bmw's first extended x3 is here, but i'm disappointed
2024-09-03
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in terms of product updates,bmwthe creativity that always brought surprises to people in the past is declining.G68bmw 5 seriesthe sales turmoil caused by the generation change has not yet completely subsided, and this time it is the turn of another important model in the bmw brand's product matrix in china - the new long-axis x3.the fourth generation of this mid-size suv recently saw its wheelbase lengthened for the first time in its history.since the new car is not expected to be delivered until the first quarter of next year, bmw limited the focus of product communication to the design level at its global debut.despite this, the new generation bmw x3 long-axis version still exposes many "pitfalls", and brings people far more disappointment than surprise.complaint 1: weird body proportions + low body that chinese suv consumers don’t like
in terms of body size, the new model's length and width have increased by 128 mm and 29 mm respectively, but its height has dropped by 25 mm.from the numerical values, we can see that the adjustment range of the new bmw x3 long-axis version is quite large, whether it is the increase in body length and width, or the reduction in height. coupled with the wider wheelbase, the new car appears visually uncoordinated and "low", and even loses the usual precision of bmw design.it is understandable that the designer's treatment is to help the new car highlight the sporty characteristics that the bmw brand is proud of, but this exaggerated treatment obviously puts the more important customer acceptance in an unimportant position.as a model specially made for china, the bmw x3 long-axis version is aimed at the chinese market, which shows a significant preference for suv consumption.data from the china passenger car association shows that as of the first half of 2024, suv sales accounted for 49.6% of the national narrow passenger car sales, 4 percentage points higher than sedans.according to the "2024-2029 china medium suv industry market supply and demand and key enterprise investment evaluation research and analysis report", among the three major reasons why chinese customers choose suv body types, two of them are related to body height, such as "larger head space" and "higher field of vision".in this case, even if the bmw x3 long-axis version can be optimized in terms of interior space and driving vision, the unbalanced body proportions will discourage many potential customers at the first moment. in today's fierce market competition, if the x3 long-axis version cannot even make it into consumers' preliminary list, it will undoubtedly be fatal.besides, even if you finally accept the new car's strange size, you will be frightened by its inexplicably angry appearance.complaint 2: the front face doesn’t look like a bmw at all
as we all know, including the standard wheelbase version, the x3 has made a design subversion of its iconic double kidney grille during this generation change. the original straight waterfall-style trim has been replaced to a certain extent by diagonal trim.in the art of design, oblique lines are often used to convey feelings of uneasiness, anxiety, and even mania due to their instability and lack of balance. this is also the reason why major manufacturers try to avoid using such design elements, even though they can create a sense of speed to a certain extent.for this reason, the appearance of the diagonal line in a prominent position on the front of the new car makes the fourth-generation x3, including the long-axis version, look like a furious king kong.on the other hand, the area of the double kidney grille has been expanded again, even exceeding the size of the x5 model. this large and inappropriate change makes the previously controversial "big nose" design even more prominent, making the entire front face of the new car look extremely weird.
from x1 to x3 to x5, the design language of the bmw family's air intake grille appears extremely messy.correspondingly,as another representative design element of the bmw brand, the "angel eye" headlights have also changed on the new generation x3 long-axis version - this double l-shaped fold line design has never appeared on any model of the bmw x family before.this "erratic" design has caused many media to directly lament that the "angel eyes" of the new car have disappeared.in fact, for such design elements that are deeply imprinted in the brand's genes, careless changes will often lead to counterproductive effects, and even cause the design system that the bmw brand has painstakingly established to lose consistency - and this is obviously more important than the limited benefits that can be brought about by blindly pursuing change, like a "moat".slot 3: the interior and powertrain are nothing new
inside the cabin, bmw has equipped the bmw x3 long-axis version with a dual-screen design consisting of a 12.3-inch instrument screen and a 14.9-inch central control screen. at the same time, through the interior design concept of "simplifying the complex", the center console has become simpler under the "new force" design, thus emphasizing a "cyber sense".however, when you compare new cars to models from three or four years ago,the interior of the long-axis version of the bmw x3 has hardly changed at all, with the familiar large screen and simple embellishment of ambient lighting.especially inmercedes-benzin recent years, the luxury of the cabin has been greatly improved.the new car's lack of originality in its interior particularly highlights bmw's inability to create a luxurious atmosphere.in this regard, you can understand that bmw has its own persistence, especially when this persistence can be used as a rhetoric to make itself appear more advanced than its competitors; but at the same time you must also realize that bmw's products are a profit-generating tool, and the market will be the only criterion for testing.combined with the information reported by the ministry of industry and information technology, the new car is still equipped with the "golden power combination" of 2.0t engine + 8-speed manual transmission.this makes people wonder, in the chinese phev market where there is so much room for exploration, why is there no phev version in the first launch of the new car? where did the plug-in hybrid version released with the standard wheelbase x3 in overseas markets go? is it treating it differently like the new generation 5 series?slot 4: long wheelbase is the biggest advantage and the biggest risk
let's go back to the core change of the new car - the issue of longer wheelbase. this is the core competitiveness of the new generation bmw x3 long-axis version. many comments even believe that the sales of x3 will definitely be good if the wheelbase is longer.judging from the product parameters released by the brand, the wheelbase of the new car has increased by 110 mm compared to the standard wheelbase version of x3, reaching 2975 mm, which is consistent with the standard wheelbase version of bmw x5.admittedly, for the chinese automobile market that pursues large space and luxury, significantly lengthening the wheelbase of new cars is a good thing, but risks also come with it.perhaps soon, the question bmw needs to think about is: will the launch of the x3 long-wheelbase version squeeze the market space of the x5 model? in the context of relatively tight public consumption, will customers be more willing to choose to buy a long-wheelbase version of the x3 with a wheelbase equivalent to that of the standard-wheelbase version of the x5 at a lower cost?if the x3 diverts some of the x5's target customers, then this is not just a matter of 1+1<2, but will also directly affect bmw's profits in china. after all, the x5 may be the only profit cow of bmw's domestically produced models at present.in fact, through the many "pitfalls" of the bmw x3 long-wheelbase version, what the outside world sees at this moment is an anxious bmw.behind the angry face of the new car, people familiar with bmw will certainly understand the source of this metaphor: previously, the bmw 5 series replacement storm dealt a heavy blow to the entire bmw brand, especially when the sales of this model only reached 100% of the new generation for a long time.mercedes-benz e-classhalf of the time.the outside world can even trace a trajectory of escalating anger from bmw's mental journey this year: the sales of the 5 series failed miserably ine-class, plus the 315 transmission shaft abnormal noise debuff, the terminal price was reduced by 150,000 yuan before it improved slightly, and the 170,000 yuan electric i3 became a hot topic until it was forced to announce its withdrawal from the price war, which caused public controversy...as one of the three bmw models that is equally important as the 5 series and 3 series, the importance of the new long-axis x3 in the brand's product portfolio is self-evident.therefore, whether the x3 long-wheelbase version can be successful will also constitute a plot branch point for whether the bmw brand can continue to be proud in the coming years.you know, although as a 100% bimmer+f87 m2 owner, i am most reluctant to see the bmw x3 long-axis version eventually experience a double collapse in sales and reputation like the g68 5 series, but now there are so many choices, at least we don’t have to worry that if the x3 really "failes", it will leave user demand nowhere to go in its market segment.after all, the new generationaudi q5lcoming soon too.some pictures are from the internet. if there is any infringement, please contact us to delete them.
