2004 BMW X Models Reviews

The entry-level price-point in the new X3 range, the 20 costs $86,100 before on-road costs and is a full-sized SUV with two rows of seats for a total of five passengers. There’s no seven-seat version.

BMW's X3 has arrived in fourth-generation guise and its bigger than the very first X5! It's also hybrids across the board this time around and it ushers in a bold new design. But is it enough to keep Audi and Mercedes-Benz worried?

Everything that could have possibly gone wrong for the German car industry has.Skyrocketing energy prices as a consequence of the Russia-Ukraine war, rising competition from China, the end of the German government's EV subsidies and dwindling global EV demand have strained the sector unlike ever before.And now, to add insult to injury, US President Donald Trump is vowing to slap 25 per cent tariffs on all cars imported from the European Union to the United States, a critical market for German brands.On our own shores, the impact of these external pressures is clear. In 2024, Volkswagen’s Australian sales fell nearly 17 per cent compared to the previous year, Mercedes-Benz's fell by nearly 18 per cent and Audi's by nearly 20 per cent.BMW is the outlier, with sales remaining steady at a slight 0.6 per cent increase on 2023's numbers, helping the brand maintain its lead as Australia's most popular premium brand by a comfortable margin.So, in a market where the odds appear so heavily stacked against them, how can struggling German car brands reverse their fortunes?Increasingly, it appears, by looking to BMW.Its success over the last 12 months and beyond has proven that the electric car transition can be leveraged to a brand’s advantage.BMW’s early investments in flexible architecture, which allows the same models to be built with internal combustion engine (ICE), hybrid and EV platforms, has seen their EV sales start to command their global growth.Its EV sales grew 13.5 per cent in 2024 as the brand registered 2.45 million global sales and its M performance wing tallied an all-time record of 206,582 sales.Notably, the i4 M50 sedan, an electric version of the mild-hybrid 4 Series, claimed the title of M’s top-selling model for the third year in a row, showcasing the growing appeal for electric performance cars.Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz have largely focused on expensive EV-only platforms underscored by new model ranges, a strategy that has struggled to attract traditional ICE vehicle buyers.That said, signs of a strategic transition amongst these brands are beginning to emerge.Mercedes-Benz will launch its all new CLA later this year under both hybrid and electric guises, the latter of which is promising big advancements in range. Recent road testing of its own solid-state batteries could also see it register a major milestone in EV advancement before its rivals.Porsche and Audi have pledged to invest further in their hybrid and petrol technologies, as Porsche mulls a possible return of the petrol Macan under a new-generation model.Both brands’ parent company, Volkswagen, has said more plug-in hybrids are on the way, including for Australia, as the brand readies its ID.1 budget EV hatch for a proposed sub $33,000 price tag in early 2027.BMW, meanwhile, will debut its sixth-generation Neue Klasse EV batteries later this year, which are aiming to improve energy efficiency by at least 20 per cent compared to its current EVs, while offering up to 30 per cent more range.They’re industry-wide strategic shifts that indicate a turning point for the German automotive sector could be on the horizon. That said, any future prosperity will depend on how well its struggling brands can uphold their defining principles of sustained innovation and engineering excellence under increasing pressure.

BMW estimates it is still years away from requiring solid-state batteries, as the brand spruiks its upcoming sixth-generation battery technology as the next evolution in EV production.

BMW has revealed pricing and details for its updated iX electric SUV ahead of its arrival in Australian showrooms by the middle of this year.Just one variant – xDrive 45 M Sport – has been announced for now, which replaces the outgoing xDrive40 Sport as the base variant.It starts at $142,900, before on-road costs, a rise of $6000 on its predecessor. The price hike widens the gap even more over key rivals in the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV and Polestar 3, which start at $134,900 and $116,754, respectively, both at before on-road costs.In return for the price rise, however, it adds a suite of technical and luxury upgrades. Headlining those changes is a 30 per cent larger lithium-ion battery pack, which ups its size from 77kWh to 94.8kWh.For the first time in a BMW, the bigger battery also features silicon carbide semiconductor components, or SiC inverters, for more efficiency and heat resistance compared to conventional silicon semiconductors.The result is an extra 177km unlocked in driving range under the WLTP cycle, which sees total range rated at 602km, up from 425km on its predecessor.That means it now comfortably exceeds the claimed driving ranges of the Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV (539km) and a Cadillac Lyriq (530km), but falls short of the Long Range Dual-Motor Polestar 3 (706km).Fast-charging capacity has also been upped to a maximum of 175kW, up 25kW from its predecessor, while home charging can be carried out at 22kW.BMW said fine-tuning and further development of the iX’s twin electric motors also boosts power and torque by 60kW and 30Nm, respectively. A full second has been shaved off the iX’s 0-100km/h sprint time, which is now just 5.1 seconds.In terms of design, the iX sports a new kidney grille with standard contour lighting and diagonally striped accents. The LED headlights and indicators have also been redesigned from horizontal to vertical, while adaptive and cornering light functions are now standard.Standard M Sport packaging adds sporty front air intakes and vertical reflectors at the rear.New metallic paint colours are also available at an additional cost, including Arctic Race Blue, Tanzanite Blue, Dune Grey and Frozen Deep Grey. Two additional colours – Frozen Pure Grey and Space Silver – will be added in Q4. There remains six non-metallic paint colours as no-cost options.In the cabin, a panoramic glass roof is now standard, while there are new M multi-function leather seats, a new M leather steering wheel with heating function, M pedals, anthracite headlining, Dark Silver trim finishes and a high-gloss finish on the centre console. A tyre pressure monitor is also now standard.As before, standard kit includes an 18-speaker Harman/Kardon surround sound system, heated and massage front seats, wireless phone charging, a 12.3-inch twin-screen panoramic display with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 21-inch aerodynamic alloy wheels and a tyre repair kit.Customers can upgrade to Executive interior luxury packing for $6500, Integral Active Steering for $3000, Adaptive 2-axle air suspension for $4000 or a 30-speaker Bowers and Wilkins Diamond Surround Sound system for $9500.22-inch M alloy wheels are $2500 extra, while 23-inch ‘Individual’ aerodynamic wheels will set you back an additional $5000.More variants will follow the xDrive 45 M Sport to complete the iX line-up later in 2025.

BMW has padded out its most affordable model ranges in Australia.

Out of all of the performance car brands grappling with the zero-emissions transition, none have had the success of BMW M.

BMW has been testing its mysterious Heart of Joy driving dynamics computing system in a prototype ahead of its roll out in new vehicles, and the results according to the German brand are “not just to the next level, but another one beyond that.”First revealed to the world at the 2023 Munich Motor Show as a small black box the Heart of Joy is a computer, which manages many of a vehicle’s systems from steering, braking and suspension to power and battery usage. The plan is for the system to be installed in the next generation of all-electric cars that BMW calls its Neue Klasse.Now BMW has revealed that it has been testing the Heart of Joy in a prototype vehicle called the Vision Driving Experience at a United States test track.“The Heart of Joy enables us to take driving pleasure not just to the next level, but another one beyond that,” said Frank Weber, member of the Board of Management of BMW, responsible for Development. “In addition, we are further increasing efficiency, and therefore boosting range, as in future the driver will brake almost exclusively using energy regeneration. This is Efficient Dynamics squared.”Admittedly the Heart of Joy sounds mysterious and almost unreal, but according to BMW’s engineers the system makes real world driving more comfortable and smooth through the reduction of noise and vibration, and the clever incorporation of controls and functions due to lightning-fast computing.Energy consumption is also improved. BMW said recuperation through braking and an integrated drivetrain returning a 25 per cent increase in efficiency.The computing software for the Heart of Joy was developed by BMW with processing speeds claimed to be 10 times faster than previous systems.“Working in tandem with the BMW Dynamic Performance Control software, the Heart of Joy computes all the driving dynamics functions with a whole new level of speed and precision,” BMW’s press release reads. “The software has been developed entirely in-house on the back of experience in the field of driving dynamics amassed by BMW engineers over more than a century.”The Vision Driving Experience vehicle, which is being tested at BMW’s Spartanburg test track in the US, can develop up to 18,000Nm. Well, that’s the theoretical limit of the computing software and its ability to manage all that torque. That’s about the same amount of torque produced by a top fuel dragster and in reality unlikely to appear in any road car soon.The Vision Driving Experience vehicle, which BMW is clear to point out is for testing the software only, won't turn into a production vehicle. That said the Vision Driving Experience vehicle will make it world premiere at the 2025 Shanghai motor show in April.

We know the new electric M3 will be powerful, but what will it sound like?

Performance electric cars are too cheap.