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Road Test

BMW X3 2.0d

Test date 08 February 2005  Price as tested £27,235

Off-roaders are relatively new to BMW, but the company has learned the game quickly. The X5 went straight to the top of its class at launch five years ago, and its combination of rugged looks, superb cabin quality and sports saloon-like drivability still makes it an enticing prospect today, a year before the launch of its successor.

But when BMW’s second 4x4, the smaller X3, appeared last year we were disappointed. The over-firm ride, cheap plastics and a price too close to the bigger car’s meant that the X3 wasn’t the junior X5 we were hoping for.

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