BMW X3 was previously criticized for its poor ride, austere and minimalist interior, as it had relied heavily on plastic components obviously and the off-road usage was limited. The heavy road biased set up of chassis of BMW X3 wasn't really liked by the critics, and same was their opinion on the pricing of the car, which was definitely on the higher side.

It is a basic 2.5i, which lacked cruise control, the automatic headlights and featured vinyl upholstery exceeded the 30,000 US dollars mark (vinyl was never given in other markets). In the year 2005, with various upgrades, BMW sought to rectify the complaints.

It was a disappointment for some of the purists of BMW as the BMW X3 was not assembled at the factory of BMW; instead the production of the car was given to Magna Steyr, which is based in Graz, Austria. However, Magna Steyr lived up to BMW's expectations, won many awards for its quality and it has been the highest rated factory of assembling the cars in Europe.

Now, the 2009 X3 is much more improved in terms of off-road driving capabilities, offers smoother driving experience, chassis built of part aluminum/steel mixed with plastic parts.

With several enhancements, now its current price of about $38,000 sounds fair enough, given that there aren't any apparent drawbacks too. The latest BMW X3 pictures look pretty cool and looks like there's something even better coming your way this year, as BMW sets off for the release of all new 2010 X1 and the 2010 X3 models.