After the success of BMW M Festival 2017, South Africa is getting ready for the second installment of this weekend long Beemer Fest. There's no doubt the country shares a strong love affair with the German motor manufacturer and with them investing so heavily in our country with their production plant, it only furthers the bond between the company and the country with this festival. Taking place at Kyalami from the 26th to the 27th of October, visitors to the festival and expect an action packed day, from track demo's, to viewing the latest in BMW's models to hit the shores of Mzanzi.
Confirmed models to be showcased at the show are the much anticipated X3 and X4 M Competition, the performance range topping model of both popular SAV models is sure to be hit in the country. With the X3 being manufactured at Plant Rosslyn it holds a special place for South Africans but these specific M models come fully assembled from BMW's Spartanburg plant in the US. Other models that will surely get the pulse racing is the all-new BMW X6 which is a coupe based SUV variant of the new X5, the all-new 1 Series which many anticipate to be the range topping M135i xDrive. We hope for the crowds that it will be fully kitted out in the M Performance bits. Another one not to be missed is the introduction to the market of the 340i xDrive. This model is another one that had locals itching, as its the first 3 Series model to feature BMW's all wheel drive system. Personally though, the star attraction of the show has to be the new 8 Series Gran Coupe.
I'm a massive fan of these models from BMW and with the 8 Series Coupe already winning the hearts of many in the country, I cannot wait to see this longer, four door version of the already stunning car. In pictures it looks elegant and classy, in the metal I'm sure it is the same and a whole lot more. Not sure which engine variant will be on display at M Festival 2019 but I won't be surprised if its the M850i xDrive.
Seeing that this is an event that caters for the family, BMW South Africa have a huge line up of live entertainment at the stage area. Artists such as DJ Kent, Goodluck, DJ Fresh, Nasty C, Ricky Rick and Zondering of the Netherlands just to name a few will be hitting the stage to provide you with music and sounds to get you moving on that dance floor. A full line up of the artists and times can be found below.
Tickets for M Festival 2019 can be purchased from bmwmfestival2019.howler.co.za, follow BMW SA on their various social media channels for more info leading up to the event.
Last week I was invited by BMW South Africa to par-take in what would be an incredible 3 day journey across 3 provinces in the all new, locally assembled BMW X3. Called the X3 xPlore tour which involved a selected few media, mainly compromising of motoring journalists to experience what the first few models made locally by BMW at their Plant in Rosslyn were like as models that were used in the launch last year were all fully imported. It would be a good gauge to see if the locally made models compared equally to those which were assembled outside South Africa. With the plant being upgraded to accommodate the build of the X3, that would be one of the main point of interest in this 3 day tour, but as I soon found out that there was a lot more that BMW had up it's sleeve for us, which is why I decided instead of giving you one long post about my 3 day journey, rather I break it down into segments that are worthy of a story in it's entirety.
Day 1 started off at the brand new home of Auto Bavaria in Midrand, one of the flagship BMW dealerships in the country. It was a great way to see what the modern BMW dealership would look like, with a dedicated //M car show room, lifestyle section for BMW clothing and accessories, a big open show room floor with a range of the models, from sports coupes, sedans and the X range. We were addressed by BMW SA CEO Tim Abbott on the importance of this tour and what it meant to them as a company, as they have already had a great history with their Rosslyn plant, being the first outside Germany to contribute to the BMW coach works build and for the first time changing it's product line from the 3 series to the X3. There was a handing over ceremony, where BMW donated two of it's X3 test units, which were marked for destruction as per policy over to the Rhino Orphanage, a non-profit organisation, dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of rhino calves orphaned by poaching.
First up on the tour was getting a sneak peak at the upcoming BMW X Lifestyle Park, what is this you ask? Well its BMW's very own off road playground. Now I know what you all are thinking, "BMW doesn't make cars that can go off road", well that's where you're wrong. BMW's reason for building this is noting the shift in sales with more than 30% of BMW's global sales being made up by BMW X models. The XLP which compromises of a 1.3km off-road track .The X range of vehicles with xDrive are very capable as I soon found out. While it may not be a fully fledged 4x4, with BMW's xDrive system, the vehicle is more than capable to tackle the obstacles present at the X Lifestyle Park, most of which are pretty demanding.
The facility which will be open to the public in November will offer off-road Driving Experience courses from R2,750. Here customers can put their X models through its paces with various obstacles like hill descent, soft sand driving, water wading and rock crawl to name a few. Apart from the off-road track, the XLP will offer various family-orientated lifestyle experiences such as abseiling, zip-lining and park runs. Also on the site will be a BMW Lifestyle store with BMW accessories, a coffee shop and food stalls with it playing hosts to fitness activations.
Stay tuned to the blog as we will bring you more about our BMW X3 xPlore Experience.
Last year I attended the launch of the 3rd generation BMW X3 down in George, it was a very important launch for BMW SA as it would be the vehicle that ushers in a new dawn for their Rosslyn plant. After producing 5 Generations of BMW 3 Series over the years with a total of 1,191,604 being assembled for both the local and export market, the plant has now been reconfigured to build the all new X3. While on the launch I got to sample the range topping M40i petrol engine, but on test I had the 2-litre diesel variant which some might seem as a downer but again, this motor would be the popular one that sells the most and again a very important one for BMW, and you'll soon find out that it wasn't all the bad to drive around in.
DESIGN
I've been quite vocal about this design, the first two generations of the X3 didn't do it for me, the first one was another nightmare from the Bangle era, while the second one sort of made amends but still wasn't my cup of tea. This one however is an absolute beaut, it brings in BMW's new design language for all the upcoming X models. The first thing you will noticed is the massive kidney grilles, from now on all of the BMW X models will have these large, prominent feature to make it unmistakably a model from the X range. The X3 is offered in two guises, the X-Line and the M Sport for those wanting a more sportier appeal, the one I had was the X-Line which in my opinion suits the car better as it gives it that SUV look an appeal, with luxury touches that you'd want in a premium car like this. Touches of brush aluminium and chrome around the car gives it that exclusive look contrasting the 19" rims on the high profile tyres which still ensures that the X3 can actually go on the roads less traveled. The X3 has grown a lot from it's predecessor and it's evident on the side profile of the vehicle and actually makes it look like an X5 at times. The rear end of the car is my favourite part of the new design, those rear lights tie up nicely at the end with a slight high arch which has the emblem sit in the middle. The indented spoiler which follows the lines of the roof also adds more dimension to this.
Moving in on the inside is where you realise that BMW are certainly upping their game, and when they say they're giving you a premium car, they mean it. While brown's might not be a fan favourite it certainly is for me, with the X3 coming in a chocolate brown or 'Vernasca' Mocha as it's called in the brochure, with decorative stitching through the seats, doors and steering. The high gloss finish of the plastics really gave that added sparkle and contrasted well with the oak trim on the dash which actually felt like real wood, with grain detailing. Some might say, whats new? It still looks the same! but trust me, after driving quite a few of their cars there is a difference. While key design elements are still there, they are improved with better quality finishes and accents which highlight it. The attention to detail is impeccable, from the brushed aluminium buttons and trims, to the X logo on the inside of the doors which are visible only when you open them. I love what they did with the center cup holder compartment, hiding it away with a pull down roll up style cover.
PERFORMANCE
While this is the baby of the diesel engines, it is the one engine that BMW have earmarked to be a big seller. With the ever increasing price of fuel, the range on the diesel engine will look much more appealing than that of a petrol one, especially on a big vehicle such as this. That being said, this motor isn't a slouch and quite a work horse, pushing you 140kW of power and 400Nm of torque, from the 2-litre, 4-Cylinder TwinPower Turbo engine. Important stat for those in the EU is that the motor record 146g/km, quite significant number compared to its rivals. On the smooth surface, the X3 performs as would any other car from the BMW stable, drives well, I guess you could say the ride is remarkably smoother, I mean having just coming off driving the M240i, this felt like I was gliding on air. The three driving styles as common on BMW's being Eco-Pro, Comfort and Sports are offered in the X3 but make quite entertaining to flick through with the digital instrument cluster changing to suit. Eco-Pro limits the high revs and also has a reduced maximum speed, ideal for driving around busy areas with loads of traffic and aids the already impressive fuel economy which BMW claim a combined of 5.5L/100km.
COMFORT
As mentioned, the ride quality is spectacular, smooth, soft and generally like riding on air. The front passengers can enjoy heated seating, not like we need that in Durban as well as have the option for full electric memory seats, an option that is nice to have but unfortunately one that this model didn't come with. The weight distribution is on point with hardly much body roll when using all that torque when exiting corners. The rear passengers enjoy loads of head and leg room with equally comfortable seating. The panoramic glass roof is huge and really gives the expression "bring the outside" a new meaning, it also has a sliding sunroof for the front passengers to enjoy and when the sun is becoming a bit much, just close the curtain! All BMW X3's come with the automatic tailgate as standard, and it's easily controlled with the car key as well as height adjustable so you don't have to worry about the boot lid hitting anything in a low ceiling area.
TECHNOLOGY
The new X3 has a lot of tech to offer, as mentioned before, the electronic memory seats would be a nice option, especially as BMW's seat configurations offer so much more than just moving it forward and backwards. This particular model came packed with some nice options, the heads-up display which has been upgraded with more info and a new style of displaying on the windscreen. LED lights with adaptive high beam assist, bless the feature, I just love it and can't stop raving about it. Another cool option on the X3 and is available on most of the new BMW models is the 3D walk around on the camera package, as demonstrated in the video below, it gives you not only a birds eye view of the car but also lets you look around the car by means of the 4 cameras as it builds the environment up on your screen. It's pretty cool so be sure to click play. BMW's gesture control was also a nice tech highlight, I mean it is easier to just use the volume control buttons on the multi-function steering but it's more fun to wave your hand around like Harry Potter to get it done. The mood lighting choices have increase with dual tone colours, you can really change the interior at night with the various choices of the lighting.
VERDICT
Okay, lets talk about the elephant in the room, this car isn't cheap, coming in at a base price of R690,200 doesn't look that bad at first but after adding your package, colours, extras, it could cost you over a million, this particular car I had, came fitted with R257,565.02 worth of extras...yes I know, you could buy another car with that money but here's the thing I don't understand with people who say shit like that. Will those cars come with cool tech like this? Short answer, no, while people are paying premium they are getting premium for it. If you going to want the coolest things in your car, be prepared to pay the price for it and 9 out of 10 times these extras are worth the money, otherwise they won't make them. The car itself is superb and I can't fault it at all. It really is a well built, all round SAV as they like to call it and certainly a great investment by BMW to invest in the local market by making them in our own country. Here's hoping for a million of these to roll off the production line in Rosslyn.
The past two days I found myself in the Western Cape, sampling one of BMW's updated offering in their X Line, the all new X3. You couldn't have set the scene any better, blue skies, greenery and mountains around us, all that was left to do was for us to go out and ruin this tranquility with the noise of a burbling 3 liter, straight 6 roaring it's way through the countryside. But before I get to that, lets dabble in a bit of history about the BMW X3, seeing that this is the 3rd generation of this mid-range "SAV" (Suburban Activity Vehicle), seeing how the previous two generations fared in the segment is always handy. Since launching their first X model, the BMW X5 in 1999, the company has so over 5.4 million units world wide, in fact BMW have said that every 1 in 3 model sold globally is an X model. The first BMW X3 rolled off the line in 2003 and to be honest, it wasn't very pretty. The size was perfect for small families who wanted something with a bit more space, the raised ride height had it's advantages but other than that, it wasn't for everyone. The second generation was better to look at, offered a whole lot more and became quite a popular option in the segment, this helped push sales to 1.5 million units sold in the world for the first and second generation models, so from 5 X models on the market, the X3 contributed to 28% of sales, not bad.
Coming back to the new X3, first things first, whats different? Well the short answer would be "everything", no seriously this is entirely a new vehicle. The design language borrows a lot from the current gen 7 and 5 series, from the outside to the inside. The X3 will be offered in 3 packages, xLine, Luxury Line and M Sport, all of which add their own distinct differences to the car but all look great. At launch the X3 is available in 4 engine variants, 2 petrol and 2 diesel. Exterior highlights include the xenon lights being ditched and LED's added as standard with the option of having adaptive LED's for a little bit more, the rear also gets LED lights with a 3D effect. The kidney grille is more larger and prominent, as seen in the new X7 concept, looks like a trend in the X models to come. The X3 also has grown, it is bigger than the previous, not by much but millimeters here and there also the X3 now has bigger wheels ranging from 18" to 21" which BMW say are capable of light off-roading which we put to the test on the launch. Moving inside, BMW have really outdone themselves with this interior. Luxury and premium feel from floor to ceiling, A 10.2 inch screen along with a screen instrument cluster, active lane assist which steers you back into the lane should you veer off. 3 zone climate control, with the front two have their own temperature settings and the rear having their own. There's a lot of other cool things on the inside, like the revised full colour heads up display, the professional SatNav being as accurate to the last meter and the colours and trims available for the X3 will have you astounded.
On the launch, BMW had 3 variants for us to drive, starting off with the 2.0d Diesel and 3.0 Diesel xDrive and the range topping M40i. Interesting to note that all X3's will come with xDrive with the option of sDrive later next year. Day 1 saw us take a long route through the Western Cape with a mixture of tar and gravel roads, lots of climbing up mountains and for this I opted for the M40i. Plenty of power, lots of grunt and BMW have added a noisy exhaust and boy does it sound good! The power is derived from the M Performance TwinPower turbo technology which has a Twinscroll turbo charger which produces a whopping 265kW and a Max torque of 500Nm. This proved to be awesome while climbing many of the mountain passes. On the gravel the car seemed to be surprisingly at home, in comfort mode the ride was smooth and quiet given the the type of terrain we were on. The xDrive system really works well as I felt it kick in on the loose sections, correcting the car before something bad could happen. It made me look like a rally driving pro. I also got the chance to sample the base level 2.0d, again handled just as well on both road and off road, but with that added beautiful fuel economy.
The new X3 is a special car for us in South Africa, as from April 2018, plant Rosslyn will start manufacturing the model for local sales as well as exporting majority for Europe. This is a massive feather in the cap for the local industry as it has saw the German manufacturer invest quite a hefty some in upgrades to the plant to transition the assembly of the 3 Series to the X3 and now a further R160 million to increase production capacity by 10%. Rosslyn will be one of three other plants in the world making the X3, with the others being Spartenburg in Germany and Shenyang in China. Selected staff at the Rosslyn plant were sent for training for the new model and a new training center will be opening in Feb of next year for the rest of the plant personnel. Overall the new X3 really seems like the complete package for a mid-sized SUV, it really has moved up a notch in the premium category and offers so much more than the outgoing model and which justifies the price tag. With the base level xD20d starting off at R684,200 and the top of the range M40i coming in at R991,100.
When the BMW X3 was first launched back in 2003, it was a bit of a misfit for many, at the time the need for a mid sized SUV, wasn't that popular simply because there was very little that the market offered. But then people slowly started warming to the idea and actually began appreciating what the X3 was and realised it was more of a SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) and since the demand for this sort of vehicle has grown in leaps and bounds with many manufacturers taking to it and offering models of their own.
This week BMW lifted the covers of their new X3 which is due to hit local shores by November this year, albeit not a very close kept secret as leaked images hit the internet a few hours before the live launch. I think BMW need to invest in better security but I suppose it creates hype for their product in it's own way. Getting back to the car, design wise, BMW have continued with the trend set by the 7 Series with hexagonal lights with sharp edges, bring in the X line, the iconic kidney grilles are large and prominent on the front and below finishing of the front end is a mean diffuser with LED fog lamps and large air intakes.
The rest of the car is sculpted very similar to that of the smaller X1 and bigger X5 with it rounded of at the rear with larger tail lights that look quite cool with the inner LED pattern. The new X3 will be made available in three packages, the base xLine, Luxury Line and M Sport package. As customer preferences go, its obvious that the M Sport package would be the favourite for the lot, but for me I'm liking the Luxury line, with its chrome finishing and the multi-spoke rims and interior trimmings of dark oak wood and light leather seats options.
Speaking of the interior, as per the exterior design, a lot of the elements from the 7 series can be found inside, most notably the previous in-dash infotainment screen now protrudes from the dash and is a large 10.2-inch touchscreen display with the added option for gesture control. Also offered as an optional extra in the interior is a 12.3-inch instrument cluster and a full-colour heads up display. Storage areas in the cabin have increased in size and with the ergonomic design, general space in the cabin has increased for the passengers.
Seeing that the X3 is derived directly from it's sedan counter-part, the 3 Series, I expect this SAV to do quite well when it goes on sale later this year. What makes this new X3 even more special is that from April next year, it will be built and made in South Africa at BMW's Rosslyn plant which will stop production of the 3 Series and begin manufacturing of the new X3. It's a bitter-sweet moment for BMW SA as the 3 Series has been so long synonymous with the Rosslyn plant but as I said in the beginning, SAV's are becoming more and more the sort after vehicle for the consumer, be it a secondary car, a moms car or a general all rounder, more often than not you will find one in the garage of every 3rd or 4th house hold in a street.
