There is a rumor going around that BMW plan to start producing the X3 mini SUV in China by 2010, the German auto magazine, Auto Motor Und Sport, is reporting that BMW plan to make 5000 X3’s in the first year, and a further 13,000 the following year.
BMW are obviously eager to tap into the SUV market in China but not being locally produced doesnt give them an edge against the locally produced SUVs from domestic and foreign makers. BMW’s partner in China, Brilliance Autos, churned out 23,856 BMW 3 and 5 series to date, all of which were sold in China, furthermore, BMW has sold nearly 8000 imported BMWs in the first 7 months of this year. China Car Times can speculate that these were mostly 7 series motors.
Fake advertisement for the BMW X5 was borrowed from the excellent Sniff Petrol.
how about a real 4WD (thats what we call SUV’s) like the Toyota Landcrusier or a Nissan Patrol? the X3 seems like a polished up high riding sedan. Does it have any off road cred at all?
Of course it doesn’t have any offroad cred. Most people buy these crossovers/SUV’s as status symbols, not because they can go offroad.
Why not buy a Landrover or a Range Rover? It’s got way more cred than a BMW or Merc and it’s got the added ability that it actually can go anywhere!! Plus they’re way way way more stylish.
In Auckland we call them “Parnell Tractors” because they never get dirty. (Parnell is an upper class area).
Seem like even the X5 in not as good as offroader, there is a review from Top Gear in UK were Jeremy Clarkson call the BMW X5 the Milli Vanilli of offroaders compared to the Toyota Land Cruiser, and the Range Rover. In these review even the old Isuzu Trooper and the much older Land Rover Defender had a much better performance than the BMW X5.
thats fairly strange though, i wonder why BMW would make such a car given that the more expensive porche suv can do off road very competently….i think i saw that on top gear as well
Yes thats true, Top Gear also made a review on the Cayenne, this car have an amazing performance offroad, very powerful and reliable, they hated the look of the car, they think is completely horrible (I dont agree with that) but pretty amazing performance. I have no idea about the price of this two cars (Cayenne vs X5), I dont know if they are in the same range of price. But I think is quite nonsense from BMW having two SUV models when none of them really works properly offroad.
The Cayenne’s base model MY08 Wagon 4dr SA 6sp 4×4 3.6i starts at a cool $94K AUD. Whilst the BMW X5 base E70 si Wagon 4dr SA 6sp 4×4 3.0i is only $85K. Whilst the top of the line Landcruiser Prado GRJ120R Grande Wagon 8st 4dr Auto 5sp 4×4 4.0i is only $75K. Seems like a clear choice given the Prado Grande is branded a Lexus in the US, so the brand prestige isnt too far off BMW given the performance and real 4wd ability. The downside is that the Toyota offers only 179KW, BMW 200KW, and Porche 213KW, yet the Bmw is quicker to 100km/h. Still the Prado sits 8, the other 2 just 5
So what you say is true, the SUV BMW in any model is just a polished up high riding sedan, not a choice at all if you are looking for a real 4X4.
in saying that, it may be the perfect SUV for china after all, i mean how many ppl actually take cars of road in china
The only people Ive ever ever ever seen doing off roading as a hobby are Jeep 2500 drivers, and a few BJ2020’s
Govt workers that need to get to remote places also use BJ2020’s.
I saw off roading on TV. That looked like fun. Half the trucks didn’t finish though.