• No seven seat option
• Plenty of rear passenger space
• PHEV loses over 100 litres of boot space

This generation of X3 has grown slightly over its predecessor in most dimensions. It’s longer and wider than before, if slightly lower. You certainly won’t notice the reduced roof height as there’s loads of headroom up front, and there’s loads of space between the driver and front passenger.

Drivers will find their seat goes back plenty to accommodate long legs, and shorter folk can shuffle it forwards so they can actually reach the pedals. Those in the back will appreciate the latest X3’s greater length, with rear legroom that’s above average for the class.

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A third, central passenger on the rear bench will have a chunky transmission tunnel to straddle, but they’ll have more shoulder room than before. We didn’t have too much issue squeezing in a rear-facing Isofix seat, although wider opening rear doors would be nice.

Boot space and storage

The X3’s boot is especially useful. It grows in size from 550 to 570 litres in mild hybrid models, increasing to 1,700 litres with the rear seats folded. That’s quite a lot more than the 1,550 litres provided with the previous X3. You lose around 110 litres of boot space in the 30e PHEV due to the battery living under the boot floor and raising it up. The old X3 was much the same, as are rivals such as the Mercedes GLC.

There is some wheelarch intrusion, but BMW has fitted a handy net in one of the cavities this creates. This is a perfect place to stick your de-icer, spare nappies, or anything else that would otherwise just slosh around the boot floor. There is also an under-floor storage area along with a few useful hooks and sockets.

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The boot’s loading lip is almost non-existent, and you get handy 40/20/40 split folding rear seats. Sadly, these can’t be folded from the boot, you’ll have to open a rear door to access the buttons. The retractable load cover also effortlessly slides in and out of its holder, with a dedicated area beneath the boot floor to keep it out of the way. Be aware that you lose the underfloor boot area with the plug-in hybrid because of its large battery.

Storage in the passenger area isn’t quite so good. There’s a big space under the front central armrest, decent door bins and a good glovebox, but the big wireless charging tray feels gimmicky. For a start, I’d rather not be distracted by a device aimed up at my face, and for seconds, the angle it’s sat at takes away an awful lot of space. Rear door bins are smaller but still handy, while there are cupholders on the rear central armrest.

Is it easy to park?

A growth spurt shouldn’t make life too much trickier when it comes to parking and manoeuvring. All X3s get all-round parking sensors, a reversing camera, and even park assist that’ll steer the SUV into a space while you operate the pedals. A 360-degree camera system comes with the optional Technology Pack.

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Safety

Euro NCAP is yet to test the latest generation of X3, although BMW’s track record is very good. Expect a five-star test rating. Naturally, you get automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keep assist, speed limit warning and a rear cross traffic alert.

You only get two Isofix mounts in the X3, one on each outer rear seat. Another on the front passenger seat would be welcome.