2018 BMW X3 xDrive 30d Exterior, Interior, & Test Drive – Video

The third-generation X3 is a critically important new vehicle for the Bavarian automaker. One in three BMWs sold worldwide these days carries an X badge, and BMW clearly expects the X3 to soon supplant the X5 as the company’s most popular SUV, having announced plans to augment production out of Spartanburg, South Carolina, with new X3 assembly lines in South Africa and China opening in 2018.

The new X3 is slightly larger and roomier than its predecessor, as you’d perhaps expect, but more importantly, it feels a more mature vehicle to drive, quieter and more composed on the road, and laden with BMW’s latest technology. You can tell this is a product that’s now core to the BMW brand.

The X3 xDrive 30d, powered by the 3.0-liter I-6 turbodiesel with 261 hp and a hulking 457 lb-ft of torque from 2,000 to 2,500 rpm, will join the lineup in 2018.