In 2024, BMW announced that the new X3 would be all-wheel drive only. The rear-drive SUV was dead, and with it, a lower entry point to X3 ownership. However, just across the border, BMW has decided to revive the X3 sDrive in Mexico.
BMW Will Still Sell The Rear-Drive X3 In Mexico
BMW
Related: BMW X3 Generations Overview: From Ugly Duckling To Best-Seller
For the 2026 model year (and maybe beyond), the X3 20 sDrive is the new-old entry point to the brand’s X3 in Mexico. It’ll use BMW’s familiar turbo-four (making 190 hp and 229 lb-ft) to power exclusively the rear wheels. BMW’s ever-present eight-speed automatic will handle shuffling that power to the rear wheels. Predictably, it’s not quite as quick off the line as our all-wheel drive X3s, hitting 62 mph in around 8.5 seconds. There is, however, a problem: price.
Mexico’s Rear-Drive X3 Costs More Than America’s AWD X3
BMW
BMW says Mexico’s new rear-drive X3 starts at $1,194,900 MXN, or $63,899 USD. That’s quite a lot more than we pay here in the US, with the all-wheel drive X3 30 xDrive starting at $49,950. There’s a litany of reasons Mexican cars are more expensive than our own, but the bottom line is that the AWD X3 now looks like a serious bargain here in the States.
More to the point, the old rear-drive X3 didn’t bring any real fuel savings to the lineup, averaging just a single mile per gallon improvement over a similar AWD X3. It was, at least, cheaper, but it’s pretty clear that BMW knows the benefits of the rear-drive X3 in the US market have largely been negated, especially with the updates made to the current SUV. It may not be as “BMW” as the old one, but the new X3, with its standard all-wheel drive, luxurious interior, and solid cargo capacity, is a seriously good buy.
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