Despite BMW having already unveiled the 2018 new-generation X3 back in June, it’s possible the automaker may still be testing different engines or new electronics on camouflaged prototypes.
This particular tester was spotted in Germany by one of CarScoop’s readers, Ohad, who wasn’t exactly sure which BMW SUV/SAV model he was looking at. At first, neither were we, until we noticed a couple of important details.
For starters, the kidney grille has those surrounds we didn’t find on any X5 prototypes. Second, the bottom part of the front spoiler is identical to the one we saw an on an old X3 prototype, and third, the rear quarter window seems a bit too long for this to be an X5.
It’s also unlikely that this is any sort of new electrified version of the X3, since in Germany you’re required by law to mark those types of prototypes accordingly – so firefighters can know what they’re dealing with in case of an accident.
Now, if it wasn’t for those details we just mentioned, it would have been extremely difficult to guess whether this was an X3 or an X5 prototype, which in turn takes us back to that 2019 X5 render we saw last summer, the one where the all-new X3 served as a blueprint.
Hopefully, BMW will find clear ways for us to tell the two models apart once the X5 surfaces. Nobody wants a repeat of the X4/X6 debacle, where it’s basically a toss up between which is which whenever you view them from a large distance.
Thanks to Ohad Shemesh
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