BMW X3

his isn’t the archetypal SUV we are used to. There’s no diesel engine, not much space – let alone three rows of seats – and it’s a size smaller than many luxury saloons. BMW’s compact SUV has a different agenda, so if you’re looking for a big, practical SUV that can serenely whisk the wife, kids, mother-in-law, dog and golf clubs to a weekend resort then its best you flip these pages.

Central to the X3’s appeal is its sporting character and it’s the undiluted focus on the driver, an intrinsic part of every BMW, which makes every journey memorable. And the drive up to Mahabaleshwar over the New Year in the X3 was just that. Lightly packed with just the wife, one son and small bags, I was thankful that I didn’t have to carry a full holiday payload, which could have corrupted the handling.

Clambering up into the firmly-padded driver’s seat gives the first sense that the X3 is part-SUV and part-saloon, simply because you don’t sit as high up as in the former or as low down as in the latter. The driving experience, however, is neither – it’s pure sports car!

This X3 is powered by the same 2.5-litre straight-six from the 325i saloon that we’ve grown to love. It’s got the same sweetness, the same linear power delivery and the same eagerness to rev. The only difference is that since the X3 weighs 370kg more than the 325i, performance isn’t as sparkling as its saloon cousin. I also missed the thick slug of mid-range torque that a typical, modern, common-rail diesel belts out. That’s not to say the X3 is slow. In fact, it’s far from it. It’s just that this jewel of a motor loves to be worked closer to its redline, so you really need to get the revs up for it to come on song. And that’s exactly what I did when I hit the Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

Shifting the six-speed auto ’box into ‘Sport’ mode, the engine would hold revs till the 6500rpm redline before the gearbox would shift up. The transmission is incredibly responsive and kicks down in a flash to a lower cog, to make most of the power-band. The result is a seamless surge of power which whisks the X3 to some serious speeds. The strong top-end and unflappable poise make the X3 a fantastic highway muncher and, not surprisingly, the Expressway got over in a flash. Peeling off at the first exit, the 40km road to Wakan on the Goa road via Pali is a shortcut to Mahabaleshwar that I love to use. It’s an old rally stage which is still free from traffic and has a delectable assortment of twists and bends over undulating landscape. The road is pretty rough and there’s the odd speedbreaker too (unmarked, of course). In short, this road has the right ingredients to give any car’s chassis a thorough workout. The X3 handles like any BMW should – that’s expected. But on the Pali road, just how good the X3 was shocked me. It sits on the older 3-series chassis (E46), and responds positively to enthusiastic driving. The experience starts with the hydraulically-assisted rack and pinion steering, which is super-accurate and bristling with feel, which in turn gives you loads of confidence, especially at high speed.