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      10-23-2017, 11:58 PM   #1
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X3 30i POV review

Some interesting points here, the exhaust note, power delivery, the new parking sensor tones, ride quality, trunk with spare tire and review of the sport steering wheel (for you M40i early adopters.)

Enjoy!

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      10-24-2017, 08:11 AM   #2
ando
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Thanks for posting the review of the 30i.
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      10-24-2017, 10:29 AM   #3
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That answers the question on whether or not you can still store the curtain underneath with the space saver spare option. Nope.
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      10-24-2017, 12:21 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by JSY View Post
That answers the question on whether or not you can still store the curtain underneath with the space saver spare option. Nope.
The hump in the trunk with the spare wheel is unfortunate
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      10-24-2017, 12:52 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by X4guy View Post
The hump in the trunk with the spare wheel is unfortunate
Oh WOW, I didn't even realize that!! Yes, that's very unfortunate! I thought there would be room below.

No accessory rails inside either because of that hump.
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      10-24-2017, 03:28 PM   #6
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Originally Posted by JSY View Post
Oh WOW, I didn't even realize that!! Yes, that's very unfortunate! I thought there would be room below.

No accessory rails inside either because of that hump.
Most disgusting thing bmw has introduced in trunk design in years!
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      10-24-2017, 03:50 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JSY View Post
Oh WOW, I didn't even realize that!! Yes, that's very unfortunate! I thought there would be room below.

No accessory rails inside either because of that hump.
Yeah. Looks like they used the spot for the cover for the jack. I'd still order the spare tire, but they really should have done a better job describing that this would be impact of ordering the spare tire. Beginning to see a pattern here with BMW, this being my first one. Is this sort of poor communications on new releases common?? Or is it just because I'm trying to get a new model before they even hit the street?
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      10-24-2017, 04:31 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by bwcooper View Post
Yeah. Looks like they used the spot for the cover for the jack. I'd still order the spare tire, but they really should have done a better job describing that this would be impact of ordering the spare tire. Beginning to see a pattern here with BMW, this being my first one. Is this sort of poor communications on new releases common?? Or is it just because I'm trying to get a new model before they even hit the street?
A little of both probably. This will be our 12th BMW, and I will agree to some extent that dissemination of information is probably not their strong suit, but I also wonder how much of that is because of the intense competition between the brands.

And in their defense, the ability to have a spare was raised in the Wish List and some other Mnfrs offer such, so they added that in. From a pragmatic standpoint the Engineering team might be wondering why someone would wish for a spare when the vehicle comes with run-flats (why waste the space and weight). But RFTs have been a sore point for some, and so with this new version the ability to order regular tires emerged. I do have to give them some credit for listening to that segment, however large it may be, so they offered it.

But I can only imagine if you have only so much space, and you are trying to maximize every square centimeter as usable volume while (whilst) still trying to produce weight savings, then at some point compromises will need to be made. Should the entire trunk/boot be re-designed if only 10-15% wish for a spare? It would seem these ideas probably floated around for them.

And I do think that those of us who wish for the 'first-off-the-block' runs (which I still do) will probably understand that it was our choice to accept and order our vehicles without having one in the showroom to see and drive. And whether Canada is spec'd for 21" tires, and Germany 20", and we in the USA 19" as standards, and all the vagaries that come from the different regions...

It would seem to make sense logistically to simplify the packages and options into a common global commonality, but I trust BMW's Mgmt has far better experience at this than I.
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      10-24-2017, 05:02 PM   #9
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I don't think in retrospect I would have ordered the space saver spare had I seen this large bump. Will we even be able to use a cargo mat with this trunk set up?
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      10-24-2017, 05:55 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Max Well View Post
From a pragmatic standpoint the Engineering team might be wondering why someone would wish for a spare when the vehicle comes with run-flats (why waste the space and weight).
I threw in the spare tire at the last minute after looking into the costs for replacement tires (which will likely come all too quickly). Thought having a real spare would give me flexibility on ordering normal tires if wanted instead of new RFT's. And thought if I needed the space in the "hole" I could just put the spare in the garage. Seemed pretty cheap for a spare and the jack!

Anyway, I'm not too surprised by the change, and might still make the same decision. Just would think that in the BYO site description of the compact spare should point out that it also eliminates the storage for the cover and the tie down rails, etc. and makes the cargo space non-flat rather than saying absolutely nothing about it. In fact, below is the picture above the Space Saver Spare Option in the BYO site, which actually shows the "normal" cargo space!!

BTW, speaking of your wishlist, I do have to applaud your efforts to pull that together and BMW's openness to actually include so many of the ideas into the design. That was impressive.
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      10-24-2017, 08:18 PM   #11
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There is no defense by BMW on this one, the X1 and X5 the cargo bay is flat so we expected the same. The hump is strange, makes one wonder if the G01 is truly a new platform or recycled F25 one which had no provision for the spare.
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      10-24-2017, 10:14 PM   #12
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Thanks for the posting of the video and as others have said, very clearly shows the arrangement for the space-saver spare. The bump in the floor - while disappointing - is certainly not a deal breaker.

I now have the evidence to show our local BMW dealers. Have talked with two salespeople from two different dealers over the last week and neither knew anything about the option for the spare. Not even listed on Australian spec guides.

Tony
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      10-24-2017, 10:59 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by brissim View Post
Thanks for the posting of the video and as others have said, very clearly shows the arrangement for the space-saver spare. The bump in the floor - while disappointing - is certainly not a deal breaker.

I now have the evidence to show our local BMW dealers. Have talked with two salespeople from two different dealers over the last week and neither knew anything about the option for the spare. Not even listed on Australian spec guides.

Tony
I don't think the sales people would be able to help you much. This is because the package/configurations for each country is different and decided by each country's head office.

So in your case, if BMW Australia decided not to include the spare as they feel that Australia would not have that big of a demand for it, they might have decided not to include it in the country's spec/order guide.

This is similar to Canada whereby we don't have the spare tire option too.
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      10-24-2017, 11:25 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tyranimo View Post
I don't think the sales people would be able to help you much. This is because the package/configurations for each country is different and decided by each country's head office.

So in your case, if BMW Australia decided not to include the spare as they feel that Australia would not have that big of a demand for it, they might have decided not to include it in the country's spec/order guide.

This is similar to Canada whereby we don't have the spare tire option too.
You may very well be correct - but at least there's no harm in asking and at least getting its unavailability confirmed. What I've found over the years with BMW dealers here is that where the vehicle is to be a factory order (which it would be in my case), they have some leeway in custom items not necessarily listed in the official spec guides.

Tony
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      10-25-2017, 07:34 AM   #15
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With and without spare tire comparison

Although it is difficult to obtain quality images from a video screen capture, I have tried to produce a comparison of the standard trunk vs the spare tire-associated trunk with its raised bed (if this is how it is going to be moving forward in all production models which option for a spare tire). Using rough dimensions of our 2012's trunk it appears the volume is about 44" side-to-side, 32" front-back, and I'm guessing about 4" raised height. If my math is correct, that is 5632 cu in or about 3.3 cu feet of trunk volume removed. This equates to a(n) 11% decrease of seats up trunk space (from 28.7 down to 25.4) and a 5% decrease seats down volume (62.7 down to 59.4).

As the G01's back seats now recline, I have to wonder if the raised platform will lessen their full range but suspect the Design Team took that into account. And when seats are down, this platform will require some padding tomake a level surface if a long fragile item needs back-end support near the overhang. With that said, though - although the G01's seats do reach more of a flat plane than current 2nd gen, from all the pictures I've seen there is still clearly an incline upwards, so for long fragile objects like a mirror, padding will be needed just like we do now in any regards to make up for that incline.

This raised bed will no doubt become a deciding point for some folks as they assess regular vs RFTs, and if Dealerships stock these different versions then informed decisions can be made. Some may not miss the trunk volume or mind the raised bed, but it wouldn't work for our needs.

Looking into the future, though, I'm not sure how BMW will handle this, as it seems they put a lot of effort into the underbody design (which reportedly accounts for 20-25% of vehicular drag) and maximizing interior compartment volume. Something has to give somewhere.
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      10-25-2017, 09:20 AM   #16
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It’s weird how the image on the lower right (and the video it comes from) makes it look minimal, maybe 1”, whole the one in the lower left looks more like 3”. There also seems to be a degree of recess for the lid after the initial edge visible on the left photo and in the video. I’d guess the lid sits somewhere between .5” (right photo) and 2” (left photo) higher with the spare.
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      10-25-2017, 10:18 AM   #17
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Great find with the spare tire, just in time for me to remove it from my order.
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      10-26-2017, 09:54 AM   #18
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Did he also say the engine sound is piped through the speakers
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      10-26-2017, 10:00 AM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by X4guy View Post
Did he also say the engine sound is piped through the speakers
I could have sworn that that was only done on ///M cars. I don't think I have active sound on my 435i. I hope he was wrong about that.
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      10-26-2017, 11:16 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by X4guy View Post
Did he also say the engine sound is piped through the speakers
Around the 3'0" mark in the video the Reviewer changes over to Sport mode, and manually downshifts to 3rd gear. He then begins talking about Sport Mode (as c/w the previous he was in), and at the 3'11" mark he states,

"though it's pretty hard to hear, you get a little bit more engine noise (he's comparing with the previous mode he was in) as well... piped in through the speakers no doubt..."

It seems this is just his opinion, so until we all get a chance to see/hear I would take that with a grain of salt for now.
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      10-26-2017, 03:16 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Max Well View Post
Around the 3'0" mark in the video the Reviewer changes over to Sport mode, and manually downshifts to 3rd gear. He then begins talking about Sport Mode (as c/w the previous he was in), and at the 3'11" mark he states,

"though it's pretty hard to hear, you get a little bit more engine noise (he's comparing with the previous mode he was in) as well... piped in through the speakers no doubt..."

It seems this is just his opinion, so until we all get a chance to see/hear I would take that with a grain of salt for now.
You have to agree, the 2liter bmw engines don’t sound like that, I have one.

We wait and see.
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      10-26-2017, 03:44 PM   #22
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Ok well this leads to the next question... I know BMW uses Active Sound to pump engine noise through the speakers for some of the beefier models but do they do this for he X3 too? At least for this model?
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