Sometimes less, is more. Want a vehicle with low fuel consumption? Then how about going for one with a smaller displacement engine? All you have to do is ask yourself if you really need an SUV with close to 300HP - that's you we're talking about soccer mom, colleague kid and law-abiding dad who never, ever go over 65mph... A very good example of 'less is more', is BMW's new entry-level X3, the xDrive18d which is powered by a 2.0-liter diesel producing 143HP and a more than adequate 350Nm or 258 lb-ft of torque at just 1,750 rpm.
In conjunction with BMW's EfficientDynamics systems, the X3 xDrive18d returns an average fuel consumption of just 6.2 lt/100km which is equal to 38mpg US and 45.6mpg UK, and a CO2 rating of 165 gr/km. Not bad at all.
The downside is that the entry-level X3 won't blow your mind with its performance stats - it needs 10.3 seconds to reach 100km/h (62mph) from standstill while the speedometer's needle stops at 195 km/h or 121mph. But then again, it all depends if you really need-slash-want the extra power and improved performance figures.
Like all engine variants the new BMW X3 xDrive18d also comes as standard with BMW's xDrive all-wheel-drive system. As with most diesel-powered cars of the sort, the X3 xDrive18d is not destined to make a career in the States. European sales of BMW's new version of the X3 will commence this month.
