BMW India launched the 2018 edition of the BMW X3 luxury SUV in two variants. Prices for the BMW X3 start at Rs 49.99 lakh for the X3 Expedition variant and Rs 56.70 lakh for the Luxury Line variant.
Both these models come with a 2-litre diesel engine right now, but BMW says it will be adding a petrol variant to the X3 line up later in the year. The BMW X3 competes with the likes of the Audi Q3 and Volvo XC60.
So what’s new with the BMW X3? Well, first the design. Although it is easy to notice as being a BMW X3, some of the design elements make it look even more grown up like the BMW X5.
The front-end has been redesigned and now gets hexagonal LED rings around its LED projector headlamps. The rear gets full LED tail-lamp units, extending across the boot, in keeping with BMW’s latest design language.
The Luxury Line package also gets reverse camera with park assist (automatic parking in parallel or perpendicular mode). Some more luxuries include a welcome light in theatre style as you enter the vehicle, ambient lighting in six shades to suit the mood and fine leather upholstery.
The engine and transmission are pretty familiar units - a 2-litre twin-turbo diesel engine putting out 190 bhp of power and 400 Nm of torque with an eight speed automatic transmission. It is equipped with an all-wheel drive system with some tricks for off-road capability such as automatic differential brake locks (ADB-X) and adaptive suspension.
The 2018 BMW X3 was launched at BMW’s third Bird Automotive showroom in Gurugram. The company now as 45 dealers across the country in 31 cities. It claims to reach out to 80 towns through its BMW mobile studio route as well, which are mobile showrooms that travel to towns which don’t have dealers.
The X3 is being assembled in India at BMW’s plant in Chennai.
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