My mission is to avoid using petrol almost as much as I did in my previous long-termer, the all-electric Volkswagen ID.7, and our 64.8mpg average is a good start. One long journey was a weekday cruise to Gaydon’s British Motor Museum. The M Sport suspension has an underlying tautness but comfortably shrugs off potholes and crests, and the car is pretty quiet at motorway speeds. Setting off fully charged, the 30e returned 76.3mpg but drained the battery on the outward leg, leading to 47.8mpg over the 182-mile round trip.
The standard, figure-hugging M sports seats are plumper than November turkeys but a lot more vegan. The £1,350 glass sunroof lifts the dark cabin, which has a few characterful touches compared with our previous BMW 530e long-termer. There are huge side pods housing the door handle and an air vent with an elaborate slider control, and the big, angled central cubby contains a wireless charging smartphone plinth and two cup-holders.
The X3 range starts at £51,605 for the 20 petrol xLine, with the diesel only £1,135 more. It’s an almost £6k jump to the plug-in 30e xLine, with our M Sport version costing £59,015 – before a lot of options. The aforementioned paint and wheels are £875 and £2,150 respectively, and we’ve got three option packs. M Sport Pro Pack (£2,300) adds the Iconic Glow kidney grille, red brake calipers and the dechromed, high-gloss black exterior finishes. Completing the external mods are a £1,025 tow bar and £450 sun protection glass.
The £1,350 Comfort Plus Pack includes rear window blinds, plus heated seats all round, cooled front perches with lumbar support, and Harman Kardon surround sound. The silky M steering wheel gets £250 heating, and while the £450 woven fabric upholstery looks great, I roll elbows-out van driver-style and it’s like resting your arm on a cheese grater.
