First "serious" car for a 30yo guy who can finally enjoy not driving an absolute can

X3M Competition

If you want a fun car and less of a pedestrian suv: Alpine A110 Porsche 718 boxster (base model) Golf GTI Mk8.5 (50th anniversary edition).

X3 M40i is a ton of fun for a lot less

Used X3 M40i is a better buy than new. Will help your budget a lot.

Dude is explicitly looking for a mid-sized SUV. I love when people can't be bothered to actually *listen* to what OP wants and rattle off completely useless suggestions.

Unfortunately its not available in my country other than 5+ yo models. I cant buy those because Ill lease as a company. Im curious why M40i would be a better buy? Arent sport cars with the M tag much stiffer than regular?

How much would a new one be? I cant find the price

A "full" M car is much stiffer, yes. But the "baby M" cars like the M40i offer more sportiness and power (b58 engine) without the full sports suspension of an M car. I guess for whatever it's worth, it's now an X3 M50i, so maybe you have M50i models available.

Ah, sorry it’s the M50 now and around 70-75k USD so I think similar in EUR. That said, the 20d is also a great vehicle for your market

x3, bmw does the best all around at enjoyable comfortable luxury and fantastic “sheer driving pleasure” combined into one. X3 is good sized but maybe you could look at an X5 too for your family. On top of that great reliability and good engine, everything about it is good. Only other one i’d consider is volvo, but the bimmer will always be more fun, that’s part of their focus.

mazda

Oh my dear friend... if I told you that M30 costs around 80k EUR here. Plus, the roads are nowhere usable enough to push that HP. Most of the time you wont cross 150 km/h unless you go 2 countries away. I don't even think M50 is avaiable here xD Is the power difference that important? Doesnt 20d have enough power for smooth driving?

20d has plenty power for sure. The driving dynamics are great on the X3, that would be my first choice

Im very relieved to hear that. Tbh I was scared that 20d would be too weak for this kind of car and 30d hasnt even arrived yet... Or is, but the price is like 80k+ Knowing that 20d has that power is great. Btw, do you think I should go for BMW X3?

Mazda

~200hp and 300lbs of torque is plenty strong, lots of usable mid range power

Right, SUV's are lame as hell. Dude is too young to settle for an ugly bloated shit barge. Sedans can easily carry a family, everyone thinks they need an SUV for some reason.

Tesla Model Y

I'm driving a sedan now and idk, I'd just like to try something new. It probably also has to do with the fact that I've lost multiple close people in car crashes and SUVs feel just... safer. I also don't plan on driving above any safety measures... ever. A sports car wouldn't fit me at all. But I'm very open to hearing why you feel like locking into an SUV at this age would be a mistake. Always thankful for a good advice

SUV’s have way more cargo space and they’re easier to get in and out of

Thanks for clarifying. That's what I was hoping for honestly - to be able to go 160-170 when needed (1% of my overall driving honestly, if even that) but also able to overtake comfortably.

I checked, literally 0 models. And they burn fuel like crazy, don't they? I mean it's not really a huge of a deal, but I wouldn't ever use that HP anyways, would just pay for having it essentially.

Thanks for this, I needed to hear it. Do you think premium Chinese cars in the 45k to 55k range can compare to the BMW X3?

More visibility and road presence, mainly. Plus I think they're safer and could serve as a family car if needed, before I get a new one.

Awful engines from what I saw. Not worth it for the price of BMW X3 - except for the interior.

Unavailable in my country + the entire country has around 100 public chargers and I live in an apartment. Charging it would be a nightmare.

On paper the premium Chinese cars win in features, HP for EVs, and potentially better materials for a much lower price, and they are beating BMW in China, though there are none around me where i’m at so i’ve never seen or tested one. The only thing is i think the long term reliability isn’t too well known yet, they remind me of Hyundais, wherever you are just have a warranty I suppose if you get one. But if i were you I would go for a well optioned higher trim X3, like an M-lite like these good people here are saying. I don’t think you’d regret that at all. edit: Damn sorry i just rechecked what you said and the price is quite high where you’re at compared to where im at for an x3 with a 20d engine. I see now why you’re considering these other cars edit:2 however the packages u listed on that new x3 i think are very nice for the price, final decision for me would be that x3 that u mentioned with those nice options

Get a 2 or 3 year old used Lexus RX450h. Comfortable cruiser with insane build quality that will outlast everything else.

I am very much in your situation. I have a 2019 rav4 which I snatched for around 18k. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great car for that price - but I’m already bored as hell with its interior and lack of premium features. I just do not like Volvo and Mazdas look. I love BMW X5 while the X3 just looked too cramped for a family car (I have a bit of a maximalist family lifestyle). But budget wise, they were off the charts. I was considering a Kia Sportage Prestige trim for around 32k before finally driving a BYD Sealion 7 a couple of days ago. I also drove the Starray and a Hyundai Ioniq 5 but none of them excited me like the Sealion. I gotta say I was pretty impressed with everything but I wouldn’t call myself an EV expert and some people complain about poor consumption from the Sealion. But coming from a car that needs three times the cost per month (I live in a heavy traffic big city area), that seems so unreasonable. Do test drive the Sealion and decide. I think the interior looks incredible in person compared to pictures you can find on the internet. Also, the car actually has road presence both front and rear.

Try a second hand BMW iX. They’re heavily depreciated.

Yeah mazda looks awful outside on the front and many Volvos here have that monitor + ventilation design that looks like pelvic rupture. But really, paying 63k-65k for a new Volvo instead of buying a BMW for about the same price makes zero sense. Mazda is around the same price here. Oh yes, Sealion is amazing. I'd only have to get a hybrid version because I don't have a charger at home (live in an apartment) and there's like 100 in total in my country + all are slow to mid charging speed. It would be a nightmare to handle. Tbh my 2 main choices are either X3 or Sealion because Sealion is 1/2 BMW's price, and BMW is best in class. I already scheduled a test drive for X3 but Im trying to get one for Sealion on the same day so I can compare them proper.

Pelvic rupture is such a perfect description for the Volvo interior console haha. I actually very much prefer the Sealion 7 (full ev) over the 6 but ultimately is about what you prefer, I can only say that when I drove the 7 my mind was set on that.

Yeah I was looking at it with my girlfriend and was like "nope, got better at home" hahaha Full EV cars are definitely the future, especially with this utter insanity happening in the world right now that could easily lead to skyrocketed petrol prices. BUT the amazing leadership in my country secured 2 things: 1. Russian petrol that's supposed to be the "cheapest" in Europe yet Germans pay 30% less than us. 2. Zero infrastructure for EV cars. Technically, a new-age hybrid like BYD or Lynk & Co would make the most sense - you get 100-200km fully electric for the cities and gasoline for the longer drives. No need to charge often as it charges itself + even if you do, it's only a few mins charging. That's what I'm exploring too actually, and BYD is one of those cars.

\> B**MW X3** \- with 20d engine, 200 HP, and some extra equipment like adaptive suspension, better audio, driving assistance, and M sport features is around **68k EUR** you are joking right? for that money you can get Tesla Model Y Performance and still have a lot of to spend on, have performance of bmw m-cars for a fraction of money they ask for. seriously, 2 liter diesels are crap from fun perspective. not to mention x3, small and uninspiring.

Wish I was, I'm just looking at one and it's 63k with 20i. Tesla is unavailable here unfortunately so it's really not even an option unless you get a 3yo used car

ask around big used car resellers on how much it will cost to get your Tesla + government incentives + financing. my country don't have teslas officially either, but business is business and companies have no problem buying it say in Germany or Finland (depending where it is cheaper) and moving it to buyers for extra $$$ with all stuff like registration/financing/government e-car pays covered. just don't cheap out and go to biggest seller with some experience (teslas do have specific process how to change car owner via app/online) to avoid scams. either way, if you go for a new car, especially bmw, I would rather wait for discounts or haggle price substantially down. what they show on their site is a "scam" most of the time as with many dealers networks.

Can’t you get a Skoda or VW or something? I’m not sure how much you’d be paying out of pocket for these cars but I don’t think the X3 offers a 68k eur(nearly 80k USD) driving experience.

Get yourself a well taken care of 2012 L322 with either the 5L SC, or the 4.4 TDV8.  Thank me later.

Full size Range Rover 2018 is the only correct answer

Oh my friend, this is THE conference price. The standard one is 70k+ for the version I mentioned. I was just trying out chinese cars and they are amazing. For that price, definitely amazing. Were not part of EU so importing from resellers out of the country would be pretty hard to do unfortunately

I like the XC60/90 a lot more than the X3, so I'd champion them over the bimmer. If you were considering an X5 however, I'd say go for that.

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