The popular BMW X3 has been refreshed for the 2022 model year, featuring new designs and a raft of new standard content. The line’s plug-in hybrid goes the way of the dodo, but BMW adds a mild hybrid system in the M40i AWD. In BMW’s large lineup of SUVs, the X3 fits in size and price above the X1 and X2 but below the X4 and X5.
By Bob Hernandez – MotorTrends
The most classically “BMW” BMW remains one of the brand’s least weird efforts.
If you were feeling anxious before seeing the 2022 BMW 2 Series, you’re not alone. After the newest 4 Series, M3 and M4, and first-ever iX EV all broke cover with less-than-beautiful styling, any new BMW brings with it as much trepidation as it does excitement these days. However, BMW’s new compact 2 Series coupe is finally here, and it isn’t wearing polarizing styling that’s as meme-able as we feared.
By Nick Yekikian – MotorTrend
By Mark Rechtin – MotorTrend
There is a well-traveled rumor that the 2021 BMW 4 Series exterior design team has been reassigned to styling door handles and seat belt mountings for the rest of their careers.
OK, maybe that’s fake news. But it does prove that Germans have a sense of humor.
By Jonny Lieberman – MotorTrend
“What can be said about the X6 M that hasn’t been said before?” That’s what features editor Christian Seabaugh wondered about the third generation of BMW’s slope-roofed midsize SUV. Turns out, a lot.
For one, we collectively felt that this third-gen BMW X6 is the best one BMW has ever built. Still hailing from Spartanburg, South Carolina, the X6 feels very solid, as if it was hewn from a single block of a heavy, precious metal.
This is a bit of simple maths even TG can do: four into eight. BMW’s 8 Series with 200mm added to the wheelbase and four doors, with added ‘Competition’ upgrades. Mind you, the non-Comp car isn’t available in the UK (a nation of optionistas, us) and if you’re being picky, this is just an M5 Competition with a slinkier profile and less comfortable rear middle seat.
By Miguel Cortina – Words; William Walker – Photos – MotorTrend
BMW X6 M vs. Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 : Two Germans rivals go head to head.
We love driving fast. We like SUVs. When you merge those two together, you get fast and powerful SUVs. Sounds like fun, no?
BMW’s M division and Mercedes-AMG are both known for their performance coupes, but lately they’ve been crafting sporty SUVs with the aim of delivering the same go-fast experience you’d expect in one of their high-performance cars. Sure, SUVs are bigger, taller, and heavier, but when you add a powerful engine, retune the suspension, and add all-wheel drive, the result is a thrilling experience. The BMW X6 M Competition and the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S are two gripping SUVs whose job is simple yet difficult to achieve: enchant the driver. The two automakers share the same objective, but each goes about the execution in its own way. Which one does it best?
By Kelly Lin – MotorTrend
The BMW iX3 is the automaker’s first electric crossover SUV, and it launches later this year in China. BMW’s latest battery-electric vehicle rounds out the already diverse X3 lineup, which includes gasoline, diesel, and plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid powertrains.
Power for the BEV Bimmer comes courtesy of an electric motor that produces 286 hp and 295 lb-ft of torque. According to BMW, that’s enough grunt to propel the rear-drive crossover SUV to 62 mph in 6.8 seconds, making it 0.4 second slower than its four-cylinder X3 counterpart. The EV crossover’s top speed is electronically limited to 112 mph. Adaptive dampers are standard, too, though buyers can upgrade to a sportier M-tuned setup.
By: Adrian Padeanu – Motor1
When BMW laid out the plans for the next-generation 7 Series earlier this year, it promised to offer its flagship model with gasoline and diesel engines, topped by a fully electric variant. It would seem it’ll be the same story with the 4 Series as the M4 / M4 Competition will be dethroned by the i4 in terms of output. That’s the story we’re hearing from Autocar, which claims the road-going i4 will have a dual-motor setup with 523 hp and approximately 600 pound-feet (813 Newton-meters).
How do these numbers stack up against the M4? Well, BMW hasn’t revealed the car yet, but the inline-six should deliver somewhere in the region of 503 hp. That would represent only 20 hp less than the i4, but the far more significant difference will be the torque. While the i4 is claimed to have roughly 600 pound-feet (813 Newton-meters), the M4 in Competition spec will have to make do with “only” 442 lb-ft (600 Nm) provided that number will be carried over from the X4 M Competition.
By: Clint Simone – Motor1
The age of the performance crossover is now. Fast, high-riding cars are truly having a moment, with fantastic options from all over Europe now doing battle to get showroom attention. As their ranks grow, it’s getting harder for performance CUVs to stand out from the crowd. Automakers are addressing this issue by adding even more performance to fully leaded crossovers.
Look no further than the 2020 BMW X4 M Competition, a more powerful version of the already potent X4 M. That lengthy badge equates to one of the most ferocious, capable crossovers on the market, with plenty of visual flair on offer, too. BMW’s smaller crossover coupe gets the full M treatment with over 500 horsepower, dramatic styling, and suspension tuning that makes it a surprisingly great candidate for a track day. But not so much a daily driver. For the enthusiast willing to swap comfort for outright performance, this is your ultimate crossover machine. For everyone else who just wants some extra grunt in their CUV, this M car goes a little too far.
By Scott Evans – Words, Brandon Lim – Photos – MotorTrend
617-hp GT is ready for the drift competition.
Formula Drift didn’t exist when BMW launched its M division, turning its sport coupes into competition-ready, street-legal race cars. But times have changed, and it’s nice to see the company expanding its motorsports interests with the 2020 BMW M8 Competition Coupe.
At least, I think that’s what’s going on here. BMW already races the M8 in sports car classes around the world, spawning the delightfully silly “Big M8 Meme” in which video editors make the already large race car three to 10 times the size of the other racers. Now, with the roadgoing version finally available (the race car’s been competing for almost three years), our instrumented testing reveals an apparent push into professional drift competition, as well.
