Top View is cool … It completely changes my approach to parking.

With top view you get a really good view round the car, you are able to see the curb and space you are reversing in and the top down perspective makes it much easier to plan your manoeuvre.

Previously I have always struggled to see the bounds of the car, even with the auto dipping passenger mirror on reversing. Now with top view there is no excuse for not having a 10/10 score for parking position!

But remember don’t rely on cameras alone!

The reversing camera also integrates nicely with the tow bar, which incidentally is electrically retractable.

This is the rear view camera’s panormaic view.

This is the tow bar view to aid with hitching up.

It is with great excitement that my car finally arrived …

Sadly I didn’t get it in time for the nice long Jubilee weekend, but I have it now and its fantastic.

For some of the features its the first time I have actually got to see them in the flesh.

Sadly I missed off the Lane Departure Warning option which also comes with Forward Warning, which I now regret as although Lane Departure Warning was of no interest to me, Forward Warning which is a part of the option which alerts you when you approach the car in front in a manner which may result in a collision, was something I would have liked. Sadly this detail is not well documented, and hence I left the option off … d’oh.

The Top View and HUD are excellent, as is the Variable Damper Control (VDC). I am loving the Professional Sound System and Professional Navigation (and Media) options too. Comfort access and mechanical trunk/boot lid opening is also a boon.

Auto Start/Stop and Auto Hold is like Marmite for many people, I thought I would hate it, but actually I love them both.

When the weather improves I shall do a more detailed review of each feature.

As delivery of my new X3 approaches, I have been interested to learn some statistics about the new BMW X3.

Here is a breakdown of colour choices in the UK market for the new BMW X3s to help you choose to either follow the crowd or stand out.

BMW X3’s come in a range of colours, but many fall into ‘families’ of colour, so here is a high level overall summarisation of colour groupings.

Clearly black a popular choice.

Broken down in more detail to specific colour variants it looks like this.

There X3 comes with or without the M-Sport body enhancements and this effects the colour options and apparent preferences.

This is the breakdown of colours for the non M-Sport variant.

And finally, this is the breakdown of colours for those who chose to buy the M-Sport variant.

Looks like Sparkling Bronze is the choice of those who stand out from the crowd.

Just sent a late night idle email enquiry to the BMW sales manager dealing with my order and to my utter amazement he replied shortly after … at ten minutes past midnight!

When I then asked what on earth he thought he was doing looking at customer emails at that time … he replied, that’s BMW Customer Service for you!

Give the man a medal.

…I didn’t get a level of service close to that from Land Rover even during office hours!

Outside of support for telephone calls, the BMW X3 comes with numerous options for phone integration and much of it is geared towards generic handset support for either call or music.

The options seem to include increasing degrees of support for USB (6NF, 6NH, 6HK), Bluetooth (6NH, 6NK) and enhanced phone support and external antenna support (6NK).

However, if you have an iPhone and want it properly integrated into the BMW you will need the “Mobile Application Preparation” (6NR) option which requires 6NK.

The name is rather misleading and is often touted for giving access to Facebook, Twitter and Web Radio within the iDrive CIC.

Personally, I find the Facebook and Twitter “enhancements” to be too crude and primitive to be of much use, and initially rejected the Mobile Application Preparation option as unnecessary on that basis.

… however, that was a mistake and what has become increasingly clear lately, is that this option also allows the iDrive amongst other things, to access the iPhone’s iPod interface providing a richer experience and access to iPod functions which would otherwise be dumbed down to generic “music” device support.

If you use your iPhone for music and want it to work the best it possibly can in your BMW, you will probably want the Mobile Application Preparation option.

Amongst other things, the Mobile Application Preparation option (6NR) includes the extra internal cabling in the arm rest to access the iPhone advanced integration above and beyond USB support.

This option is also only available with Professional Multimedia Package (ZXF) which is part of the Navigation system - BMW Professional Multimedia (609).

Additionally, despite its misleading name, the Professional Navigation Package has more to do with the overall entertainment system’s functions and capabilities than Navigation alone.

Many people often save on phone and multimedia options only to later discover the missing functions to their detriment.

The media and phone integration options are poorly explained, so either get the top spec or read the forums in order to avoid disappointment!

Thankfully after an initial scare, my dealer was able to update my order … phew!

Choosing options is always hard, and I think in the case of the more advanced features it can sometimes be a bit tricky.

Good as demonstrators are, it is rare that you can get to experience all the features before you buy.

One way round this problem is to choose them all …

I am evolving an X3 Options page which as time goes on, and especially once I take delivery of mine, will flesh out with detail to help understand them.

I can’t fault my dealer so far …

They keep me up to date with build progress of the vehicle and indulge my almost daily calls of enquiry and questions with apparently endless patience and good humour.

I am not sure I can cope with the 10 or so weeks of anticipation till delivery, but for sure I will be impressed if they manage to stay the journey too!

Of course, being the picky difficult customer that I am, the real test will be post-delivery!

It is interesting reading forums and owner’s comments …

In general people seem to be passionately supportive of the vehicles they have chosen … at least those who choose to post on the forum for the car they own.

What is also interesting is how balanced and representative many of the respective owners can be regarding the car they chose and didn’t choose.

That said, I cannot help noticing an unhappy undertone in the Evoque forum compared to that of the X3.

I can’t find words to express the sentiment, but reading through the forums, although most Evoke owners seem to wax lyrical about the Evoque it is also tempered by a background odour which leaves the reader feeling quite anxious.

And while BMW owners aren’t without their problems either, the BMW X3 forum seems a much brighter happier place.

In the Evoque forum there are perpetual complaints about dealers, delivery promises, reliability and quality.

Evoque owners love the styling but complain about performance.

In the BMW forum people are generally delighted with service, are excited in anticipation of delivery and revel in the joy of driving when they finally take delivery.

The more I read, the happier I become that I haven’t bought an Evoque … and the more excited I become that I chose what promises to be a superb vehicle which is immensely fun to drive and appears still just as economical.

Even without driving either of that cars, had I spent time in the forums prior to trying the cars, my decision to buy a BMW would have been one sided and quite unequivocal.

For sure, for immediate visual impact the Evoque is spectacular to look at … but past that it seems to make numerous practical sacrifices on all fronts.

As much I love the look of the Evoque, even since the first days it was announced as a concept, I can’t help turning off it the more I look at it in detail.

I have read many times the impression that once the initial impact of the Evoque has waned, the love affair with one will quickly pass.

Conversely, while the visual appeal of the X3 may not be as dramatic, but I find that it grows on you … and the more time you spend with the car as a whole, the stronger the love affair becomes.

The only analogy I can come up with is that the Evoque is a quick fling and the X3 is a long term meaningful relationship.

If you take manufacturers specs for combined fuel economy

• Evoque Diesel – 49.7mpg (13.07p)
• BMW X3 35D – 48.7mpg (13.34p)
• Evoque Petrol – 40.9mpg (14.99p)
• BMW 135i – 43.5 mpg (14.10p)
• Jeep Grand Cherokee – 39.2mpg (16.57p)

* Figures in brackets are normalised price in pence per mile.

Calculated according to the manufacturer’s figgures, the 2.2l diesel Evoque is only 2% cheaper on fuel than the x3 35D …

But when you factor the 0-60mph times …

• BMW 135i – 5.6s (0.2s or 3% faster)
• BMW X3 35d – 5.8s
• Evoque Petrol – 7.1s (1.3s or 22% slower)
• Evoque Diesel – 8s (2.2s or 37% slower)
• Jeep Grand Cherokee – 8.2s (2.4s or 41% slower) - And mine does 9.6s after 12 years

* Figures in brackets times relative to the X3 35D.

The Evoque is over 37% slower to 60mph than the BMW X3.

In the loosest sense, when ballancing efficiency and performance, the 35D seems to win hands down.

All I know, the X3 is loads more fun to drive!

I know some may say that this is not a fair comparison as the BMW 35D is more expensive than the 2.2l Evoque, but I am comparing the best specs each car has to offer and while that makes the BMW a bit more expensive it is worth every penny.

The whole MY (Manufacturing Year) thing confuses me …

As it happens, it appears that the build cycle for the BMW X3 changes in April.

Having just placed the order using the 2012 specification options, the 2013 build is almost upon us and a few new options have just been announced …

Yes, don’t ask … it would appear that the 2013 version of the X3 starts from April 2012.

And so, I took the opportunity to discuss them with the very nice sales manager who has been indulging me through this process.

Lane departure warning and Speed limit info are the two options which are new and relevant to my order.

Lane departure warning alerts you to unplanned movements between lanes by vibrating the steering wheel.

Speed limit info uses a camera to “read” speed signs and shows the most recent in your dash or HUD (Head Up Display) for reference.

I decided to add the Speed limit info to my order and gave Lane departure warning as miss … I believe the Lane departure warning is incompatible with my heated steering wheel anyway.