After barely escaping the aftermath of a large January winter storm in Virginia, our delayed flight landed in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Upon deboarding, we proceeded straight to the car rental lot. I had reserved a new BMW 5 Series and was looking forward to driving it through the Florida Keys during a six-day mid-winter vacation with my wife, Sara, and our two kids, Avery and Carter. As with all rentals, I was curious—would it be a good future vehicle purchase for my family of four in terms of space, comfort, and fun-to-drive-ness? All that stood between me and the answer to this question was the rental company employee.
“Here’s your Audi A6,” said the employee. “Oh. But I specifically made the reservation for a BMW 5 Series?” I asked as my heart sank. “We don’t have any more of those, but I can upgrade you to a new X3 if you would like a BMW,” he said. And after loading four roller suitcases and backpacks into the trunk with room to spare, we were on our merry way in an Alpine White 2026 X3 30 xDrive (G45), the fourth, and latest, generation of BMW’s X3 Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV).
For the first two nights of our trip, we would be staying at the Islander Resort in Islamorada, Florida, 109 miles south of the Fort Lauderdale airport and somewhat of a midway point through the Keys. The X3 ate up mainland highway miles and hopped between islands with ease. The roads along our route were mostly straight and flat, so it was a good opportunity to play with the Level 2 semi-automated assisted-driving features. Active cruise control with stop and go and lane keeping assistant managed speed, distance, and lane centering, offering a break from some of the monotony.
Regardless of 30 or M50 trim levels, the X3 comes standard with xDrive, an eight-speed automatic transmission, and 48-volt mild-hybrid technology. The heart of the X3 30 is a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, laying down 255 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. With a six-second run to 60, it’s not especially quick by today’s standards, but the snail-fed four pot was adept at quick merges onto Route 1, the main highway through the Keys. I’m sure the X3 M50’s increased power would be more satisfactory for the acceleration junkies out there, but the 30 felt smooth and refined, and got our family of four and our luggage to 60 mph with plenty of merging room to spare.
BMW’s trick 48-volt mild-hybrid system is prevalent in many of the brand’s new models and contributes to the overall power numbers. A small 48-volt electric motor is built into the ZF eight-speed transmission, which can instantly turn the engine on and off depending on demand. I noticed the engine turning off as we coasted to stops, but it isn’t nearly as intrusive as some of the older auto stop-start systems, like in the 2013-2019 F3X 3 Series cars.
There are a number of driving modes available to spice things up or tone things down. “Sport” noticeably firmed up the suspension and remapped the throttle pedal, which was fun, but we mostly left it in the default mode for comfortable cruising and good gas mileage. With each mode change, the digital dash layout and content was updated, as well as color changes in the translucent trim lining the dash and center console, giving the interior either a calm or menacing feeling.
Over the course of two days in Islamorada, we became more familiar with the new X3. While it’s an impressive SAV, it’s not all rainbows and sunshine. Initially, the X3’s switch gear took some getting used to. While I’m familiar with old-school buttons and even new touch screens, there are certain panels, such as the center console controls or door panel controls, that require the entire panel to be depressed with your finger in the specific area, while other buttons on the panel only require a slight touch without a press. The lack of consistency can be confusing at first, but after a day of fiddling it becomes second nature.
On the topic of interior, the X3’s front seats are amazing. The upholstery combination of perforated Veganza seat centers and quilted Calm Beige seat bolsters is as smooth as butter, and they hugged me in all the right places. I could fall asleep in these seats. I almost did fall asleep in these seats, but the X3 warned me to pay closer attention to the road. Oops.
The highlight from our time in Islamorada was, without question, the 2.5-hour guided kayaking adventure through the mangroves with Paddle The Florida Keys. One of Sara’s goals for the trip was to see manatees up close and personal, and this excursion delivered! Manatees swam right up to our kayaks. It may have been 50 degrees with 25 mph winds on the water, but we made due with jackets and winter hats. Plus, the constant paddling kept us warm. Other activities in Islamorada included exploring the resort grounds for fishing, putt putt golf, basketball, and the heated pool. Local eats were delicious, such as Cuban food at Harbor Cafe and sushi at Sushi Sake.
For the next leg, we drove 80 miles to Key West. Along the way, we had a couple of fun stops planned, with the first being a tour of The Turtle Hospital in Marathon. The Turtle Hospital is built on the grounds of the old Hidden Harbor Motel, and the motel rooms serve as living quarters for the rehab staff. It is a fully functioning veterinary hospital for sick and injured sea turtles where staff rescues, rehabs, and releases sea turtles back into the ocean. Thanks to tagging, they can even tell when they’ve had repeat patients—one turtle took 20 years between visits!
We also took time to stop on Bahia Honda Key and visit Bahia Honda State Park. Featuring award winning beaches and a historic bridge, the park encompasses over 500 acres. While the beaches are great for snorkeling, temps were in the upper 50s, so we just played in the sand and shallows. The backdrop also made for some nice photos of the X3.
While at the beach, we noticed that the X3’s door lock/unlock algorithm was a bit aggressive. By default, as you walk away from the X3 it will automatically lock. This sounds nice, unless you have a passenger that is still in the vehicle that tries to open the door, setting off the alarm. As you walk towards the vehicle, it will automatically unlock. This also sounds nice, unless you’re close by on the beach and hear the X3’s alarm beep, indicating it’s constantly locking and unlocking based on slight changes in proximity. Additionally, sometimes it would only unlock the driver’s door and sometimes it would unlock all doors. Thankfully, after a day of door-lock-induced frustration, we found and adjusted options for these behaviors deep in the configuration menu, making vehicle entry and exit much easier to endure.
The rest of the drive to Key West was pleasant, with the sun peaking through the clouds and providing some warmth through the X3’s panoramic glass roof. In Key West, we stayed at the Blue Marlin Motel, which can be best described as a nicely modernized and tidy motel with old-school vibes. We didn’t do much driving in Key West as finding parking can be an issue, so we racked up nearly ten miles of walking each day.
Activity highlights in Key West included visiting the southernmost point of the U.S., exploring Fort Zachary Taylor, visiting Hemingway House to see six and seven-toed cats, and walking the length and width of the island multiple times. Our favorite activity was a three-hour dolphin tour on Honest Eco’s 42-foot catamaran, where dolphins came right up to the boat. While we ate at a few sit-down restaurants, the food and atmosphere we enjoyed most was at an outdoor venue, Island Tingz.
For our last full vacation day, the X3 shined as we drove 190 miles from Key West back to Fort Lauderdale. We made a handful of stops for food, souvenirs, and feeding the large Tarpon fish at Robbie’s Marina in Islamorada—something we didn’t have time for during our stay there earlier in the week.
After six days and nearly 500 miles in our X3 rental, we arrived back where the adventure began, with over a quarter tank of fuel left. Starting with a full tank, we hadn’t stopped for gas the entire time. When I filled it up before returning it to the rental company, the X3 estimated 700 miles of range. I hadn’t been shy with throttle application, so that’s some seriously impressive fuel economy! I’m sure the 48-volt hybrid technology and engine auto stop-start contribute to those good numbers significantly.
In addition to the extremely comfortable seats and voluminous trunk space (compared to our cars at home), everyone in my family noted that they were pleased with the in-door cup holders. Yes, of the many positive things the X3 delivers, my family was most impressed with the cup holders. To be fair, the cup holders did hold our large reusable water bottles with ease, which meant they weren’t rolling around at our feet or taking up room on the seats—an issue that we constantly experience with our cars at home.
Upon returning home, I thought back to my original question—would we buy a new X3 to replace one of our aging daily drivers? With a starting MSRP of $51,300, you do get a lot for your money, but I’m still not 100 percent sold on one. Having said that, it was an excellent choice for a mid-winter vacation exploring the Florida Keys.
