[kopter]

Hello,

I'm currently considering purchasing the X3 40i, and the dealer has one very nice piece in stock, but it doesn't have the Adaptive Suspension, just the regular M Sport suspension. How big of a difference is there in comfort/sport mode between these suspensions?

The car comes with 21-inch run-flat tyres; do you think the car will be too stiff because of that? The roads around here aren't the best.

Any suggestions will help, I hope this will be not a deal breaker.

[strohw]

Originally Posted by kopter

Hello,

I'm currently considering purchasing the X3 40i, and the dealer has one very nice piece in stock, but it doesn't have the Adaptive Suspension, just the regular M Sport suspension. How big of a difference is there in comfort/sport mode between these suspensions?

The car comes with 21-inch run-flat tyres; do you think the car will be too stiff because of that? The roads around here aren't the best.

Any suggestions will help, I hope this will be not a deal breaker.

Can you test drive the vehicle? Other people aren't a good judge on what you deem is acceptable for comfort. But that wheel and suspension combination will put it on the firm side of handling.

[kopter]

Originally Posted by strohw

Can you test drive the vehicle? Other people aren't a good judge on what you deem is acceptable for comfort. But that wheel and suspension combination will put it on the firm side of handling.

Yes, I have a short test drive scheduled for this week. But it will be hard to tell how comfortable it is after just a 5 km drive.

[strohw]

Originally Posted by kopter

Yes, I have a short test drive scheduled for this week. But it will be hard to tell how comfortable it is after just a 5 km drive.

If you find it's not quite comfortable enough for you but close, then objectively it's easy to state that the improvement with a 19/20 wheel setup and adaptive suspension should make you happy with the vehicle. If you find it's not even close to what you were looking for then the vehicle is probably not the right choice for you.

[Bimmerforlife]

21’s will always be harsher ride than 19 or 20’s especially on bad roads.

[havlmaOne]

Greetings to SK from CZ. I just bought a M40i with M sport suspension only, it was the same case as yours. Perfectly spec'ed car (color, seats, all the nice things around), just without the adaptive suspension. I still decided to go ahead and buy it. Compared to my older Ford Mondeo and other cars like Skoda, it still feels more comfortable. I think our US friends have different threshold what they consider comfy and what not. Here in Europe I'd say the regular M sport suspension is perfectly acceptable.

[lfdal54]

Originally Posted by havlmaOne

Greetings to SK from CZ. I just bought a M40i with M sport suspension only, it was the same case as yours. Perfectly spec'ed car (color, seats, all the nice things around), just without the adaptive suspension. I still decided to go ahead and buy it. Compared to my older Ford Mondeo and other cars like Skoda, it still feels more comfortable. I think our US friends have different threshold what they consider comfy and what not. Here in Europe I'd say the regular M sport suspension is perfectly acceptable.

I had the M sport suspension in my 2019 M40i, and now the adaptive suspension in my 2023 M40i. To me, I preferred the non-adaptive suspension in my 2019.

[jrveron]

Originally Posted by kopter

Hello,

I'm currently considering purchasing the X3 40i, and the dealer has one very nice piece in stock, but it doesn't have the Adaptive Suspension, just the regular M Sport suspension. How big of a difference is there in comfort/sport mode between these suspensions?

The car comes with 21-inch run-flat tyres; do you think the car will be too stiff because of that? The roads around here aren't the best.

Any suggestions will help, I hope this will be not a deal breaker.

IMHO, you need adaptive suspension, especially with 21" wheels. Of course, you can then change the tires to improve the ride a little bit, but I strongly believe that adaptive suspension is a must for the X3.

[kopter]

Originally Posted by havlmaOne

Greetings to SK from CZ. I just bought a M40i with M sport suspension only, it was the same case as yours. Perfectly spec'ed car (color, seats, all the nice things around), just without the adaptive suspension. I still decided to go ahead and buy it. Compared to my older Ford Mondeo and other cars like Skoda, it still feels more comfortable. I think our US friends have different threshold what they consider comfy and what not. Here in Europe I'd say the regular M sport suspension is perfectly acceptable.

Thanks for all advices

For havlmaOne, this is the car I want to buy: https://bmw-zilina.sk/ponuka-vozidie...fb896357-46079

I will go for a test drive and see how it drives

There are not many cars with these specs in Slovakia when you want to buy 1 year old car. Actually, maybe just 4 and three have M sport suspension.

[thelightning]

I have Adaptive.
Never drove the non-Adaptive.

I honestly wonder what the added value is. I always have it on Adaptive mode but I never noticed anything different. It always feels like comfort mode.
Last week I was doing 250km/h on the autobahn and I still had to switch it to Sport manually to get the suspension to firm up.

X3 a comfortable car? Never. In the city cobbled streets here, the X3 is horrible compared to the E46 I still have and like to drive just a much. If not more...

[avi66]

Originally Posted by thelightning

I have Adaptive.
Never drove the non-Adaptive.

I honestly wonder what the added value is. I always have it on Adaptive mode but I never noticed anything different. It always feels like comfort mode.
Last week I was doing 250km/h on the autobahn and I still had to switch it to Sport manually to get the suspension to firm up.

X3 a comfortable car? Never. In the city cobbled streets here, the X3 is horrible compared to the E46 I still have and like to drive just a much. If not more...

Just to avoid any confusion, since the G01 LCI there is no "Adaptive mode", as in Adaptive Driving Experience mode, which dynamically switches the adaptive dampers between comfort and sport based on driver input and other factors.

From LCI the adaptive dampers are just manually set to either Sport or Comfort. So if the OP is looking at LCI, that may be a consideration.

[GDEvans]

Does anybody know where the non-adaptive suspension sits with regard to firmness of ride compared to the adaptive? Is the non-adaptive comparable to Comfort or Sport, or somewhere in between?

My car doesn't have the adaptive, but it is already a fairly firm ride. If adaptive were to make it much firmer, I would probably need a physiotherapy appointment after a long ride, especially on the well worn and rutted roads in the UK!!

[avi66]

Originally Posted by GDEvans

Does anybody know where the non-adaptive suspension sits with regard to firmness of ride compared to the adaptive? Is the non-adaptive comparable to Comfort or Sport, or somewhere in between?

My car doesn't have the adaptive, but it is already a fairly firm ride. If adaptive were to make it much firmer, I would probably need a physiotherapy appointment after a long ride, especially on the well worn and rutted roads in the UK!!

It probably depends if the car has conventional “M Sport” suspension, or normal suspension. Conventional M Sport is firmer and closer to adaptive sport.

I have 21” RFT, adaptive suspension, and a bad back lol.

Genuinely don’t have any real complaints in comfort or sport.

[fdpxfunix]

It's a very personal thing suspension.

I had a 2010 X1 18d with 'Sport Suspension' (an option that the previous owner spec'd from new) with 18" wheels and RFTs. That car was rock hard over rough roads, potholes etc. It was great in corners and handled very well, but far too hard. A little better with non-RFTs but still hard.

Fast forward to my 2018 X3 with 'M Sport Suspension' and 21" RFTs... and it’s nowhere near as hard as my X1. Yes, it does crash over potholes, but generally I have no complaints on the ride in 3 years of ownership, and I too have back issues.

Long test drive required over different surfaces to be sure. I took my X3 out for a 45 min test drive and covered about 25 miles before I bought it. The SA was brilliant, just gave me the keys and let me go Don’t be afraid to ask for an extended test drive.

J.

[pr0gi]

I had f26 with sport suspension and now X3 M40i with adaptive. I feel the X3 now is slightly more comfortable but not by much. However, i had 20 inch wheels. If you end up buying the car change the tyres to non runflat when you can. It will make huge difference especially on the 21s. I even got 19s for winter and if they didnt look so shit I would be driving them all the time. The ride of the previous generation of X4 with the sport suspension wasn't crashy or bad it was firm but in a good way. End of the day just get a test drive and try to drive on different types of road and try different speeds. From my experience when doing test drive on bad roads driving a bit slower than usual shows how much the suspension is.

[havlmaOne]

Originally Posted by kopter

Thanks for all advices

For havlmaOne, this is the car I want to buy: https://bmw-zilina.sk/ponuka-vozidie...fb896357-46079

I will go for a test drive and see how it drives

There are not many cars with these specs in Slovakia when you want to buy 1 year old car. Actually, maybe just 4 and three have M sport suspension.

Nice ride, very similar to mine. I wanted non-black interieur and this one meets this criteria too. I have "only" 20" wheels which might contribute to the comfort despite having M sport suspension. I'd say go there for a test drive, judge by your feelings. As I wrote earlier, I found M sport suspension all right on our roads.

[kopter]

So I had a test drive a couple of days back, and to be honest the car was pretty stiff on the 21 Run flat wheels and standard M suspension.

The roads around are not that good, so as a daily driver (15 km to work), it will be not very comfortable. But the engine was mind blowing

I'm now looking for some with an adaptive suspension and hope to find it.

But the dealer offered me a completely new X235i (with a similar build - panoramic roof, etc.) for even less than a 1-year-old X3.

What do you think about the new X2? Has anyone had a chance to ride it and can compare it with the X3?

I will have a test drive on a new GLC 300 (190kw), the engine will definitely not be even close to 40i, but the interior looks very interesting

[sorocknroll]

I have the adaptive suspension, but I really can't tell if it's in sport or comfort mode. Maybe on a track the sport mode makes a difference, but in normal driving I don't think they're that different.

[Leem40i]

I've driven both, and that's the only way you'll know. Basically, the M Sport suspension is like having the adaptive set on sport+ all the time. That by itself is too bad but add the 21" wheels and RFT's and it will be a bad ride, at least compared to the adaptive with 19 or 20" NRFT.
The biggest issue is the RFT. For the convenience of being able to keep going for 50 miles after a puncture you get, poor performance compared to other performance all season tires, a harder more rigid ride, tires that wear out much faster, and if you do get a puncture it can't be patched...you have to buy a new tire, and worse gas mileage.
So much easier to just get yourself a tire repair kit with pump and slime. It takes 20 min to use the kit to get you down the road.

[Sportstick]

We may have had different experiences, but Discount Tire has patched a puncture on my RFTs in the past. They explained that their guideline is similar to non-RFT…tread puncture can be patched as long as not near/involving the sidewall. The ride on the original 19” RFT Bridgestone Duelers is quite compliant and comfortable even while handling well and having good steering response. A benefit of RFT is not necessarily going 50 miles but going far enough from some questionable urban areas or highway shoulders to a safer location or all the way home without stopping to exit the vehicle and be vulnerable.

[Leem40i]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

We may have had different experiences, but Discount Tire has patched a puncture on my RFTs in the past. They explained that their guideline is similar to non-RFT…tread puncture can be patched as long as not near/involving the sidewall. The ride on the original 19” RFT Bridgestone Duelers is quite compliant and comfortable even while handling well and having good steering response. A benefit of RFT is not necessarily going 50 miles but going far enough from some questionable urban areas or highway shoulders to a safer location or all the way home without stopping to exit the vehicle and be vulnerable.

The big thing to remember is that most tire places are not going to do it due to liability reasons. They can't confirm with enough confidence that there was no further damage done to the run-flat. Each manufacturer has strict guidelines on when a patch can be performed. By the time you get to the tire place there's no way they can confirm that those guidelines were followed. The fact that you got yours repaired is a unique situation but most times professional tire places will say no. When it comes to handling the run-flat does not and cannot perform and provide the same ride comfort as a non-run flat. It's just physics. Whether or not you're okay with the way yours feel is completely subjective however if you compare that same Tire to its equivalent non-run flat you would notice the difference right away. Performance testing also shows the difference

https://www.tirerack.com/upgrade-gar...es-be-repaired

[NYRangers79]

Everyone loves the adaptive suspension until you need to do suspension work and see the price. If you plan on getting rid of the car before you need strut replacement then get adaptive. Otherwise msport is the way to go. Especially if you’re going to use lowering springs.