BMW X3 and X4 facelifted

UPDATED 09/06/2021 11:00am: BMW Australia has confirmed the facelifted BMW X3 and X4 will arrive here in the fourth quarter of this year, before which pricing and local specs will be announced.

For the first time, the Australian range will include the BMW X3 xDrive 30e plug-in hybrid, which will join the 330e, 530e, 745e and X5 xDrive 45e in BMW's expanding local PHEV line-up.

And with the BMW iX3 arriving around the same time, BMW says it will give the X3 the widest range of engine options in the mid-size luxury SUV segment, including petrol, diesel, plug-in hybrid and all-electric.

Original article published 09/06/2021 8:00am: The popular BMW X3 and its sleeker sibling, the BMW X4, have both come in for substantial midlife facelifts, bringing slightly more power, upgraded equipment and, finally, over-the-air software updates.

Due in showrooms towards the end of the year, the 2022 BMW X3 and X4 also bring new headlights, tail-lights and front-end designs, as seen in leaked images last month.

Australia’s top-selling mid-size luxury SUV so far this year moves to full LED lights at both ends.

The headlights are 10mm thinner than those originally designed for the X3 by Australian BMW design guru Calvin Luk, and they’re shared with the X4 as well.

Both body styles offer laser headlights as an option, offering 650 metres of night range. The 2022 BMW X4 also gets its own grille mesh to distinguish it.

The new LED tail-lights now boast a 3D design, with what BMW calls a “flush-fitting, free-form tailpipe trim” low on the bumper valance.

It’s not only the exterior that has been upgraded, but the cabin, too. There is a standard 10.25-inch multimedia touch-screen in the centre console, though a 12.3-inch screen is an option, and there’s also a head-up display available.

The navigation system upgrades to a cloud-based set-up and the BMW Operating System 7 brings X3 and X4 owners access to over-the-air (OTA) updates for non-critical software.

The standard air-conditioning set-up has three zones to work with, but BMW has shrunk the available options and equipment lines by 30 per cent to reduce complexity and build times.

There is a new centre console, with a ‘floating’ gear selector area, and new seat trim materials to go with the 11 exterior colours.

There are changes to the engines to deliver more economy and more power – at least sometimes – and both X3 and X4 variants using the same powerplants are lineball on weight, performance and fuel economy.

All facelifted BMW X3 and X4 models will now use 48-volt mild-hybrid boosting technology, which was previously only standard on the diesel versions.

Built in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the third-generation X3’s upgrade will offer powertrain outputs ranging from 135kW to 265kW of power, and from 300Nm to 700Nm of torque.

The official power figure for the four-cylinder petrol engine in the X3 xDrive30i actually drops by 5kW to 180kW, while its torque figure remains at 350Nm.

Elsewhere in the petrol range, the four-cylinder 20i version retains 135kW of power but gains 10Nm of torque to hit 300Nm.

The 40i six-cylinder remains at 265kW of power and 500Nm of torque.

For those who prefer their fuel squashed, the 20d delivers the same 140kW and 400Nm as before, though the 30d lifts its power output by 15kW to 210kW and its torque peak by 30Nm to 650Nm.

The big-boy M40d adds 15kW to reach 250kW, while its torque peak rises 20Nm to 700Nm.

The BMW X3 30e plug-in hybrid combines the 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine of the 20i, and adds an 80kW/300Nm electric motor inside the eight-speed transmission to deliver a surge in performance and the ability to run as a pure electric vehicle for up to 50km.

The two power options usually combine for 215kW of power, but they can surge that up by another 30kW for short bursts.

It weighs in with a WLTP fuel consumption figure of between 2.0 and 2.6L/100km (depending on specifications), and CO2 emissions of 45-59g/km.

The 30e also weighs 190kg more than the xDrive20i it is based on, which is a huge amount of weight for 50km of EV range, on a good day.

Economy isn’t much different to the outgoing X3 and X4 models, either, with the M40i delivering 8.8L/100km in its best WLTP performance, while the X3 M40d lowers that to 6.6L/100km.

The 1800kg entry xDrive20i runs to 100km/h in 8.4 seconds with a 215km/h top speed, but its WLTP consumption and emissions figures are 7.6L/100km and 172g/km.

The 20d is both quicker to 100km/h (7.9sec) and more economical (5.8L/100km).

The xDrive30i is only 10kg heavier than the 20i (which shares the same engine), but manages to hit 100km/h in 6.6 seconds and uses a similar amount of fuel.

Consumption leaps with the xDrive40i, which rips to 100km/h in 4.9 seconds, has a 250km/h top speed, consumes 8.8L/100km and emits 199g/km.

It also lifts the standard 18-inch wheel size up to 20 inches, though M Sport packages increase the wheel sizes of four-cylinder models to 19 inches.

The diesel economy stakes are led by the xDrive20d. The 1840kg SUV powers to 100km/h in 7.9 seconds but uses only 5.8L/100km and emits just 151g/km.

The 30d has a six-cylinder engine that lifts the weight to 1935kg, but shrinks the 0-100km/h acceleration time to 5.7 seconds. It uses 6.2L/100km and emits 162g/km.

The heavy-hitting M40d weighs 2005kg, runs 20-inch tyres and dips just below the five-second barrier to 100km/h, at 4.9 seconds. It offers surprising efficiency, at 6.6L/100km and 173g/km.

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