THERE's a new, second generation, BMW X3 on its way and its makers reckon that it will raise the bar in the premium sports activity market when it goes on sale in the UK later this year.

According to the German company it will be the lowest-emission four-wheel drive model in its market sector and the first to have a start-stop system coupled with automatic transmission.

But perhaps the most notable first is the fact that this vastly improved and highly specified new model will actually be cheaper than the car it replaces.

At £30,490 the BMW X3 xDrive 2.0d SE will cost £115 less than the outgoing model, yet is equipped as standard with Nevada leather upholstery, two-zone air conditioning, iDrive controller and colour display amongst a host of other luxury fittings.

Powered by a two-litre four-cylinder turbo diesel engine with aluminium crankcase and common rail direct injection, it delivers a maximum power output of 184hp at 4,000 rpm and peak torque of 380 Nm between 1,750 and 2,750 rpm. 

This results in a zero-62mph time of 8.5 seconds and a top speed of 130mph, yet CO emissions for this four-wheel drive vehicle are only 149g/km, with average fuel consumption of 50.4 mpg.

Emissions are even lower in the auto version at 147g/km, thanks to the fitting of Auto Start-Stop technology with the optional eight-speed automatic transmission.  The Auto Start Stop function also features as standard on the manual transmission.

Other engines will be launched at a later date, but in the UK the BMW X3 xDrive 2.0d will account for approximately 80 per cent of all sales when all other engines have been introduced.