The introduction of the BMW X3 M and X3 M Competition is bound to change a few things in the line-up of the Bavarian car maker. These new M SUVs deliver great performance and practicality, at an affordable price, making them a good buy in the segment.
But the life of an M car is never easy mainly because of the success the BMW M division recorded over the years. M cars are widely regarded as “bipolar” and that character is exactly what brings customers in. A true M car should be fast and agile, giving you adrenaline shots every time you drive it hard.
But, at the same time, it has to be practical and comfortable enough so that it could be used for daily chores. Not an easy task to achieve. The BMW X3 M definitely has to tick those boxes, given it’s an SUV in the first place.
As you may very well know, the BMW X3 M and its X4 M and Competition alternatives come fitted with the new M xDrive system introduced for the first time by the F90 M5. There’s one important difference to keep in mind: the fact that on the SUVs, you can’t send the power to the rear axle alone.
Other than that, these systems are basically identical. They have been set up to deliver the best driving performance and that, sometimes, means you won’t get maximum traction out of it, in certain conditions.
This isn’t a proper 4×4 car after all and yet, the video below shows the BMW X3 M Competition doing rather well on a roller test. The reviewer positions the car on rollers with the purpose of testing how the all-wheel drive system reacts and whether it is capable of getting you out of a tricky situation. As you’re about to see, the car is tested in a combination of scenarios, including one where three wheels have no traction and it still manages to move forward. Quite a good result for a car that’s set up mainly to drive fast, not to be good in snow.
