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m wheels stouffville suntribune thursday mar 4 2004 9 light is the newest styling trend in luxury vehi- a n cles and x3 leads this trend with a maxisized power sunroof advertising section of the economist sun thursday march 4 2004 leftthe 2004 bmw x3 30i looks remark ably like the bigger 30i x5 with its short over hangs and roofline cant ed to the rear but is slightly larger inside while coming in at 15000 less in price rightthe interior follows bmw practice for four decades with a centre binnacle and the controls are logically placed the use of plas tic on the dash mars an otherwise pleasant place to be thex3 meets theneed for utility with 1560 litres of cargo space with the back seats folded flat it is enough to take a 10foot ladder 3 is an suv for all reasons and all seasons by jim robinson road worthy winter where is thy sting now that bmw has xdrive while four driven wheels will always be better than two the choices among all- wheeldrive and fourwheeldrive vehicles are notonly numerous but confusing bmw has made it simple with its 2004 x3 midsize suy or sav sport activity vehicle as they like to all it the heart of the x3 is the xdrive system that renders ordinary allwheeldrive decid edly yestertech there is a centre transfer case that routes torque fore and aft like most all- wheeldrivers but it goes beyond that at most speeds even if engaged in a bit of spirited driving the x3 behaves like a normal reardrive vehicle but when things start to get out of hand thats where xdrive steps in besides dtc bmwspeak for pitch and yaw control sensors also gauge throttle demand compared to the rotational speed of each wheel and the steering angle this data is fed to xdrive which not only uses braking and engine speed to put the driver back on track but can actually sense trouble before the driver does going into action to prevent possible disaster think of it as an invisible co pilot that takes care of the cars attitude while the driver concentrates on getting there but if xdrive is the heart of the x3 then the engine is surely its soul drive a bmw inline six and you soon learn what the raving is all about they feel so positive under accelera tion almost fluid hit the pedal hard and the rev counter spins around the dial like the sec ond hand of a rolex watch and all the time making a delicious snarling sound from the exhaust the x3 offers two choices of dual cam four- valve engines a 25litre producing 184 hp and a 30litre as fitted to the tester making 225 hp bmw offers a choice of a fivespeed automatic with steptronic electronic sequential shifting or a sixspeed manual these electroshift transmissions are lost on me i can never quite remember what gear i was last in and hunting around the dash for a tiny illuminated indicator while trying to come up to speed entering from a highway onramp is galling and distracting luckily the tester had the sixspeed being a bmw manual you wont flash through the gears but it is still quick there is however the sensation of the shifter being forged to a vaultlike box designed to last forever some thing that imparts confidence especially in a suv oops sav utility is supposed to be what these trucks are all about and the x3 provides adequate cargo volume for its class interestingly at 480litres 169 cu ft with back seats up and 1560 551 cu ft with the 6040seats folded its slightly larger that big brother x5 which costs 15000 more speaking of price the 30litre x3 has the base price of 49850 and was 57065 as test ed base hardly describes the myriad of standard features like climate control con cert sound system wood trim and a power sunroof so large it looks like a cargo door off a 747 the only negative is the use of plastic on the dash looking very down market from the rest of the interior the alacrity with which the front seat warmers literally fire up is amazing it comes to a boil in two or three blocks and if set on high feels like vesuvius itself welling up from under your tush but all that is forgotten on the road the beauty of the marque is how it all comes together like a cross pen or a winchester shotgun a bmw feels good to the touch and looks good to the eye its as if it was hewn out a single block of metal the result of relentless refining the core bmw values that stretch back to the 2002 the double pivot macstruts at the front and multilink suspension at the rear are tied to a traditionally stiff bmw chassis designed to let the allindependent suspension do the work the long travel of the clutch takes getting used to as does the awkward location of reverse once underway the x3 feels four square in terms of its stance the ride is firm some might say choppy but this is a bmw not a suburban steering inputs are instantly obeyed as is the flybywire throttle xdrive rarely makes its presence known except when turning in too fast on as snowy sideroad for those who have owned several or to those new to brand bmws strengths are all there as advertised slick styling worldclass ride and handling and the panache of flash ing a key fob bearing the blue and white roundel and now with xdrive this sporting truck is not a just suv for all reasons but a sav for all seasons voted w new car dealer in markham bbgp tpco 2004 freest takeyour 2003i 2004 escape xls 2oo3f150 disss 2004 f150 purchasepsice 22998 ihsefor 48 mth 42 v6 auto ac 7 pass seating privacy glass powar locks vvinrtwsatiirorsabs amfmcd and more stk4fr0189 purchase price x icftcecnn loadedfrontrearac viif lefue ruk quads speed ffl pupwpm absamfmjcofarrty enter- 48 taiimefllvgp system power iitu drivers seal power pedals and mm morcstk3vm0437 front wheel drive 30l wautotransmssac remote keyless entry wmcasssfco sijc4es0005 purchase price lease for 24998269 48 mth 4x4 supercrew fx4 xlt supercab 4x2 xlt purchase price 31498 2004 f1 50 4x4 supercab xlt loaded with fx4 package black with gray captains chair 46l v8 auto ac pwpl pm omited sip axle trailer tow speed control tilt and more stk 3fs0578 purchase price 1easef0r 299 24- mth auto ac power locks windowsmirrors limited sbp rear defroster ir wheels 46lv8 reverse sensing stk 4fs0023 54l 300 hp limited slip axle power pedals trailer tow reverse sensing systenvpower drivers seal stk4fs0022 trforomly qfl00per vuf ail annmnuai 0u mth an additional i t 21 main street uniunville yuuctf kennedy road 1 block north of hwy 407 markvule ford lincoln svt i ah cash pricesloase payments aro plus freight taxes licence and cos o ac ah factory to dealer credits and rebates applied and aro not combinablo with i leasos ah leases are based on 299500 down payment with 20000 kms allowed per year excess kms charged at obckm 10ckm windstar i markham economists sun readers choice awards uncertified 9054741350 wwwmarkvillefordcom wwwmarkvillefordcom wvavmarkvillefordcom