There is the saying, “Cars nowadays are more like gadgets on wheels,” which makes it all the more important to understand how good, bad, functional, ergonomic, and useful the tech inside cars is. This is where my unique experience of being a tech-turned auto journalist comes in handy. A perfect mix of fascination, gamification, and ergonomics makes for the best-possible tech inside each car. And hence, we are starting this new series where apart from the car, we also give our expert opinion on the tech inside each car that we review. We’re calling it “The Tech Inside,” so welcome to the Tech Inside the BMW X3 30i M Sport Pro. Could there be a better car to start this with? I think not!
So BMW sent me the X3 30i M Sport Pro to review for a few days. During my time, I realized that the tech on cars has evolved quite a lot and is much more than the screens that we’ve reviewed in the past. In fact, the innovation seems to be more than even some of the biggest tech products to the point that it is overwhelming more often than not. And while it is sometimes to wrap your head around all the features and tech, it is functional at the same time. Tech makes cars safer, more fun, more useful, more entertaining, and definitely more comfortable. With that in mind, let’s begin with the Tech Inside the BMW X3.
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BMW X3 30i M Sport Pro – Curved Dual Screens Are Exceptional in Quality
Let’s start with the basic stuff. We are getting a 14.9-inch infotainment display paired with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster in a curved casing. Both displays are fantastic in terms of quality. The bigger 14.9-inch infotainment display has a 2,400 x 900p resolution, which is super sharp for an infotainment display. There is no loss of quality and the details remain sharp across screens and menus. The display is also quite responsive. So much so that I give it full points in responsiveness – it is as smooth as a tablet or a smartphone. We don’t know the exact refresh rate or touch response rate on this, but this is definitely 60Hz or more.
This is also super bright to use. It’s also a super bright display, which never runs out of visibility, even if you’re sitting next to the sun. Even the coating on this display is really good, taking care of all the reflections that may come by the car being under bright sunlight.
Coming to the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, this looks confusing at first, but once you get the hang of it, it is really good. There is all the information you need. The screens are easy to set up and easy to understand, and the animations are very cool. You can set your instrument cluster to show several different things like just the speed, fuel and range, cruise control and ADAS graphics, tachometer, and more. This also changes its theme according to the drive mode we are in, a detail I will never find un-interesting.
Everything is placed conveniently, and it’s not difficult to read or understand, at least after a few minutes of fiddling around with the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster in the BMW X3 30i M Sport Pro.
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BMW X3 30i M Sport Pro – Camera’s Aren’t Only for 360-Degree or ADAS
Now, coming to the interesting stuff. A feature that I’ve seen on other newer BMW cars is the in-cabin camera. This is such a fun feature to play around with, since it allows users to record videos or take photos of what is going on inside the car’s cabin. While the quality of video and photos is not something you’d get from a smartphone, it is good enough to play around with for content purposes and acts as a pretty good safety layer, in case you’re giving a lift to any unknown person.
But that is not all the use case BMW has for the cameras it uses in cars. Like most other luxury cars, we get 360-degree cameras with the BMW X3 30i. This includes a front camera, a rear camera, and two cameras mounted on either ORVMs. BMW has used those cameras to give users a sort of a dashcam type of use case. The feature is called BMW Drive Recorder and what it does is it uses the 4 cameras on the car to record your surroundings, acting as a sort of a dashcam.
What is cool about this is that you can choose to use either all or one or two cameras to record your surroundings with the BMW X3 30i. But that’s not even the best part. The best part is that in case of an accident situation, the BMW X3 30i will automatically record up to 30 seconds before and after the accident. Of course, we did not test this but from a safety standpoint, this is just brilliant. You can save up to 60 seconds of video in the car, and these videos can be transferred wirelessly to compatible media.
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BMW X3 30i M Sport Pro – Even For Those Who Can’t Part of Reverse
With the BMW X3 30i M Sport Pro, we also get automatic parking and reverse assistant. Automatic parking is very self-explanatory. All you need to do is stop your car near a parking spot. Once the car detects the spot, all you need to do is just click “Start Automatic Parking” on the screen, and the car will park itself.
The reverse assistant is something more interesting. The BMW tracks your path as you enter a certain area, and once you put the car in reverse, the display shows a prompt that says “Reverse Assistant.” Once you press that, the car will reverse in the exact same trajectory that you came forward in. Very cool, because I have a few friends that can drive fine, but while reversing, all their driving skills go for a toss.
BMW X3 30i M Sport Pro – Live Vehicle Is Gimmicky But I Love It
But that’s not all. In fact, we are just scratching the surface here. The BMW X3 also comes with many features that you must have seen in other cars. Things like seat ventilation, heads-up display, memory seats, a panoramic glass roof, live vehicle, and a lot more. The most unique or fun feature out of all of these has to be the live vehicle, where the BMW X3 shows you your car and the status of the car in a 3D view. For example, If you have your lights on, the X3 on your display will also turn its lights on. Any door you open will show you in the display, in real time. If you put the blinkers on, the animated X3 will have its blinkers on, if you give it a dipper, it will flash the headlights. Basically everything you do in the car, the animation will replicate it in real time. Very Need For Speed vibes.
When the car is stationary, the wheels are stationary, but when the car is moving, the wheels start moving. The level of detailing is so good that, according to the speed, the tyres also move in this live vehicle animation.
BMW X3 30i M Sport Pro – The Standard Stuff
Like any other car, the seat ventilation on the BMW X3 is pretty simple. There are 3 fan speeds that you can set, and the temperature will be matched with the air conditioner. These are also 10-way electronically adjustable seats with two memory slots.
Coming to the heads-up display, this, in this segment, is as good as you would expect. The level of detail is very good. You can adjust multiple screens that include your speed, your navigation, your range, your cruise control view, and more. The details are pretty good. It’s a sharp heads-up display, and you can adjust the placement according to your height and preference. I don’t think there is anything wrong with the heads-up display, and it’s pretty easy to turn it off as well.
BMW X3 30i M Sport Pro – Not All Is Good
But it’s not all good. While the tech inside the BMW X3 30i M Sport Pro is pretty useful overall, and we are getting a tactile option for most functions like media, the climate control is only operable via touch sensitive controls. Except changing the directions of the air vents (for which BMW has put really cool-looking pucks), every other setting – from turning on the air con, to changing the temperature, to even adjusting the airflow, the climate controls are all touch-sensitive. Even the cool fighter jet-like vents on the front doors have their air flow adjustable via touch itself.
BMW X3 30i M Sport Pro – Final Verdict
So yes, despite the BMW X3 being sort of a candyland for tech geeks like myself, there are things that don’t make sense or are a little over the top in terms of functionality and ergonomics. As I’ve always said, a few things should always remain analogue in cars, not only because they feel better, but in terms of safety as well. Those things include climate control, volume, lock and unlock, and such.
Yes, while the BMW has an analogue option for most of these, it doesn’t have an analogue option for all of these. Still, that doesn’t take away from the fact that tech on this car, or on other BMW cars in the same segment, is quite cool and quite useful at the same time.
For people who don’t or can’t park properly, we have automatic parking. For those who like gimmicks, people like me, for example, we have things like Live Vehicle. For functionality and safety purposes, we have stuff like an in-cabin camera, BMW Drive Recorder, or the very well-thought-of and sophisticated ADAS and adaptive cruise control.
For me, this gets a solid 9/10 in terms of the tech on this car because the one mark I’m taking away are only because of touch-sensitive climate controls, or the lack of feedback in them.
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