The display for the optional navigation system is one of the most thoughtfully positioned of the lot, rotating up out of the top center of the dash, gray instead of black on 2005 models, so it's visible to driver and navigator but nestled unobtrusively halfway down in the recess where it stows when not in use.
Passengers will climb in over new aluminum doorsill trim with the BMW logo and will find new interior trim and refined materials for 2005, including new Matte Titanium and pearl-gloss chrome interior trim for the 2.5i and Maple Sycamore Dark wood trim in the 3.0i.
The front seats are supportive and comfortably bolstered. The standard seats are more comfortable than the sport seats and quite adequately restrain the occupants' posteriors when the way turns winding. Seatbelts feel right, properly tensioned. Ranges of seat adjustment are extensive, to the point a six-footer can enjoy major amounts of headroom and actually put the steering wheel and forward footwell well out of reach; at these extremes, however, rear-seat legroom is seriously diminished.
Dimensionally, the X3's interior compares favorably with its most likely direct competition, the Lexus RX 330 and Infiniti FX35, giving up an inch or so here and gaining the same there. In many measures it bests the more expensive X5. There's almost an inch more legroom in front and about half an inch more in the rear, for instance. Front-seat headroom is about a half inch less than in the X5, but rear-seat headroom is nearly an inch greater. On the downside, the X3's rear seat is quite firm and virtually flat, like a church pew, where the X5 and the others offer more form fit and comfort. The X3's rear center head restraint is fixed, offering no vertical adjustment.
Storage areas are numerous and flexible, many fitted with netting that stretches to accommodate odd shapes and medium-sized water bottles. Rear-door map pockets forfeit several square inches to the Europeans' unabated addiction to ash trays. Cargo area, though, is impressive, exceeding the X5's by 2 cubic feet with the rear seats folded, and slotting in between the RX 330's 84.7 cubic feet and the FX35's 64.5.
So much for the tape measure. Where the X3 disappoints is in the intangible and tactile, how the interior looks and feels. Yes, it's roomy. And yes, the seats do their job, and admirably. The stereo, too, is a quality unit surrounding occupants with balanced sounds.
Textures and materials have been improved, but there's still no mistaking the X3 for one of BMW's luxury sedans. There are two front cup holders, now standard, but the one mounted on the center console is sized more for soda pop cans than coffee cups or water bottles and looks like an afterthought, something cobbled together and glued in place forward of the armrest/storage bin. The passenger cup holder pops out of the end of the dash by the door, where it gets bumped by knees when the passenger is climbing in or out of the car. Door closings are followed by a hint of a hollow echo, instead of the solid thunk" so common on BMWs."
