{"id":15941,"date":"2022-02-21T12:14:32","date_gmt":"2022-02-21T17:14:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=15941"},"modified":"2022-02-21T12:14:32","modified_gmt":"2022-02-21T17:14:32","slug":"2022-bmw-x3-m40i","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/?p=15941","title":{"rendered":"2022 BMW X3 M40i – The Best BMW SUV Today?"},"content":{"rendered":"

BMW made its bones building small, premium, sporty sedans and coupes. Sporty cars like the 2002<\/a> and 3 Series<\/a> separated BMW from its other premium competition. However, BMW doesn\u2019t really do \u201csmall\u201d anymore. In fact, the majority of BMW\u2019s sales are SUVs, which is why BMW builds so many of them. There\u2019s an \u201cX\u201d SUV for every number in the lineup; X1, X2, X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, and iX, with an XM on the way. However, among all those SUVs, and all of their model variants, there\u2019s one that stands out as the best \u2014 the BMW X3 M40i<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Surely, the humble X3 M40i can\u2019t be better than cars like the BMW X5 M or the all-electric BMW iX, right? Wrong. The BMW X3 M40i is among the best Swiss Army Knives BMW has ever produced and now that it\u2019s been facelifted, it\u2019s even better.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s start with the basics. The BMW X3 M40i is obviously based on the BMW X3 but it\u2019s an M Performance version. That means it\u2019s spicier than a standard X3 but not quite as fire-breathing hot as the full-on X3 M. To give it that hint of spice, BMW stuffed its incredible B58 engine under the hood and let the M Division give it a once over. The results are 382 horsepower and 369 lb-ft of torque and 0-60 mph in 4.4 seconds. I still remember when the BMW M3 could hit 60 mph in 4.4 seconds.<\/p>\n

Even better is the fact that it\u2019s fun to drive. I just spent a week with the X3 M40i and it\u2019s among the most enjoyable SUVs on the road, with sharp steering, tight body control, supple suspension, and surprisingly capable handling. It\u2019s obviously not as sharp as an M340i or M240i<\/a> but it\u2019s more comfortable and practical than both. Which leads me to my next point \u2014 practicality.<\/p>\n

There are larger, more capacious SUVs in BMW\u2019s lineup but the X3 really is the sweet spot. It has all the cargo room a normal family would need while also not being so large that it\u2019s difficult to park and guzzles fuel. In fact, during my week with it, it was surprisingly fuel efficient, netting a mpg average in the mid-to-high 20s, which is high for an SUV driven by a lead-footed idiot with 382 horsepower on tap.<\/p>\n

And yet, it swallowed up two car seats with ease, fit all my gear in the back with room to spare, and was comfortable for a family of four. It also has great interior storage, its seats are comfortable, sightlines are great, and it\u2019s packed with tech. As far as family vehicles go, there\u2019s nothing the X3 M40i can\u2019t reasonably do.<\/p>\n

When it\u2019s done being a family hauler, it can also be a fun little toy. No, it won\u2019t cause a fire to burn in your soul on a back canyon road but it will absolutely make the day-to-day driving that it\u2019s going to see 90-percent of its life far more enjoyable. Most of that is thanks to its brilliant powertrain, which feels like it has dynamite on demand. It\u2019s so surprisingly fast that it can roast sports cars at traffic lights, leaving unsuspecting car enthusiasts in shame. And if you do happen upon a curvy road, it\u2019s still fun to drive.<\/p>\n

There are faster SUVs, more fun SUVs, more practical SUVs, and more luxurious SUVs in BMW\u2019s lineup. None of which can blend all of those attributes into something so perfectly homogenous. The X3 M40i is not only the best overall SUV from BMW at the moment but I\u2019ll do yo one better \u2014 it\u2019s also the best do-it-all BMW you can buy of any kind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BMW made its bones building small, premium, sporty sedans and coupes. Sporty cars like the 2002 and 3 Series separated BMW from its other premium competition. However, BMW doesn\u2019t really do \u201csmall\u201d anymore. In fact, the majority of BMW\u2019s sales are SUVs, which is why BMW builds so many of them. There\u2019s an \u201cX\u201d SUV […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":15942,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=15941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/15942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=15941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=15941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/autosector.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=15941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}