BMW is getting close to fully unveiling its next-generation X3 crossover. You can tell its time is coming soon, as more and more spy photos keep popping up, with test mules shedding more camouflage each and every time. In these newest photos, the BMW X3 is seen with less camo than ever before and it reveals a bit more of its final design. (We don’t own the photos but you can see them here)
The big news comes from up front. With a bit less camouflage, you can see the iconic kidney grilles a bit more and not only do they seem sensibly sized, they barely seem bigger than the current X3’s. Can it actually be so? Did BMW actually resist the temptation to increase the kidney grille size? It seems that way, which is incredibly encouraging. Its headlights also seem a bit swoopy and also seem to connect with the grilles. So far, the front end of the next-gen BMW X3 is shaping up to be the most reserved, handsome BMW front ends in many years.
Down the side of the car, flush door handles, a la BMW i4, are present ad look good. The way the shoulder line sweeps upward toward the D-pillar is also quite nice. Unfortunately, though, there’s nothing to see at the back, as there’s still too much camouflage to spot anything in particular.
Despite not exactly being an enthusiast’s car, I’m actually rather looking forward to driving one. The X3 has always been pretty good car to drive, even if some generations were better than others, and this one will get a newer chassis than before, new powertrains (including a plug-in hybrid and fully electric), and a much needed interior upgrade.
It’s also going to technically have two chassis: CLAR for all legacy and plug-in hybrid vehicles, while the electric X3 will be built on BMW’s all-electric Neue Klasse chassis. That makes the BMW iX3 the first BMW be built on the newer chassis and the car that will springboard BMW to the future.
