Did the BMW X3 jump from Worst to First?

Now that the new G01-generation BMW X3 is here, it’s garnering quite a lot of positive reviews, especially the high-performance M40i variant. Having driven it, we’re happy to report that it’s a big improvement over its predecessor. Saying that its aforementioned predecessor, the F25-generation X3, was starting to get old is an understatement.

By last year, the F25 BMW X3 was downright ancient and it felt it. Compared to all of its far more modern competitors, and the other SUVs in BMW’s lineup even, the F25 X3 just wasn’t any good. It was sloppy, vague and dull. Sure it was comfortable enough and had an okay interior but the rest of it was, to put it in the most adult and eloquent terms I possibly can, poo-poo.

When compared to cars like the new Audi Q5, Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class and Jaguar F-Pace, the F25 BMW X3 was the worst car in its class. Hands down. Now, though, the new G01-gen X3 is so good that it may have jumped the X3 all the way to first in its class.

Now, personally, I cannot attest to how the new Jaguar F-Pace drives and I hear it’s quite good. But I can say with confidence that the new BMW X3 is a better car than the Merc and the Audi. It’s better to drive, has a better interior, is more comfortable and has better technology. There really isn’t ever an egg on its face and that was what impressed me most about it.

The new BMW X3 is just so well-rounded, so capable and enjoyable to drive that there isn’t a single other premium SUV in its class that I’d personally rather have. And that’s not something I thought I’d say before driving it, as I’m a fan of the Mercedes GLC and I like the new Audi Q5. Again, I haven’t driven the Jaguar F-Pace as of yet, and I hear it’s a blast to drive, but the F-Pace suffers from some interior quality issues and being a bit technologically-challenged (I have been inside it and played with its interior). So I can say that the interior of the X3 is better overall, even if the Jag’s is sportier looking.

I’m not saying that the BMW X3 is absolutely, 100 percent the best car in the world, but it’s possible that it could be the segment leader. It’s a great all-around car that isn’t bad at anything and doesn’t really have a fatal flaw. We’d have to get it together with the other SUVs in its class back-to-back to really determine for sure, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility for the BMW X3 to have gone from worst in its segment to first.