X3 meets the kids

BMW X3 is a friendly, family runabout with frugal performances - at a price. Photo / Jacqui Madelin

A launch drive is all very well, but it doesn't throw kids, luggage and the vagaries of the real world into the equation.

Would BMW's elegant (and pricey) X3 stand up to a hard-driven week with the kids?

This was the 2.0-litre diesel fielding 135kW and 380Nm put to the wheels via an eight-speed automatic. Its $87,900 standard price was boosted by $27,700-worth of extras including Electronic Damper Control, adaptive headlights, satnav with internet capability, 18-inch light alloy wheels, the head-up display and more.

BMW is nothing if not cheeky; the sports seats add $1600 to the price. Want them electrically adjustable and you'll pay a further $3200. Heated? That'll be $950. Lumbar support? Another $800. Kerching!

That said, our Auckland-to-Wellington run via Wanganui and the Paraparas proved the seats' comfort and support. Once out of rush-hour gridlock we kept the settings in sport to firm suspension and engine response, and were impressed with this X3's car-like handling and its ride.

Runflat tyres usually transmit every little jiggle to the cabin, but not in this car. BMW says the wheels "talk" to each other so if the fronts detect a hit they pre-set the rear dampers to suit; the communication must happen at light speed, but clearly it's working.

On arrival, we unloaded the boot but left the big box of diving gear - including weight belts - in situ. The cargo barrier would prevent it flying forward in an emergency. Next came a week of running around from mountain bike track to pool, beach, supermarket and home with up to five aboard, and folding scooters, and swim bags tossed among the wetsuits and fins.

Our 9 and 10-year-old passengers said these were the comfiest seats of any tried so far and liked the wide centre armrest for playing games on. They found the windowline a little high to see out - booster seats would solve that - and helped prove the centre rear possie is a genuine seat, not the uncomfy over-shaped too-narrow afterthought more usually supplied.

Meantime, the easy-to-use satnav and its detailed programming (it'll even suggest your fuel stops) eased our running around by predicting arrival times.

This is a great engine - with off-the-line acceleration brisk enough to please the kids, cruising quiet enough to forget it's a diesel, and cost-to-fill minimised by fuel-saving tech like stop-start and low rolling-resistance tyres.

The 8.0l/100km reading when we collected it dropped steadily to 7.5 on return -after a trip north in heavy rain, over slippery roads slick with water and papa clay run-off that proved how effective this all-wheel-drive set-up is, followed by some gravel road running around in search of a quiet dive spot.

Overall? Anyone seeking a user-friendly any-roads family runabout combining grunty power delivery with frugal performance will be impressed by the X3 xDrive 20d - provided the price doesn't put them off.

We like
Flexible engine, car-like handling, refined drive and the very useful head-up display (a $2,750 option)

We don't like
Some cost options should be standard at this price

Powertrain
2.0-litre-in-line four-cylinder turbo-diesel, 135kW at 4000, 280Nm at 1750-2750rpm, eight-speed auto drives all four wheels

Performance
0-100km/h in 8.5 seconds, 5.61/100m claim (7.5 achieved)

Safety
Six airbags, stability control, ABS brakes, hill-descent control, reversing camera with top view

What it's got
Including cost options: air con, cruise control, park distance control, keyless entry and start ($1200), adaptive headlights ($1100), satnav ($4250), 18-inch alloy wheels ($3100), leather seats, runflat tyres and much more

Vital stats
4648mm long, 550-1600-litre boot, 67-litre tank