With the new X3, BMW doesn't shake the earth with radical design changes or size gains. The cabin benefits more from the gradual changes, as it becomes a cleaner, clearer place to work. The 2018 BMW X3 modulates its sheet metal in the usual ways in its third generation. BMW’s warranty is just average, and it packages features like Apple CarPlay in expensive ways that stir grumbles into what’s otherwise a deeply satisfying crossover SUV. A surround-view camera system and adaptive cruise control are on the order list, as are high-end audio and a widescreen navigation system with iDrive infotainment control. Forward-collision warnings remain an option on this expensive SUV (prices start at $43,000). The latest X3 hasn’t been thoroughly crash-tested, although it did earn a Top Safety Pick+ award from the IIHS. The sport seats cup front passengers well, and BMW carves out great space for four adults and their baggage. An extra cubic foot of cargo space has been carved out of the extra length between the wheels. In size, the X3 gains a couple of inches in wheelbase, but doesn't net out with much more interior space, whether it's leg room for front or rear passengers. The strut-and-multilink suspension copes well with its hybrid on-/off-road mission, but the steering and brakes could relax a little, we think. Acceleration, ride, and handling have made a quantum step toward the 3-Series golden mean as an M40i, the X3 delivers flat cornering, copious grip, and grin-generating flappy-exhaust sounds. We’ve spent miles in an X3 M40i, shod with BMW’s fabulous 355-hp turbo-6, M-grade handling hardware, and the same all-wheel-drive system and 8-speed automatic. Coupled to a telepathic automatic transmission, xDrive30i versions don't disappoint. The base BMW turbo-4 found in many of its models is one of the best and power arrives early and readily, and make stop-and-go traffic less of a chore. Base models don't want for power, a week behind the wheel of an xDrive30i was proof enough. All-wheel drive is standard, as is an 8-speed automatic. Performance issues from a 248-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo-4 in base models. The X3's iDrive control puck rides shotgun to its space-age shifter joystick, and the dash wears interesting brackets of metallic or wood trim. Inside, BMW has moved the ball too, with a cockpit that’s grown warmer and more infotainment-friendly. The X3 has taller glass and bigger intakes, but the shape’s a clear and gradual progression of the X3, nothing radical. The philosophy telegraphs itself: don't break it, just burnish it. Its 150GB of storage is plenty for most users, but those with large amounts of data to back up should check out Memset SquirrelSave's unlimited service instead.With the new X3, BMW doesn't shake the earth with radical design changes or size gains. IDrive has better features for online content sharing than Best Buy award-winning SquirrelSave, and it's very reasonably priced. When a backup’s running, you're presented with a progress part and options for pausing and throttling the backup in order to free bandwidth for other purposes. Below are buttons that let you immediately back up the selected folders, set a backup schedule or restore selected content from your online backup drive to the location of your choice on your local PC. Your Documents, Desktop, Pictures, Music and Video folders are all included by default, but you may want to deselect these if, for example, you have a lot of media in your video folder. Below, it lists the directories included in your backup set. The main interface gives you side-by-side panes showing tree views of your local hard disk and remote storage. We'd have preferred a friendly step-by-step setup wizard. Sadly, the pop-up disappears as soon as you select any of the options, leaving you face to face with a rather cluttered interface. Once installed, a pop-up lets you edit the folders that are to be backed up and set up a backup schedule. That's perhaps understandable given that the meat of IDrive is in its desktop backup utility. The web interface is functional, but it's not very pretty and lacks the advanced features of some rivals, although there is an image gallery that lets you easily view and share your photo collection. You can also let your sharing associates upload or edit shared content. You can share folders, files and groups of files, adding passwords, expiration dates and download limits. Like most online backup services, IDrive also lets you create folders and upload content directly via the web interface, which you can also use to share your uploaded files with others.
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