The all new third gen BMW X3 has been launched in India with prices starting at Rs. 49.99 lakh for the XDrive20d Expedition and Rs. 56.70 lakh for the Luxury Line. The new X3 was earlier showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo. The new X3 will be locally assembled at BMW’s Chennai plant.

The new X3 is available with a single engine option in India for the time being. Power comes with a 2.0 litre four cylinder twin turbo diesel motor that develops 190 horsepower and 400 Nm of torque. It goes from 0 to 100 kph in 8 seconds. The engine is mated to an eight speed automatic gearbox and comes with the xDrive all wheel drive system. There are three drive modes: ECO, COMFORT and SPORT. BMW will offer a petrol engine option on the X3 in the near future

On the exterior, the new X3 a larger kidney grille, Adaptive LED headlamps, fog lamps and redesigned L shaped tail lamps. It has a longer wheelbase than the earlier and is also lighter by 55 kg.

On the interior, it features an updated cabin that is more spacious. The iDrive infotainment system features touch and gesture control Other features include heads up display, 360 degree camera, wireless charging for smartphones, 600 W Harman Kardon sound system, Apple CarPlay and Welcome Light carpet. It has 550 litres of standard boot space that can go up to 1600 litres after dropping the rear seats.

Safety features include six airbags, Attentiveness Assistance, Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) including Cornering Brake Control (CBC), electric parking brake with auto hold, side-impact protection, electronic vehicle immobilizer and crash sensor and ISOFIX child seat mounting.

The BMW X3 rivals the Mercedes, GLC, Volvo S60 and the Audi Q5 in the Indian market.