welcome to the bmw x3 plug-in hybrid otherwise known as one of the halfway houses between
regular petrol and diesel suvs and their cleaner greener all-electric future cells
see while this x3 does have a 2-liter turbocharged petrol engine for longer journeys it's also got
an 80 kilowatt electric motor that means you can waft around without using a drop of fuel
it's a very good idea but only if you use the car properly more on that later though
as for now i can tell you that this x3 phev goes up against other plug-in
hybrid alternatives such as the audi q5 tfs ie mercedes-benz glc 300e and volvo xc60 recharge
that's right pretty much all the suv big hitters now have a plug-in hybrid model in the range so
it's no longer seen as a usp it's a necessity and that also means that this bmw x3 x drive
30e to give it its proper name has some serious competition so let's find out if it's any good
of course the x3 plug-in hybrid is just one of a number of powertrains on offer
should you wish there's regular petrol and diesels as well as the m40i and m40d performance versions
the latter getting a mammoth 680 newton meters of torque all models get x-drive all-wheel drive
and an automatic gearbox as standard welcome aboard the bmw x3 and i say that because it
really is as spacious as a ship in here i know a lot of cars have grown in size over the years
but this x3 is actually longer and wider than the original bmw x5 and the upshot of that
is that there's so much space in the cabin i've got lots of knee room and leg room and shoulder
room and even if i was significantly taller i'd still have tons and tons of headroom it really is
one of the most capacious cars you can buy for this kind of budget and i've got to say
as well if you're thinking about getting a bmw x5 then really you should try this thing
out first because for most people i reckon this is going to be all the space you'll ever need
onto technology and well it's really very good indeed this car is an m sport spec model you can
get the x3 and indeed the plug-in hybrid version as an sc the base se and an x line as well but
this is m sport and that means you get the bmw live cockpit professional technology package which
includes the 12.3 inch digital instrument cluster which is this there you've also got the 10.25 inch
central infotainment touchscreen which runs on bmw operating system 7.0 and the verdict for
all this technology is that bmw still knows how to make a brilliant infotainment system because
the menus are so easily laid out it's intuitive it's quick there's no delay when you go for a
function or a button it's just very good indeed and although you can use the touch screen as
i said it is a touch screen you can also use the rotary dial down here which is something that most
or other manufacturers now such as mercedes benz and audi are getting rid of and i don't know why
because when you're on the move and you don't have time to start stabbing around at the screen this
thing is just so much easier to use but then again you do at the touch screen you do have the choice
and talking of choice you wouldn't believe how many different methods there are to turning the
volume up or down in this car because there's the regular volume dial on the center console
and there's the buttons on the wheel too which are fairly normal but then there's also voice
recognition which is actually very good and you can turn the volume up or down using that but then
there's a force method too you can simply swivel if i play the music you can simply swivel your
hand or your finger like this and then the volume will hopefully increase if it works reliably
and then your james blunt will come booming out at you and then you'll inevitably go and turn it down
with this because that's just so much easier but then if you want the choice this car offers you
four different methods aside from all that the digital instrument cluster that i mentioned
earlier it is good it's clear enough but then unlike the mercedes-benz and audi equivalents it
doesn't have that much in the way of customization you've got the same screen which you can just
change the little part of on the right hand side but other than that you can't scroll through
more detailed functions on the telephone the media the nav stuff like that some people will like that
simplicity but then others will probably want just a little bit more customization also the wireless
apple carplay which you get as standard on the x3 it isn't that reliable it'll work fine for the
first 20 minutes of your journey but then suddenly it'll cut out and you'll have no sat nav and you
won't know where you're going you need to stop and plug it in so honestly it's best just plugging it
in wireless apple carplay is a great thing but it still needs just a little bit of polishing first
saying that that's my only real complaint on quality in this car because otherwise it's
just such a nice place to sit all the materials are soft to the touch and high quality it feels
sturdy feels like it'll last the course everything is well laid out it's just such a nice place to be
standard equipment on the bmw x3 includes 18-inch alloy wheels 3-zone climate control front and
rear parking sensors with a reversing camera and the more basic bmw live cockpit plus technology
package this features things like automatic map updates for the sat nav intelligent voice
recognition bmw emergency call and the ability to see the status of your car within the bmw app you
can even activate the parking cameras while it's parked to see who's going near your pride and joy
now for those sitting in the back it is pretty much the same as in the front in that you've
got loads and loads of room back here there's lots of foot room knee room and even with this
panoramic roof you still got tons and tons of headroom as well which is really good
i've also got to point out this nice wide arm rest on the doors so the outer passengers have
somewhere to put their elbows you've got really big door pockets same as in the front so you can
put a good sized water bottle in there there's the nets behind the seats there's the three zone
climate control which we mentioned earlier so you can pick the temperature in the back and also this
center armrest falls down if there's no one in the middle seat and it reveals to cupholders
you can also get the optional comfort package which i would recommend because among other things
it gets you the heated steering wheel for the driver so their hands can be toasty on a winter
morning the extended storage package and for those in the back seats you can recline the backrest or
push it back like so which is very handy in making you more comfortable on a long journey
in general the x3's boot space is competitive at 550 liters but if you go for the plug-in hybrid
model the fuel tank is placed under the floor which robs 100 liters of precious cargo capacity
granted both the xc60 recharge and q5 tfs ie also have smaller boots than their petrol and diesel
counterparts but it still doesn't take away from the fact that there is a noticeable practicality
downside if you go with the phev versions before we go on here are our top alternatives to the bmw
x3 phev first up it's the audi q5 tfsie fast comfortable and with a lovely interior there's
little to choose between it and the x3 next up it's the mercedes-benz glc 300e facelifted in 2019
it benefits from the brand's mbux infotainment system and can be had as a petrol or diesel
plug-in hybrid finally the volvo xc60 recharge is a capable and stylish alternative
to its german rivals plus like all volvos its safety record is second to none
so now we're out on the road and the big question is how does this x3 plug-in hybrid benefit you
over say a regular petrol or diesel x3 well you've got around 30 miles of electric range when the
battery is fully charged up and that's in line with the plug-in hybrid rivals from volvo audi
and mercedes-benz and you can use that power whether you're on the motorway and it just
tops up the petrol engine so you're not quite using as much fuel or you can use it in and
around town or on faster b roads in all electric mode then you're not using any fuel at all either
way you're going to be saving money on fuel the x3 phev also uses switchable drive modes that
allow you to pick how you want to use the power there's auto e drive where the car decides when
the electric power should be provided battery control where the battery charge is retained
and max e drive which keeps the car almost exclusively in electric mode charging time
from empty to full with a domestic plug socket is around two and a half hours
to be honest with you most people will probably just leave this car in auto e drive mode
and that's probably a very sensible tactic because you really do need to think ahead or
be careful with how you use the power in a plug-in hybrid and the reason for that is if you say
use all the electric power on the motorway or by thrashing it on a b road and you've got none left
for the final few miles of your journey that might be taking place in the town then you're
not going to be getting the full benefit what you will get is a petrol suv that's actually heavier
than it was before and therefore less efficient for example with this car i can easily get 50
60 plus miles per gallon if i drive onto the motorway and then do the final few miles
on electric power alone you can easily achieve mid 50s but if i used up all the power and then
try to charge the battery from the engine that mpg then plummets and it really doesn't make
any sense over say a diesel x3 i've got to say as well this is a very
very refined car even when you're in electric mode and that might sound a little bit strange
because of course it's going to be quieter when you're driving on electric power only but it does
magnify the road noise and the wind noise but in this there really isn't much of either it is
very very serene the only thing that can spoil that is when the petrol engine kicks in
and that's not under normal circumstances it's when you really press your foot into the floor
and it's just a little bit thrashy sounding at the top end only when you're really pushing it but
yeah it does make a bit of a racket it's quick naughty 62 miles an hour and 6.1
seconds and honestly the transition from electric to petrol power is really nice but
when you put your foot down you are gonna hear it it does shatter the illusion somewhat but
there's still plenty of torque so you shouldn't have to do that too often
the ride comfort on this car i've got to mention it it is superb because although it hasn't got the
optional adaptive suspension it also hasn't got the firmer m sport suspension because
although this is the m sport spec you can't get m sport suspension with the plug-in hybrid and
i'm really not complaining because it takes the bumps and the undulations in the road so well it's
a really grown-up polished ride and although you'd probably expect that from a car this size it's not
always the case the only time that it gets in any way upset is over expansion joints in the
road which can just cause a judder in the cabin but otherwise these 19-inch wheels standard with
the m sport and their big chunky sidewalls they do a really excellent job of keeping you comfortable
the x3 is known for its excellent handling and even though the plug-in hybrid version
is notably heavier it still retained some of its dynamic charms that said the
regenerative braking gives the brake pedal an odd feel which does take some getting used to
if you're looking to buy a bmw x3 but you don't know which one to go for then here are our top
three choices for the cheapest one available it's the xdrive20ise if you're a company car
driver then it's this the plug-in hybrid variant with its 10 to 12 percent bik tax and finally
if you're a performance car fan then you're in for a treat because you can have either
the 340 horsepower m40d or the 360 horsepower m40i the bmw x3 is an excellent executive suv
and the 30e plug-in hybrid is a fine addition to the range it does exactly what a phev should do
allowing short trips to be completed in the serenity of electric only power honestly if
you were trying to choose between this the volvo the audi all the mercedes benz then it really
comes down to which model you prefer in general because as plug-in hybrids they all do
pretty much the same job as well as each other if you are set on the bmw though or indeed any
of its rivals then just make sure that you can use the plug-in hybrid element properly
and you can charge it frequently otherwise a petrol or diesel suv will make a lot more sense
you