I’ve Decided to Order a 2022 BMW X3 M

Before I jump into the main subject of this article, I suppose I should address the fact that it’s been well over a year since I’ve added content to the ThruMyLens website.  I’ve haven’t been completely lazy – I’ve actually been publishing quite a bit of content to the ThruMyLens YouTube channel, as well as daily content to the ThruMyLens Instagram Page.  But the website has certainly been neglected and for that I apologize.

So this story begins in June of 2021 – that’s when I started thinking about a new car.  Seriously thinking anyway…I’m a long time car guy, so I’m often “thinking” about my next vehicle.  But I actually started researching and driving cards in June of 2021.  That’s when I settled on a 2022 X3M.

WHY AN X3?

Fans of ThruMyLens will know that I’m a big BMW guy, and have been since 2005 when I bought my first – a 2006 BMW 330i.  I’ve owned two others since then – a 2011 335i, and a 2013 335i M Sport.  Technically speaking there were three others, as my wife had a 2013 BMW 328i.  The 2013 335i M Sport has been by far my favorite BMW to date.  I greatly enjoyed the processes of ordering it, taking delivery, and I even did my first every car review on it.  Actually that’s not entirely accurate – it was my first ever car review her on ThruMyLens.  I actually did a review of my 2006 BMW 330i for Roundel Magazine – the magazine of the BMW Car Club of America.  But I’ve kept it my 335i M Sport longer than any other vehicle I’ve owned previously – 8  years.  It’s been pretty much a Summer vehicle for me.  Early in 2015 I picked up a 2003 GMC Yukon XL Denali at a dog hauler and winter ride.  Then in 2018, I ended up trading the Denali in on a 2019 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk.  The two SUVs were my first in this segment.  and the Jeep really opened my eyes to the comfort and utility of a sporty SUV.  By mid-2021, several factors relating to the global pandemic converged to create the hottest used car market in…well, perhaps ever.  I discovered the value of my 2013 335i M Sport was nearly double what I thought it would be.  I had also made the decision that fueling and insuring two vehicles was getting old, and that I wanted to consolidate into a single vehicle.  Having past the big five-oh in 2020, I have to admit that getting in and out of low-to-the-ground sports cars and sports sedans was losing its appeal, with butt-high SUVs being preferable on the daily.  I initially started looking at the X5, but when I realized that an X3M was going to run not a lot more money than a well appointed X5, I shifted my attention to the X3M.

WHY AN M?

It’s hard to be a BMW fan and NOT want an M car.  M is, after all, “the greatest letter in the alphabet.”  For the BMW enthusiast anyway.  BMW’s performance department, M GmbH (more commonly known simply by the letter M, which stands for Motorsport) has been around since the 1970s (like me).  Today, M produces high-performance variants of nearly every single vehicle in BMW’s lineup.  Including, quite recently, the X3 M variant…the X3M.  As I mentioned above, my previous BMW was a 335i M Sport.  The M Sport package gives you some of the aesthetic options available on the M3 (an M steering wheel, and the more aggressive front end for example) without having the get the less practical and more expensive M3.  If I didn’t live in Ohio, I probably would have had an M3 long ago.  The interior upgrades are to die for, and the performance is mind-blowing.  Now that BMW is making M SUVs, it’s an option I can realistically consider.

THE COLOR CONUNDRUM

So when I made up my mind to get the X3M, I enthusiastically started picking out options on the BMW builder site.  Right up to the point where you pick out the color.  The six available options were terrible:

I started off wanting a red vehicle (that’s actually what sold my wife on getting the M – Toronto Red was an X3M only color, so she said I should skip an X5 and get the X3M).  The problem here is that “Toronto Red” which would have been more aptly named “Tomato Red” as the color is more orange than red to my eye.  The color was appealing in that it was unique to M badged cars, but what’s the point if you don’t like the color?  And in an overcast sky or a night, it did look like an attractive red.  But in direct sunlight, it was orange as the day is long.  So disappointing.  Because the color was unique to M cars (and perhaps polarizing to boot) I couldn’t find one anywhere near me to look at in person – all the more frustrating.  I bet I looked at hundreds of photos and video online and anguished over the choice.  “Could I live with it?”  It broke my heart, but I had to say no.  Phytonic Blue was the next logical choice for me.  It looked really nice online on the builder website.  In person however, it was dark, flat, and dull.  OK, admittedly the Estoril Blue on my 335i M Sport has been the most fabulous color on any car I’ve owned (the red on my Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk actually comes in a close second).  There are a lot of other attractive variations of blue…Phytonic Blue however was not one of them.  Again, heart break.  A lot of people seem to like Donington Grey Metallic.  I actually test drove an X3M in this color.  It was fine.  Just not “M” fine to my eye.  It’s a very understated color, that I just didn’t think matched well to a nearly 500 HP beast.  Same went for Sunstone Metallic, which I actually don’t care for at all.  It like several other BMW colors this year varied in appearance based on the lighting.   That left me with what I considered to be simply two different shades of black Dark Graphite Metallic and Black Sapphire Metallic, and good old Alpine White.  I like Alpine White…but so does everyone else.  My X3s and X5s I see on the road (as well as a fair amount of other kinds of BMWs) are in Alpine White – I’d wager it’s their most popular color.  I seriously considered – the “pop” you get with the blue brake calipers is really nice.  But since my 2011 335i was Alpine White I decided against it.  Instead I went with Black Sapphire Metallic.  Definitely not my first choice.  Or even my second.  But there’s no denying it does look fantastic.

LCI TO THE RESCUE

I nearly resolved myself to ordering a black 2021 X3M when I learned that BMW was just days away from releasing the 2022 BMW X3M LCI Facelift.  I waited a week, hoping against hope that BMW would make a more palatable (dare I say…desirable?) color choice.  And my prayers were answered…new for 2022 was Marina Bay Blue metallic:

God is good ladies and gentleman.  Marina Bay Blue metallic looks to be EXTREMELY similar to the Estoril blue color on my current 335i M Sport…and blows Phytonic blue out of the water.  AND its exclusive to the X3M, so I won’t be seeing my twin self very often.

If you click on the link above, you’ll see there’s a PDF file with a LONG list of changes/updates to the 2022 model.  It’s actually shocking for refresh…and shocking they even did a refresh on this only three-year old model (introduced in 2019).  In the photo above you can see there are new tail lights on the vehicle, which are more aggressive/contemporary – some don’t care for them but I quite like them.  The front end styling is even more radically updated with an even more aggressive, angular cowl:

Keep in mind that these are pre-production marketing photos of a X3M Competition model, with Shadowline (blacked out) components…not really my thing.  The car I order won’t have a blacked out grill for example.

On the interior, less drastic but still significant changes can be found including a relocated “Start” button and the re-designed shifter knob from the recently redesigned M3/M4:

It’s actually a but more subtle than the previous version.  Overall I’m happy about the change – the older one did look extremely cool but was very confusing to me to use.  This one looks more understated with the inviting and less slippery black leather…love, love, LOVE the M stitching!

From a performance perspective, new engine tuning results in increased torque – 457 lb-ft in 2022 versus 442 lb-ft in the three previous model years.  Horsepower remains the same at 473HP.  BMW states that this engine tuning results in a 0-60 time that has dropped from 4.1 seconds to 3.9 seconds on the 2022.  Honestly, 15 additional lb-ft of torque really shouldn’t drop two-tenths off the zero to sixty time (even with some weight reductions that BMW made in the 2022).  More likely, BMW is just reporting the numbers less conservatively than they did previously.  Most car magazine tests had the X3M faster from 0-60 than BMW reported – BMW is famous for understating the performance of their vehicles.

As I type this, you can’t yet build a 2022 on the BMW website.  I’m guessing we’re still 2-4 weeks away.  But using options on the 2021, I can illustrate how I plan to order my 2022.

WHEELS/TIRES

This was by far the easiest choice for the build.  I like a simple five-spoke wheel.  So the 20″ double spoke Orbit Grey wheels were a nice choice for me.  The shape of the alternate 21″ wheels were not as aesthetically pleasing, and I thought the additional size would likely contribute to a harsher ride and hurt the already bad gas mileage performance of the vehicle.  Infuriatingly, there is only one option for colored brake calipers – blue.  Red might have stood out more against the Marina Bay Blue metallic body color, BUT…  During my 2013 335i M Sport order I lamented the fact that I had no option for colored brake calipers, so having blue is at least an improvement, if not optimal.

SEATS AND TRIM

I will spring for the M Sport Seats (which I got to test drive and thought they were quite comfortable) and the Extended Merino leather – about a 2k up-charge.  I did briefly toy with the idea of getting the Ivory White Extended Merino leather.  But my wife said that would be a foolish choice…and I was forced to begrudgingly agree with her.  But wow…what a gorgeous option.  If you read the article I linked to above about ordering my 2013 335i M Sport then you’ll know I say that every time I get a new BMW I say “this is the year I’m not going to order black leather.”  Said it again this year…but it was nay not so:

My wife also hates a two-tone interior, and I have to agree that it’s very nice when the entire interior is black.  So this choice will make my wife happy.

For the interior trim, I went carbon fiber.  I’ve had wood options in my first two 3 Series cars, and I had aluminum in my 335i M Sport.  I liked the aluminum, but some of the aluminum trim pieces did scratch easily – something I shouldn’t have to worry about with carbon fiber which is darn near indestructible.

In terms of available options, the two main options I didn’t get are the $7000.00 Competition Package or the $1700.00 Driving Assistance Plus package.  I didn’t get the Driving Assistance package on my 2013 build either.  I see it as a gee-wiz bang feature you’ll show off to your friends, but I didn’t get the Ultimate Driving Machine for the machine to do the driving.  In terms of the Competition Package, it adds 30 additional horsepower which only delivers about a .20 off the 0-60 time, the M Sport  exhaust system which apparently is just a different sounding exhaust, the M Seat Belts, and the Extended Shadowline Trim…which essentially blacks out everything.  I’m not big on the blacked out look in most cases.  With the Sapphire Black exterior color, it would have been OK – but I still prefer the non-Shadowline look.

I did opt for the Executive package at $3900.00.  This bundles some essential for me features like Heads-up Display (love it on my current car), the Panoramic moonroof, front and rear heated seats as well the steering wheel along with some really nice to have stuff I probably would have cheeped out on otherwise like Parking Assistance Plus and wireless charging.  The only items in the bundle that I don’t think will be useful (but may turn out to be) are Gesture Control and the Rear manual side window shades.  Finally, I picked up the $350 Front ventilated seats.  My wife really likes this option on our other vehicles.  There was also the M Driver’s Package at $2500.00.  This option raises the limiter on the car from maybe 130 to about 170 I think.  They also throw in a 1 day Driving Class and the BMW Performance Center.  Not worth it for me.  The 1-Day M School costs about $1500.00, which I do plan on getting to one of these days.  It is however my intention to do a Performance Center Delivery on my 2022 BMW X3M, which means I’ll fly down to Greenville South Carolina to the BMW Performance Center and driving school.  There I will get to tour the BMW plant where my X3M is made (this will be my first “US Made” BMW) tour the Xentrum Museum, and spend the day driving a BMW X3M provided by BMW on the track.  I’ll then take delivery of my very own 2022 BMW X3M.  If all goes according to plan, I’m hoping to be able to place my order in July for a September Performance Center Delivery.  I’ll post updates here on ThruMyLens once the order is placed.