Faults:

At 14,000 miles the oil level sensor failed.

At 43,000 miles I had a return oil line for the turbocharger replaced.

Service after the maintenance plan expired has cost much less than expected.

While tires (run flats) are expensive, my original set lasted 48,000 miles; more than acceptable for OEM performance tires.

General Comments:

It's very comfortable on long drives. On pure highway trips, it's possible to get more than 32 miles per gallon using premium gasoline.

Acceleration is brisk. Interior noise levels are quite low for an SUV. My car has the winter package, which includes a heated steering wheel - perfect on cold mornings.

Faults:

I have only had this car for a very short time (less than a year). So far, no problems yet. I bought it with a little over 107,000 miles. This car was in very good condition when I bought it.

General Comments:

I have only had this car for a very short time. So far, no problems yet. I bought it with a little over 107,000 miles. This car was in very good condition. I bought in Milford, CT. It had a very clean interior.

It is very responsive. Very fast. The seats are a little stiff compared to my 2007 Envoy Denali. The suspension is stiff (first BMW I owned), but I am comparing it to other cars that I have owned (Ford Explorer, GMC Envoy, Acura 3.2 CL).

Overall, the car is very well built. The interior is nicely laid out. High quality interior trims.

Very happy with this car. The wife loves it.

Faults:

Needed new brakes when bought, but we were aware of that requirement.

Check light kept coming on and off in the beginning, but might have been the fuel cap not tightened. Car was OK, and check light hasn't been on recently.

General Comments:

Car has a lot of energy. It wants to go. Great fun to drive.

Love the manual gearbox, although it took me a while to make comfortable gear changes, and I have been driving manual for 30 years. Why has BMW stopped making manual gearboxes available in North America for this model?

Live on a Canadian acreage. Great in the snow.

Basic trim, but fully functional, and everything feels well-made.

Love the blue colour.

Choppy on rough roads, but feels secure and is quiet inside the cabin

Good amount of room in the back for adults; my sons were outgrowing the back of my Mazda 3, and this SUV copes well

Easily tows a sailboat

Great driving position, and easy to park

Faults:

A secondary thermostat in the water pump assembly failed just out of warranty: $400 at my BMW specialist (I hate to imagine what the dealer would charge).

General Comments:

Not quite an SUV, but bigger than a 3-series wagon, the X3 handles extremely well; 6-speed manual transmission makes for great flexibility, and driving fun too.

It is large enough for almost all family uses, from shopping to camping.

The children complained a bit about the 'hard rear seats', but oddly enough only at first, and not on long trips...

We towed a small trailer (900 kg), and the engine was up to the job, even through the Rockies.

Choppy ride on rough pavement, but solid in corners at speed on rough pavement...

Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear got an X3 stuck in deep mud with street tires, and declared it useless -- but with good winter tires, the X3 is simply brilliant in winter, BOTH on ice AND in deep snow. This is a bit of a niche use, but the combination of higher clearance, XDrive, snow tires and manual transmission makes this the best winter car I have owned or even driven in 27 Canadian winters (better than Audi quattro cars and AWD Subarus). I challenge Clarkson to find a better vehicle st this price for heavy winter driving AND competent roadholding in summer.