2025 BMW X3 xDrive30 Review: It’s Complicated

The new 2025 BMW X3 has tremendous shoes to fill. The last generation was one of the brand’s best offerings, and it put up the sales figures to prove it. Despite debuting way back in 2017, it was the brand’s best selling single model in 2023, accounting for over 15% of the brand’s overall sales. For 2025, BMW introduced the next installment in the X3’s legacy. With the model doing so much of the heavy lifting on the sales side, it’s critical that the new one does everything better than the old one. After spending a week with one, our takeaway is best summarized as “it’s complicated.”

First Impressions and Design Choices

Walking up to the 2025 BMW X3 for the first time evokes several different emotions. The new X3 is one of the last BMW models to reflect the brand’s shift from traditional grilles. It’s hardly the most alien design we’ve seen from the brand, but it’s also a far cry from the very familiar face of the G01 X3 that came before it. The narrower headlights and less angular air inlets in the bottom of the front bumper lead to a face with generous negative space. It’s not as immediately handsome as the G01; but taste is subjective. Around back, narrower tail lights and the lack of an exhaust tip lead to similar sentiments as the front. Minimalist to the max.

Then, you open the door. The new, integrated exterior door handle design feels a lot more luxurious than the outgoing model. Stepping into the cabin, similarly, feels like more of an event. The new iDrive “gong” plays and the seats feel considerably more plush than the last four-cylinder X3 I drove. It feels more like an $80,000 iX than BMW’s near entry-level SUV. An overall more spacious cabin and opulent glass roof (the latter not standard equipment) aid in the plush feel. Right off the bat, the 2025 BMW X3 is sending us mixed signals. Weird exterior looks, but the interior feels immediately like a level up.

Powertrain: Kind of New But Definitely Improved

We strap into the X3 and initially, stumble a little bit with ergonomics and cabin feel. More on that later. Once you’re on the road, the 2025 BMW X3 feels like an old friend. Our X3 30 xDrive is the four-cylinder model, relying on a familiar B48 engine. But for the new model, BMW’s juiced it up with 48-volt mild hybrid technology. Put simply, that adds some torque fill at speed and allows for low-speed electric-only propulsion from a stop. Power is excellent; 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque, the latter available from just 1600 rpm. Of course, a good powertrain requires more than just a sweetheart of an engine. Luckily, BMW’s powertrains are currently some of the best in the business, and this is no exception.

The delightful ZF eight-speed automatic provides crisp and rapid shifts, whether you’re leaving it up to the car or enjoying some do-it-yourself shifting in manual mode. A new paddle shifter design introduces aesthetic improvements while retaining its satisfying clickiness. Pop the traction settings into Sport+ mode and the whole chassis tightens up. It isn’t the same MDM traction system you find in the M Series, but it does a damn good impersonation. Especially considering our 2025 BMW X3 wasn’t even an M Sport model. At speed, throttle stabs are a study in instant gratification; thank the hybrid system and BMW’s clever tinkering with the turbocharging technology for the new generation.

When the road gets twisty, the X3 continues to shine. Actual road feel is akin to an asthmatic ghost blowing on your fingertips, but precision and weight are dead-on. And, in fairness, there are few new vehicles at this price point that will satisfy from a steering feel perspective, at least as an enthusiast. Body roll is present but controlled, and the ride is comfortable in all but the worst road conditions. That last part is doubly impressive considering our tester came equipped with optional 20-inch wheels. I think the chassis’ limits far outstrip what the powertrain is physically capable of. Dynamically there is absolutely no question that the 2025 BMW X3 is a step up in every way from the G01 that preceded it.

Technology: One Step Forward

These days, BMW is as much in the business of making electronic doodads and displays as it is potent powertrains. The 2025 BMW X3 is the first of its kind to get iDrive 9 and its accompanying curved screen, comprising a 14.9-inch center display and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. iDrive 9 is much easier to use than its immediate predecessors, although iDrive 7 in the G01 X3 still felt more instantly usable. Pairing up CarPlay was as simple as it has ever been, and it worked great the whole time.

BMW’s Active Driving Assistant Pro is even better here than I remember it being in other products. I effectively drove from a NYC suburb to Newark Liberty International Airport with zero problems. Since the system comes to a complete stop and restarts without input, the X3 effectively drove itself — I’m truthfully not sure what all the hubbub about self-driving cars is, because it seems like BMW is pretty much already there.

Of course, there are some casualties in BMW’s quest for maximizing tech features while minimizing touch points. Climate controls are now screen-controlled, and nobody that spent any amount of time in our loaner car loved that. The steering wheel buttons feel like a victim of Trump administration job cuts; fewer buttons are now in charge of doing more than ever. No more “BC” button on the turn signal stalk; no more individual buttons for the radar cruise control. And in fact, buttons lead us to one of the bigger — maybe only — sticking points we have with the 2025 BMW X3.

Quality: Two Steps Back?

Reduction feels like an overarching theme in the 2025 BMW X3. An itty-bitty gearshift adds to cabin space but doesn’t really feel premium. The iDrive controller looks better than before, but doesn’t feel as satisfying to use. Most of those overworked steering wheel buttons aren’t even real buttons; they’re haptic, as are all of the center console controls. Which sucks. Because you press one and the whole panel flexes. Or, you press one and, not wanting to flex the whole panel, nothing happens because you didn’t press hard enough. Both results are decidedly very un-BMW feeling. The dinky door handles and weird side vent controls are just misshapen plastic blobs, as opposed to the G01’s purposeful and stylish handles and buttons.

The dashboard also leans into the plastic blob aesthetic, and there’s not even ambient lighting in the back seats. For the first time in my decade of driving new BMW vehicles, there was a persistent rattle from the passenger side; I believe it was coming from the door card. There is no way for me to sugarcoat it: the 2025 BMW X3 takes a step back in cabin quality when compared to the outgoing model.

2025 BMW X3 Verdict

The 2025 BMW X3 is dynamically infallible, at least at this price point and in its segment. The tech-heavy approach isn’t our favorite, but by and large it adds value rather than takes away. G01 drivers might miss some of the finer details that their car did just a little bit better. Specifically every time they press a haptic button. Or when they have to clean off the piano black trim for the third time in a week.

Customers coming from other brands won’t know what they’re missing; and I suspect the touchpoints are still nice enough to hold up to cursory scrutiny from laypeople. Besides, there’s an easy and time-tested way to forget about the car’s minor shortcomings. Quit dilly dallying with the doodads, put your foot down on the right pedal, and enjoy. Maybe it’s not that complicated after all.