The RX-8

BMW’s
stunning X3...
By Nick Pointing
Life can be a bit of a circus, a balancing
act, too much work not enough play.
Getting the balance right can be a
difficult task, one that BMW have
achieved beautifully with the new X3.
It is hard to drive past the Snows BMW garage
without slowing down and taking a quick glance to
the left on your way to Yarmouth, however, today
driving past was not an option as I turned in for an
eagerly anticipated test drive in BMW’s stunning
new X3.
The team at Snows BMW proved a valuable source
of endless
information
outlining a
formidable array of
options,
specifications and
product detail.
On presentation of
my Bavarian chariot for the day, the 3.0 d M Sport
imposed a presence which was exciting yet
reassuring. Exciting because engineered under the
hood lays a 6 cylinder, 24 valve, 3 litre, 218hp
producing diesel capable of a 7 second 0-60. Now
that is enough for anyone, let alone a beautifully
crafted body in the form of a sports activity vehicle
and reassuring because not only is it a BMW, but it
is designed on a 3 series chassis combining a
commanding pilots view of the world with car like
characteristics such as handling and feel.
Granted, the model I am lucky enough to drive for
Island Life - www.islandlifemagazine.net
the day is top spec complete with sports
suspension, putting pay to Island roads.
Turning left into Forest Road, the acceleration
through the 6 speed step-tronic gear box was
impressive. Although automatic transmission,
it includes (AGS) adaptive gear box system,
giving freedom to choose between automatic,
sports automatic, and step-tronic sequential
manual gear selection. I played with all of
these and thankfully, it could not be simpler to
use, designed to suit your driving mood. Due
to my genuine excitement, my driving mood
was pretty upbeat, so challenging the handling
brought back that magic word of balance and
quite rightly the X3 has got it off to a tee.
I had become very attached to the X3 and
considered how well BMW had catered for a
wide range of motoring needs. It looks
imposing, drives beautifully, sufficient ground
clearance, 4 wheel drive and loads of room,
appearing to compromise nothing.
How well balanced is that?
Contact: Snows BMW
Forest Road
Newport
Isle of Wight
Tel: (01983) 522555
MOTORING
Above: The 350 trip computer
For the easily bored and the
permanently unimpressed, the
Nüvi also packs an MP3 player,
audio book player (from
Audible.com), JPEG picture
viewer, world travel clock with
time zones, currency converter,
measurement converter, and a
calculator.
As an mp3 player it is superb, and
the fact that music can be played
while navigating is a huge bonus.
As a navigator it excels, I would
go so far as to say it blows the
TomTom GO clear out of the
water. True it has no BlueTooth
phone connectivity, but for me
that is not an issue: I’d rather
have a solid, reliable, elegant and
sexy GPS that I can carry easily
than a fat, retro-bubble house
brick that doubles as a car kit (and
door stop), but that’s just me…
I can’t fault the build quality at
all. The Nüvi is slim, strong and
exudes quality like no other GPS
system I have seen to date. It
looks like it came from the future
(well 3 years into the future
anyway). The screen is beautiful,
and it’s anti-reflective too, giving
a vibrant image that is easy to
read in both bright and dark
conditions.
Take my word for it – this is quite
simply the greatest in-car GPS you
get at the moment.
It’s just brilliant.
Snows BMW stock the Garmin
Nuvi 350 at £549.
For information contact:
Snows BMW
Forest Road
Newport
Isle of Wight
01983 52 32 32
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