luxury.

We purchased the Lexus with 18in wheels and Navigation and on and on and on for $41,000. An x3 comparably eqipped would have been a lot more, and the fit and finish does not compare. And the Lexus has more space than the X3, X5, Toureg, FX, Cad., etc.

I am finding I really enjoy being the passenger in this soft, quite, luxurious SUV that rides like my brother's LS430. We ended up buying a Mazda Tribute for our daughter, and it is amazing how much this drives like the X3. Not the same, mind you, but close for about half as much money.

Every BMW I have owned I bought, w/ cash. I never lease. That said, I am on my 4th bimmer now--an excellent X3. I also have a '03 X5 and a (BMW made) MINI. I also used to own a 330i and a Z3. I donated the Z3 to some society and traded the 330i for the X3. The 330i held outstanding value as a trade in. And I never had one single problem w/ any ot these BMW group cars. The worst problem ever encountered was that the MINI had a rear hatch rattle, but this was promply taken care of for me. All the other true bimmers were only ever back to the dealer for an oilservice when the car "told" me to do so. And my dealer does provide shuttle service and loaner cars.

CR has never and will never test the BMW X3 3.0.
They only tested the 2.5 and the NEW 3.0si

Are you kidding me? A more fair comparison would be the X5 3.0 Inline 6 to the RX330. The X3 is a failed project if you ask me. It's a low end BMW for an individual who yearn for a German car and money is an issue. X3 is a slow boring tiny SUV; a V-6 RAV-4 sport is more fun to drive.