Compact BMW SUV is big on luxury, performance

Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Sacramento, California -- My friend asked: Family budget aside, would you spend $64,290 on a compact sport-utility vehicle?

My answer, standing next to the 2022 BMW X3 M40i (mine for a week) was: This one has convinced me that, yeah, I believe I just might.

OK, it's a crowded market of small crossover SUVs, and luxury is a relative term.  Happily, BMW is serious about luxury, which made the tested X3 M40i a most attractive player.

Comfortable, finely crafted seats were heated front and rear. A thoughtfully laid out dashboard looked classy and had everything within easy reach. Even seat width could be configured to one's liking.

Beyond luxury, the small touches added to the feeling of BMW-style excellence.  LED lighting all around.  Clever ambient lighting. An adaptive suspension. Throw in park distance control as well.

Bottom line: The vehicle feels special just climbing into it.

On the fly, special gives way to a sharply increased heartbeat.  That's due to the 3-liter, turbocharged, six-cylinder engine rated at 382 horsepower.

This power plant propels the X3 from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 4.4 seconds. Performance is so enthusiastic that I stopped driving the tester like an SUV and commenced handling it like a sports car.

And believe me, nothing feels better than dusting off a pesky Camaro in an SUV on a curvy stretch of open road.

This being a BMW, it has the expected suite of top-flight driving-enhancement systems and safety technology.  I sometimes gripe about technology that wants to drive the car for me, but the BMW tech is not annoyingly intrusive.  A definite plus.

The X3 M40i does get a max five-star overall rating from the federal government in crash testing. Fuel economy is 21 miles per gallon in the city and 26 mpg on the highway.

Sure, there are plentiful compact -- and even midsize -- crossover SUVs out there that can be had for a fraction of the cost of the X3 M40i.  But if you have the means to step up in class and performance, this particular BMW is worth consideration.