[GoGetGriff]

Curious if anyone has downsized and what their main differences and/or pros & cons were about it?

[MackSea70]

I've gone from a M5C to the X3MC and have spent a good bit of time in my neighbor's X5MC.

They are very different cars. VERY different. And they should be to justify the 40-50k price difference between the two. That said, do I think the 5 is 40-50k better than the 3 (say in the example of a X5MC at 125k and a X3MC at 85)? Yes - but the price difference is steep.

The quality of the materials in the 5 is night and day better than what you'll get in the 3. No leather dash, no alcantara headliner. Merino in the 3 does not feel as nice as merino in the 5. The 3 will have small sections of the seat made with cloth whereas the 5 uses leather all the way to the control panels.

While many of the buttons and controls are similar, they just seem to have more heft / better feel in the 5. The 5 is definitely more luxury oriented (but will blow the doors off the 3 in a drag race) - but it just feels overall more solid. I'll get flamed in this section for saying the LCI X3MC suspension is harsh - but it is (to me - and I had an F80 - IMO the LCI X3 is almost on par with my F80). People say - well you're missing the point the X3MC is a lifted M3 and can serve track duty. Sorry, never took my F80 to the track (regret that), not taking my F90 to the track (too heavy) and sure as hell don't want to fling a small SUV around a track - I don't care how well the M engineers did w the suspension and "hiding" the weight. Also the brakes on the X3M leave a lot to be desired (even on the street I found myself wanting more brakes <-- heavy vehicle).

Does that make the X3MC a "bad" car? No. It's a really freaking fast little SUV that for the most part blends in with the sea of other x3's running around - only those in the know, know. It's a nice little SUV. The X5M - that's on a whole different playing field - very much luxury first, more solid, etc. I kind like to think of the 5 M products as "the velvet sledgehammer". BTW - my negative comments about the X3MC and the track - also apply to the X5MC. Drove my neighbors quite a bit - it's a big heavy beast compared to the M5 and you can really tell the engine is having to work harder and can feel the weight when you throw it around.

Hope that helps.

[GoGetGriff]

Originally Posted by MackSea70

I've gone from a M5C to the X3MC and have spent a good bit of time in my neighbor's X5MC.

They are very different cars. VERY different. And they should be to justify the 40-50k price difference between the two. That said, do I think the 5 is 40-50k better than the 3 (say in the example of a X5MC at 125k and a X3MC at 85)? Yes - but the price difference is steep.

The quality of the materials in the 5 is night and day better than what you'll get in the 3. No leather dash, no alcantara headliner. Merino in the 3 does not feel as nice as merino in the 5. The 3 will have small sections of the seat made with cloth whereas the 5 uses leather all the way to the control panels.

While many of the buttons and controls are similar, they just seem to have more heft / better feel in the 5. The 5 is definitely more luxury oriented (but will blow the doors off the 3 in a drag race) - but it just feels overall more solid. I'll get flamed in this section for saying the LCI X3MC suspension is harsh - but it is (to me - and I had an F80 - IMO the LCI X3 is almost on par with my F80). People say - well you're missing the point the X3MC is a lifted M3 and can serve track duty. Sorry, never took my F80 to the track (regret that), not taking my F90 to the track (too heavy) and sure as hell don't want to fling a small SUV around a track - I don't care how well the M engineers did w the suspension and "hiding" the weight. Also the brakes on the X3M leave a lot to be desired (even on the street I found myself wanting more brakes <-- heavy vehicle).

Does that make the X3MC a "bad" car? No. It's a really freaking fast little SUV that for the most part blends in with the sea of other x3's running around - only those in the know, know. It's a nice little SUV. The X5M - that's on a whole different playing field - very much luxury first, more solid, etc. I kind like to think of the 5 M products as "the velvet sledgehammer". BTW - my negative comments about the X3MC and the track - also apply to the X5MC. Drove my neighbors quite a bit - it's a big heavy beast compared to the M5 and you can really tell the engine is having to work harder and can feel the weight when you throw it around.

Hope that helps.

This is BEYOND what I expected to receive back. Wow. Thank you so much!

[Kevin_The_Clean1]

Originally Posted by MackSea70

I've gone from a M5C to the X3MC and have spent a good bit of time in my neighbor's X5MC.

They are very different cars. VERY different. And they should be to justify the 40-50k price difference between the two. That said, do I think the 5 is 40-50k better than the 3 (say in the example of a X5MC at 125k and a X3MC at 85)? Yes - but the price difference is steep.

The quality of the materials in the 5 is night and day better than what you'll get in the 3. No leather dash, no alcantara headliner. Merino in the 3 does not feel as nice as merino in the 5. The 3 will have small sections of the seat made with cloth whereas the 5 uses leather all the way to the control panels.

While many of the buttons and controls are similar, they just seem to have more heft / better feel in the 5. The 5 is definitely more luxury oriented (but will blow the doors off the 3 in a drag race) - but it just feels overall more solid. I'll get flamed in this section for saying the LCI X3MC suspension is harsh - but it is (to me - and I had an F80 - IMO the LCI X3 is almost on par with my F80). People say - well you're missing the point the X3MC is a lifted M3 and can serve track duty. Sorry, never took my F80 to the track (regret that), not taking my F90 to the track (too heavy) and sure as hell don't want to fling a small SUV around a track - I don't care how well the M engineers did w the suspension and "hiding" the weight. Also the brakes on the X3M leave a lot to be desired (even on the street I found myself wanting more brakes <-- heavy vehicle).

Does that make the X3MC a "bad" car? No. It's a really freaking fast little SUV that for the most part blends in with the sea of other x3's running around - only those in the know, know. It's a nice little SUV. The X5M - that's on a whole different playing field - very much luxury first, more solid, etc. I kind like to think of the 5 M products as "the velvet sledgehammer". BTW - my negative comments about the X3MC and the track - also apply to the X5MC. Drove my neighbors quite a bit - it's a big heavy beast compared to the M5 and you can really tell the engine is having to work harder and can feel the weight when you throw it around.

Hope that helps.

A few things I wanted to clear up here:

(1.) The 5 will not blow the doors off a 3. LMAO That's old school mentality at its finest & the same overly simplistic / yet inaccurate mindset I try to steer clear of. Is the 5 a touch quicker (bone stock)... ? Yes, of course it is. But it's definitely not this "night & day difference" / "whole different league" statement that people enjoy tossing around & was referenced here. The 5 has tons more weight to get moving. And that added displacement is much more thirsty. X3 MC is rated at 19 MPG HWY. But Motor Trend & others have consistently gotten 26MPG. That's 7 MPG over the window sticker ratings.

(2.) The brakes on the X3 MC are not weak in any regard. With just 4 bolts the front calipers from the X5 MC can be a direct plug & play upgrade. To keep the car within a certain price point, yes the manufacture save a few hundred bucks by providing is with the 4 pots. Again, the same 6-piston fixed calipers from the X5 M, the M5, the M8 & the current G80 M3 can be bolted to the X3 M within 20 minutes. YES - IT REALLY IS THAT EASY & PRETTY CHEAP TOO.

(3.) Every time you hear someone piss & moan about the poor ride quality you're hearing a very select few people that have jumped on that bandwagon. This is VERY VERY SUBJECTIVE. I'm on my 4th X3 MC now & none of them were the LCI with the softer springs. With the 265/40 +295/35 PS4S tire mod, even my grandma "who finds a way to complain about everything" has no qualms about the ride quality. This has been proven to be blown way out of proportion & turns a great deal of people into hypochondriacs.

(4.) Saying the Merino leather on the X5 M seats is thicker & more supple is another example of a subjective statement. Not a real pure fact. Again, I've restored more X3 MC's in the past 3 years than most people can even fathom. Is the 5 more luxurious, of course it is. For all that extra coin you're getting a much heavier more well equipped luxury SUV that's fast. But saying the X3 MC is a cheap "little" SAV make me laugh. ANOTHER FACT THAT MANY DON'T KNOW IS the current gen X3 is the same exact size as the first gen X5. Look it up & let those dimensions boggle your mind a bit.

If you want to go fast in a straight line & want a softer ride for the family, get the X5 M. But if you want the M3 of the SUV / SAV world, a mid-sized (not "little" as previously yet falsely stated) AWD beast that punches way above it's weight & can handle better than it has a right to - the X3 MC is a bargain.

[rackhax]

Originally Posted by Kevin_The_Clean1

With the 265/40 +295/35 PS4S tire mod

What mod is this?

[Kevin_The_Clean1]

Originally Posted by rackhax

What mod is this?

It's a very simple mod that merely gives the car more rubber where it needs it. This is the same front to rear tire combo the Mercedes & Porsche counterparts run (from the factory). All you have to do is buy the corresponding sizes & get them mounted. Now you have an X3 MC with wider contact patches, more traction & a more compliant ride with more comfort over all roads. The car should've & could've come this way with more rubber. Just make sure to keep them properly inflated so the taught & dynamic handling characteristics remain.

[Max Well]

Originally Posted by MackSea70

I've gone from a M5C to the X3MC and have spent a good bit of time in my neighbor's X5MC. They are very different cars... And they should be to justify the 40-50k price difference between the two. ... The 5 is definitely more luxury oriented (but will blow the doors off the 3 in a drag race) ...

Originally Posted by Kevin_The_Clean1

The 5 will not blow the doors off a 3...

Gotta agree with Kevin_The_Clean1 regarding a drag race between the two. Suspect if you get two comparable Drivers who actually understand the X3MC/X5MC with some experience launching, and stock models with same Octane and tank level, it'd be a coin flip as to which one wins the best out of five. TBH, I suspect the X3MC would be favored but I have no idea. That would be a video I'd really enjoy watching but to my knowledge hasn't been formally done.

Just some data points to support:

X3MC
13 Oct 2020 robopp, 2020 X3MC 11.618s @ 117.72 mph, 96 Octane, Stock
1 May 2021 Max Well, 2020 X3MC 11.640s @ 117.95 mph, 100 Octane, Bone stock
15 Jan 2022 Max Well, 2022 X3MC LCI 11.700s @ 117.68 mph, 93 Octane, Bone Stock
28 Jun 2022 goldfz8, 2022 X3MC LCI 11.604s @ 117.96 mph, 97 Octane, ER Midpipe and Eventuri Filters

Reference: https://x3.xbimmers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1444613

X5MC
19 Aug 2022 D350z, 2022(?) X5MC 11.760s @ 116.1 mph, 93 Octane, Stock

https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...76&postcount=1

onfireX5 would probably be the best resource for ¼ mile times X5MC vs X3MC as he owns or has owned both, but to my knowledge he went straight to RaceChip with his X5MC and didn’t record stock runs:
https://g05.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...8&postcount=17

Other X5MC video: ¼ mile in 12.08s, 12.04s and 11.89s in a video in Europe (not formal slips):

Both are great models which excel in their respective price points, but not surprisingly the extra $40-50K provides added refinement and luxury in the X5MC. Which I find makes these two a curious comparison to be honest.

[onfireX5]

Both are awesome, period.

1/4 mile race between the two is a drivers race.

X5MC has more tip in torque. If roll racing a X5MC , the X3MC HAS to be in the most aggressive Tran/engine mode to get the rpm’s as high as possible or the tip in torque of the 5 will walk away.

X3MC has a bit better high rpm pull.

X5MC is quicker in the 1/8th due to the mid range torque.

X3MC is stiffer and handles tighter. Can not hide 800 lbs.



Both brake very well.