2025 BMW X3 M50 First Test: A Real M Car?

Question for the enthusiasts in the crowd: How many times have you dismissed a new performance vehicle because it isn’t a “real” AMG, M, or RS? We’ve been guilty of it ourselves. It’s easy to look at the refreshed-for-2025 BMW X3 M50 and think the same. Turns out, however, that this M-lite model backs up its show with some serious go while still retaining the day-to-day comfort that most non-enthusiast drivers expect.

What’s New

There’s a lot that’s new for the 2025 X3 lineup. Its updated exterior is slightly longer and lower than before, creating more space for people and their things in the cabin. Speaking of the cabin, it’s been completely reworked, with new dual-screen infotainment displays featuring BMW’s latest iDrive 9 operating system and new geometric patterns and LEDs making the dash and doors both look and feel like a single uniform piece.

Indeed, the nearly identical interiors the 30 and M50 share represent a significant departure from the previous-generation X3. It’s highlighted by its sleek, unified display that merges a central touchscreen with a digital driver’s display under a single pane of glass, giving the interior a modern and streamlined appearance. Its standout feature, however, is the striking, boomerang-shaped ambient lighting adorning the door panels that elegantly encircles the door handles and seat controls. The elements extend across the dash, as well, accentuating the area beneath the central screen and along the center console.

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Under the hood of the X3 M50 is a newly revised version of BMW’s trusty 3.0-liter turbocharged I-6. Now paired with a permanent-magnet motor mounted in the bellhousing of its transmission, this 48-volt mild hybrid system promises quicker response, power delivery, and efficiency versus the non-hybrid version of this engine in the outgoing X3 M40i. Total output is up from 382 hp and 369 lb-ft of torque to 393 hp and 428 lb-ft, which continues to be routed through an eight-speed automatic and standard all-wheel drive. The EPA reckons this new X3 will net 25/30/27 mpg city/highway/combined, a 4-mpg improvement across the board over the old X3. Other upgrades, such as an adaptive electronic suspension, a variable steering ratio, electronic rear limited-slip differential, and upgraded brakes versus the standard X3 30 xDrive, should also signal to enthusiasts that BMW is taking its “fake” M cars seriously.

Big M Energy

Still don’t believe us? Let’s see what the numbers say. The 2025 X3 M50 rips off an impressive 4.0-second 0–60-mph time and quarter-mile run of 12.6 seconds at 109.7 mph, donkey kicking aggressively on upshifts as the cabin fills with piped-in engine noises from the stereo. The X3 M50 also manages a respectable 60–0-mph stop of 111 feet and laps our figure eight in 25.3 seconds at 0.76 g average.

Numbers in a vacuum are meaningless, so it's helpful to look back at the vehicle this X3 replaces, the X3 M40i, as well as the last X3 M Competition for some context. The former needed 4.2 seconds to hit 60 mph and ran the quarter mile in 12.8 seconds at 107.2 mph, while the latter, which had 503 hp and 442 lb-ft from its twin-turbo I-6, ties the X3 M50 to 60 mph and just edges it out in the quarter mile, running 12.3 seconds at 117.3 mph. That story plays out when we look at 60–0 and figure-eight results, too; the new X3 M50 bests its direct predecessor while hanging within a good driver’s distance of the X3 M. The X3 M40i needed 112 feet to stop from 60 mph and 25.5 seconds at 0.73 g to lap the figure eight, while the X3M needed 104 feet and 24.2 seconds at 0.86 g to complete the same tests.

And lastly, if you’re looking over at the Audi or Mercedes-Benz dealer across the street and wondering how the X3 M50’s competition stacks up, we haven’t tested the new 2025 Audi SQ5 yet. However, the BMW handily beats the Mercedes-AMG GLC43 in our straight-line testing but falls a few tenths and g’s behind the AMG in the figure eight.

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Duality on the Road

It’s immediately clear from startup that there’s a duality to the 2025 X3 M50. This BMW’s default drive mode is soft, plush, even somewhat sleepy in a way. Thanks to its hybrid assist, the engine fires up and delivers its power smoothly in long, effortless waves of torque as the eight-speed shifts seamlessly in the background. If it weren’t for the stereo-augmented engine soundtrack or the sweep of the tach’s digital needle, we might not even know if the engine was running.

The ride and handling balance in its default setting is similarly cushy. There’s a clear delay in both steering inputs and suspension reactions, making it easy to keep the X3 M50 pointed in a straight line on long highway trips. At the same time, it also dispatches bumps without upsetting occupants in the cabin, even if it comes at the expense of exaggerated body roll. It’s exactly the type of coddling luxury many buyers expect from a vehicle in this class.

Hunt and peck for the touch-sensitive M Mode button on the center console and then tap through a few menu options on the infotainment display (yes, BMW, we really are sure we want Sport mode), and the duality of the X3 M50 reveals itself as the SUV’s character changes. Sport mode quickens and firms up the steering rack, stiffens the suspension, improves throttle response, and makes shifts much more aggressive. The experience is very much in line with what drivers expect from a traditional M car; the X3 rips off the line, bangs off shifts with comical violence, and is rewarding to drive quickly on twisty back roads.

It’s the type of performance that’ll have some M50 owners opting for the back roads after college drop-offs or on weekend road trips. The only thing missing is the customizability of BMW’s true M products; we quickly grew tired of the overly aggressive upshifts in Sport and would’ve loved to create an individual drive mode that incorporated the sportier suspension tunes with softer throttle mapping. Regardless, the X3 M50 is sporty and not just doing an impression of a sporty SUV.

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Inside the new X3

The rest of the 2025 X3 package effectively meets the 21st century luxury SUV brief, even if some of its new tech and design flourishes come at the expense of ease of use.

First the good: The new cabin is undeniably stylish. The polygonal dashboard shapes coupled with LED lights that span the front of the cabin and the large infotainment displays look decidedly futuristic. It contrasts well with this particular model’s baseball-glove-tan leather seats, cloth piping, and stitched black leather on the dash that visually and texturally hold down a classic, old-school luxury aesthetic. The seats themselves are supremely comfortable, the trunk large and deep, and the back seat friendly to all but the largest adults. We’re also quite fond of the large center console, its wireless phone charging slots, and ample cupholders—a refreshing surprise in a German-designed car.

But some of that stylish form clearly comes at the expense of the X3’s function. Up front, the two most outboard HVAC vents are controlled by a touch slider on the door and directed by a tiny rocker located by the driver’s left knee or passenger’s right. The center controls have a similar setup that makes it hard to properly direct air where you want it and requires too much time with eyes off the road to adjust. And although it largely operates the same as previous versions, BMW’s infotainment suite is bordering on bloated considering how many hard buttons have been replaced with software functions. Changing audio sources, for instance, can require multiple taps and swipes to get to where you want to go.

Similarly, BMW’s new driver assist system, dubbed Active Driving Assistant Pro, has each individual parameter—follow distance, automatic lane changes, acceleration aggressiveness, for example—buried within its own submenu. Considering BMW’s embrace of over-the-air software updates, it’s a solvable problem if the company deems it something worth tackling.

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Should I Wait for the X3 M, or is the X3 M50 Worth It?

Given the X3 M50’s performance credentials and the fact that the next-generation X3 M is expected to start at around $80,000 before options, to us the M50 is a solid deal at its $65,875 starting price. Our test car stickered for $77,275, with the primary options being its $3,600 optional paint color and the $4,600 package bundle required for Active Driving Assistant Pro.

We suspect the next X3 M will claw back its performance advantage from the X3 M50, but there should be no doubt about the X3 M50’s capabilities in the minds of driving enthusiasts. Call it a “real” M car or not, this new X3 manages to walk a fine line between the competing goals of luxury and sport with aplomb—all while catering well to those who expect both.

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