The 2025 BMW X3 M50 is an updated smart phone

Forgive me if I’m dating myself, but do you remember when you purchased your first iPhone? Wow! I can text without tapping the numbers eight times! I can go on the internet! But now, in 2024, it’s become a utility – a need, not so much a want. If you stop and think, it’s still an amazing piece of technology, but like exposure to anything, we’ve become used to it. And that, readers, is the 2025 BMW X3 M50 in a nutshell.

But you know there’s more to it…

The 2025 BMW X3 M50 Overview

Yes, yes, this is my personal X3. But come on, no car is perfect, so even if this has the MWS stamp of approval, it’s going to have to work hard to replace the legend that is the G01.

The X3 has become very important to BMW. It’s long since replaced the 3 Series as its top-selling model, and though this might look new and shiny now, in three months they will invade the roadways. As a result, the X3 has become the BMW that gets a bit of everything thrown into it.

This latest G45 model gets an updated B58 (the xDrive30 sticks with four-cylinder power) with 393 horsepower, brand-new iDrive 9, more room inside, and a not-insignificant price increase of $6,000 on the M50 model. What leaves? The rear-wheel drive base model, and the X3 M.

Still, we have an M badge, 400 (ish) horses, four exhaust pipes, a mild hybrid powertrain, and BMW’s latest tech. But is it all enough to make it feel special?

Performance Score: 9. Don’t float my boat

There was nothing wrong with the performance of my X3 M40i, but I will never complain about more power and capability.

Drive this one in Comfort mode, and you won’t notice anything. Press the Sport button though…

Engine

Ah, the B58. Again. It’s cool – it’s their best motor, and it’s reliable, smooth, sonorous, and efficient.

In the M50 model, power gets bumped by 11 to 393 (meh), with 428 lb-ft of torque at just 1,900 RPM. That’s a lot more – 59. The result is an X3 that feels more eager off the line than the old model, to say nothing about the equivalent four-cylinder AMG Mercedes at this price.

Even though the M40i had the same mild hybrid setup, BMW has done a much better job integrating it here, and the result is a car that is so smooth it pulls like it’s an electric-only powertrain.

It’s still not the S58, so it doesn’t rev as fast or frenetic. But I must be honest – it’s getting close. This engine pulls, the throttle is precise – this feels like an M car to me when it comes to power and response. As in the X2 M35i, there is a boost mode you engage by pulling the left paddle, but there’s no extra power. It’s simply a way to quickly access Sport mode.

As for sound, it’s there if you dig into it. To hear anything real, put the car in Sport, then drive it until the needle reaches the red part. Brap!

Transmission

ZF is back, and its eight speeds are perfect for wringing out the X3 M50 as usual. Shifting provides a smoother overall experience from the last car, as the hybrid system works out how to dole out the power to all four wheels. Much improved.

Something I’m indifferent about is the shape of the shifter, or rather, lack there of. It’s just a toggle switch that you must uh…toggle. Feels unsatisfying in a “Sports Lorry”.

But something good are paddle shifters from M cars. Gloss black, big, with satisfying clicks as you pull. I appreciate the M touch.

Steering and Chassis

Can you imagine the size of the focus group BMW uses for the X3? Gotta be gigantic. As a result, we’re left with a car that’s in the middle, or slightly softer than that.

First, the steering is light, but precise. Actually, it feels lighter than the old car, and it definitely offers less feedback. This leads to a face resembling Sadness from Inside Out.

What’s much improved is the chassis. Left to its own devices, the X3 M50 will be very comfortable but almost floaty. You know it’s bad when Mrs. Machines made the that remark without me prompting her (I must be rubbing off!). But what this offers is the encouragement to put it in Sport mode. Usually you can’t really tell the difference it makes, but in the M50 you absolutely can.

The car no longer leans, the steering becomes a bit heftier, and if it’s not M-car precise, it’s definitely good enough for a family SUV. To enhance it even further, try summer tires instead of the all-seasons optioned here. I cannot emphasize this point enough – it is a much better trade-off than something beefier like an X5 M.

Look, you’re never going to make the X3 your weekend car, but if you’re on a back road in one, it does a great impression of an M3 when in the right mode.

Brakes

Maybe the pedal is a bit on the soft side, but the braking hardware remains pretty much the same from the rest of the M Performance lineup. Option red calipers, or stay with blue. We finally get real calipers in the rear, as oppose to the old single piston.

Missing are real M brakes, with cross drilling and carbon ceramic composition, but you don’t need that here. Nor will you miss the adjustable brake feel from the X3 M – who needs a softer pedal?

Overall, the BMW X3 M50 is much better from behind the wheel than the old car. Well done, BMW.

Lifestyle Score: 10. Bigger is better

It feels inevitable that when a new car model comes out, it’s bigger than the old one. True to form, the G45 X3 is wider (about an inch), and longer (about 2 inches), though the wheelbase remains the same.

Where you notice this is in the back seat and trunk; my wife no longer has to push the seat up in order for our replacement human unit to fit in the back without complaint. Still, if you’re an X5 fan, this X3 isn’t going to be big enough to tempt you.

Up front, we have new seats that feel so much better than the old ones. They are softer, with more support and softer leather. Actually, SensaTec (fake leather) goes away, and you can even option Merino. It’s a huge improvement to the driving experience.

In the rear the trunk feels a bit bigger, and they “give” (mandatory $225 option) you a nice trunk mat this time, so pause before ordering your own. The X3 M50 can tow up to 4,300 pounds too, when equipped with an optional tow hitch.

Fuel Economy: 8. Better than the alternative

With hybrids, you might just be able to get through a majority of your commute without igniting dead lizards, but so far, every hybrid I’ve driven has been heavy, and thus a bit leaden in their response.

With the X3 and its conventional powertrain, you get 27 combined MPG – in an SUV with 400 horsepower. That’s amazing. Plus, it’s “just” 4,500 pounds, so this SUV’s nimble responses remain.

Clearly, a Volvo XC60 Recharge is going to get better fuel economy, and though that car is fun in its own right, it’s missing a motor like the B58. Trade-off accepted.

Features and Comfort: 7. The good with the bad

This X3 makes a good first impression. Though I didn’t like the i5’s interior, this BMW has a bit more of a conventional setup.

But it also has some cheap things. Deep breath…

Cheap date

Don’t be fooled by that beautiful gigantic iDrive screen, or the stunning ambient light – the X3 is a faker, and you must look closer.

Look down first, at the floor mats. BMW used to give you lush, thick carpet with heel pads. Now, they are little more then felt strips. You can’t even tell the back form the front.

It’s elsewhere too. The sunroof no longer opens or even vents. There’s no ambient light in the rear. Cheap, rough cloth is on the door panels, and there’s no Comfort Access on the rear doors. Why are we going backwards, BMW? To compensate, they give you a phone app, a key card, and of course the fobs. But none of that will matter when the baby is crying and your arms are full.

To drive home the point, feel the sides of the seat cushion – no leather on both sides. The G01 was missing it too, but not on the outboard side where you could see the seat. The leather line is cut higher as well. I know it’s minor, but after ten BMWs over two decades…you notice.

But good things are here too. iDrive 9 seems to work well so far – it’s faster and easier to navigate. There’s still an iDrive controller, although I doubt it’ll last much longer. I do love the Alcantara mix on the seats, especially with M colors, and the flat-bottom M Sport steering wheel with red center stripe.

Some good, some bad.

Look at me

We can call it an evolution outside. This example is painted Vegas Red Metallic, a very rich shade that makes the car pop, but I think it looks good in almost any color. I do wish BMW would expand their palette a bit – did Brooklyn Grey really need to make a return?

20-inch bi-color wheels are standard on the M50, and if you don’t want summer tires, they are your only option. Pumped up looks include M Shadowline trim (complete with glowing grille outline from the XM), quad exhaust pipes, and cool-looking X-themed taillights.

There’s nothing here to turn you off, though it does look a bit out of place until the rest of the BMW lineup catches up.

The 2025 BMW X3 M50 remains the perfect BMW

Let’s have a price chat. This car can be optioned up to nearly $75,000, and that’s a lot for a diet-M X3. The base price has moved up nearly $6,000 in just three years. Peep some of the obvious cost-cutting, and it might make you go into Hulk mode at the dealership.

But the X3 doesn’t live in a vacuum. A Macan with this kind of performance would be a lot more (and a lot smaller inside), and even the Volvo XC60 is more expensive. I’m sure Audi’s SQ5 will soon be updated, but it can’t hold a candle to the performance of the X3. Looked at from this perspective, the X3 M50 remains a good deal.

We’ve already gotten used to it, but I suppose that’s a good thing. Like your new phone, you want to use it without noticing it.

But when you want to notice the X3 M50, flip the switch to Sport mode. I promise it’s still a BMW, and perhaps still the best overall one made yet.

Hang on tight, Mrs. Machines…

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