While its direct German premium rivals are scrabbling for traction, BMW SA appears to be holding ground.
Check figures from South Africa’s automotive business council, Naamsa, and you’ll see over the past 12 months it regularly exceeded 1,000 units (including Mini), while the fellow Teutons muster half those volumes, usually less.
It’s not by coincidence, of course. BMW is in an ideal position where product portfolio diversity is concerned, and being a local manufacturer with significant export markets, the brand has certain competitive advantages.
Late last year it announced via press release a Pure Design version of the latest generation G45 X3. The brand described it as the entry point of the range and a trim line offered only on the petrol X3 20 derivative. It recently arrived for a closer look.
However, after nosing around the BMW website, we learnt it is technically not the most basic expression of the X3 you can buy.
The real base point would be the xLine, referred to as the standard model on BMW’s portal, priced at R1,057,000. Buyers can add the option of a R45,000 Pure Design package that comprises Harmon Kardon audio, panoramic roof (non-opening), rear side window blinds and an electrically operated tow hitch.
Buy the pre-configured X3 Pure Design (R1,102,000) and you get the above features, and Veganza synthetic leather (instead of Econeer fabric or Sensatec leatherette), ambient interior lighting, wireless charging, comfort access (keyless entry) plus the parking assist driver aid. If you wanted the X3 20 in M Sport trim, it would cost R1,112,000.
“All X3 20s configured and built by the business are Pure Design models. Should customers want an xLine or M Sport version, that vehicle would be built to order,” said BMW SA’s communications manager Hailey Philander.
“The standard model reflected on the website is the base xLine. The team is aware it doesn’t show the Pure Design line and is working on resolving the issue.”
The xLine is the priciest of the three Germans if we are comparing base guises. The current Audi Q5, whose replacement is imminent, starts at R1,018,200 for the entry-level 40 TDI Advanced model. Mercedes-Benz SA’s website marks its GLC 200 for Avantgarde for upwards of R994,839.
BMW’s warranty is a two-year/unlimited mileage offering and the maintenance plan covers five years or 100,000km.
Badge and design aside, the substance of a product such as the G45 X3 is yet to be matched by rivals. Even the people at the South African Guild of Mobility Journalists agreed — it is the 2025 SA Car of the Year.
From the outside, the Pure Design omits the dazzle of the M Sport model. However, there are many buyers out here who prefer a subtler character from their premium vehicle. Something that might be less likely to trigger a lifestyle audit by your social media followers.
That said, people do notice the X3 even in base guise. Its sizeable (illuminated) kidney grilles, side-profile concaves that play with natural light in a fascinating way and intricate LED lighting patterns are great talking points.
The X3 20 derivative uses the 2.0l, four-cylinder, turbocharged-petrol in widespread use across the BMW and Mini portfolios. In this application it offers 148kW/335Nm. Being a mild hybrid, a small portion of the output comes from an electric boost system. Drivers can view its charge repleting on the instrument cluster, under coasting and braking.
There are no glaring omissions from behind the wheel. The lack of head-up display and a surround-view camera may have gone unnoticed had they not featured as options in the Mini Cooper JCW tested just before the X3.
What was interesting was the aural character of the 2.0l in the BMW. Hit the “Iconic Sounds” tick-box under vehicle settings and it seems to amplify the charming gruffness under hard acceleration.
It almost — just almost — puts one in mind of the brand’s older normally aspirated, six-cylinder units once commonplace in staples such as the 3 Series.
Being rear-wheel drive, the X3 feels lighter in reflexes, more agile than its xDrive siblings.
As mentioned in my review of the Mini JCW, the sticky nature of the incline-hold disengagement made movements at crawling speed jerky. However, that was about the only annoyance experienced with the X3.
The last example of the X3 that passed through my hands was the xDrive20d M Sport. Potential buyers may find it good to know that even lesser-equipped versions still deliver when it comes to that feeling of deep-rooted quality.
This article was first published in TimesLive.
