2017 BMW X3: Best Luxury Compact SUV for Families

The 2017 BMW X3 Is U.S. News & World Report’s Best Luxury Compact SUV for Families

Just because you have a family and need a vehicle with space for everybody doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice luxury features or drive a boring car.

The U.S. News & World Report Best Luxury Compact SUV for Families award demonstrates that buyers willing to drop $40,000 on a luxury compact SUV can afford to be picky. The category offers lots of great choices that can do it all, from keeping you alert and engaged behind the wheel to keeping you and your whole family comfortable and entertained all day long, to toting all the gear you could need for a weekend away.

The 2017 BMW X3 won our Best Luxury Compact SUV for Families award because it offers the best combination of positive reviews from professional automotive writers, great passenger and cargo space, excellent safety and reliability data, and available family-friendly features.

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Why the 2017 BMW X3 Scores Well on Our Site

Based on the excellent and popular BMW 3 Series sedan, the X3 is the middle child among BMW's utilitarian SUVs. It seats five, with generous rear leg- and headroom, and its tall, square cargo area offers maximum flexibility.

The X3 is neither as thrilling to drive as the Jaguar F-Pace, nor as plush as the Mercedes-Benz GLC, but it strikes a nearly ideal balance between being rewarding to drive and comfortable to ride in.

Buying an X3 to carry your family also comes with the assurance of top safety scores and good reliability. The X3’s excellent safety scores, good reliability score, and superior performance contributed to its high U.S. News overall score, while its passenger and cargo space, as well as its many available family-friendly features, make it the Best Luxury Compact SUV for Families.

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Passenger Space and Comfort

One reason the X3 gets our nod as a top luxury compact SUV is the space inside. It’s bigger than most luxury compact SUVs, with room to stretch out in the back seat. Drivers and passengers sit tall, taller than in most compact SUVs, and have a commanding view through the X3’s big windows.

The seats are comfortable, and the standard leatherette looks and feels high-quality, while making for easy clean up when the inevitable sippy cup spill happens. 

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Cargo Space

The cargo space in the X3 is just what you want for a family: deep, square, and flexible. Unlike some sleeker SUVs, the X3’s tall, boxy cargo area has no problem holding bigger stuff and can carry more of it than fastback luxury SUVs like the BMW X4.

For some buyers, the best feature may be the rear seat that folds down in 40/20/40 sections for maximum flexibility. You can carry two passengers and some long, narrow cargo, or fold down one or both rear seats to carry bigger items.  

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Family-Friendly Features

The 2017 X3 earns its Best Luxury Compact SUV for Families title, in part, because of its long list of family-friendly features. The X3 offers popular features like a Wi-Fi hot spot and Apple CarPlay, which are convenient for tech-savvy families on the go.

Loading your car after stocking up at Costco is made easy with the X3’s proximity key and hands-free liftgate. You’ll also never have to hear your kids complain again about fluctuating temperature. The X3 features heated rear seats to keep your kids warm and rear sunshades to shield your children from the annoyance of the hot, blinding sun. 

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More Family-Friendly Features

BMW’s iDrive infotainment system may not be as cutting-edge as those in the Audi Q5 or Jaguar F-Pace, but it is simple to use and responsive. Graphics are sharp, and the system offers a touchpad that lets you enter names and addresses using handwriting recognition. An optional 8.8-inch screen includes even better graphics, as well as an integrated navigation system. 

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Safety Scores and Features

The 2017 X3 earns a five-star overall crash test rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It also received four Good crash test scores from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

Automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning, blind spot monitoring, and a backup camera are available in two optional Driver Assistance Packages.

The Active Driving Assistant package brings front collision warning, low-speed automatic emergency braking with pedestrian detection, blind-spot monitoring, and lane departure warning. This system gets the second highest rating for effectiveness by the IIHS: Advanced.

Buyers who want all the latest bells and whistles can order the Active Driving Assistant package with ACC Stop & Go + Active Driving Assistant, which adds adaptive cruise control and high-speed automatic emergency braking. Adaptive cruise control can automatically slow down when it approaches a slower-moving car ahead. The IIHS gives this system its highest Superior rating. It also includes a surround-view monitor. 

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Reliability

Nobody wants to have problems after they spring for a new car, and the BMW X3 shouldn’t let you down. J.D. Power rates reliability in the first three-years of owning an X3 at 3.5 out of 5, which is slightly above average. That puts it on par with the Jaguar F-Pace and the Lincoln MKC, and a little ahead of the Audi Q5 and the Acura RDX. 

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Performance

With two available turbocharged engines, the BMW X3 ranges from plenty fast to super quick. The standard 240-horsepower four-cylinder engine delivers plenty of torque off the line and will sprint from zero to 60 mph in a sprightly 6 seconds and change. Only the pickiest performance buyers will feel the need to upgrade to the 3.0-liter six-cylinder turbo with its 300 horsepower, which springs from zero to 60 mph like a real sports car. Both engines come standard with an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Four-cylinder models offer a choice of rear-wheel drive (which BMW dubs sDrive), or all-wheel drive (xDrive). Six-cylinder models come standard with all-wheel drive.

The four-cylinder gets great gas mileage for a compact luxury SUV, at 21 mpg in the city and 28 on the highway. The six-cylinder chews through a gallon two to three miles faster. 

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Car Seats

Parents can install child seats using LATCH anchors in each of the outer rear seats. Those anchors, unfortunately, are recessed deep under the seat cushion and are very difficult to wrangle. At least there’s plenty of space in the rear for child seats, even if they're rear-facing infant seats.

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More Shopping Tools From U.S. News & World Report

Value is one of the most important considerations when you have a family. U.S. News & World Report's Best Price Program can save you thousands off MSRP by helping you find the dealer in your area with the best price. You can save even more money by checking our new car financing deals and lease deals pages for manufacturer incentives.