Our 2012 BMW X3 is eligible for the RTI ramp treatment because it is equipped with AWD and is SUV-shaped. If that's not enough acronyms for you, get a job with the DOD (Department of Defense). When I worked there some years ago I had access to a government/military acronym dictionary that was 3 inches think, containing many 3-layer nested sub-acronyms and initialisms. And yes, "fubar" was in there. Not sure about "RTFM." Had to be, right?
But I digress.
This photo above depicts the upper limit reached by our 2012 X3. The lower valance cleared easily at the bottom but as the suspension compressed it came into very slight contact with the cheese grater that is out ramp's traction surface. No little plastic shavings were produced, however.
All she wrote.
Handling-focused stabilizer bars and a moderate amount of suspension travel doesn't add up to all that much articulation. This is still a soft-roader, but the X3 did hike its left front almost 50 percent higher than the Juke.
Twelve and three-sixteenths of lift translates to 35.63 inches of progress up the ramp. Dividing this by the X3's 110.6-inch wheelbase and multiplying by 1,000 brings boils down to an RTI value of 322.
How does this measure up to other vehicles? We haven't tested many, so the RTI leaderboard is rather short. We have lots of gaps to fill in. At present the X3 is one up from the bottom of the list.
|
Vehicle |
Wheel Lift |
Ramp Climb |
Wheelbase |
RTI |
|
2010 Toyota Land Cruiser |
24.81 |
72.55 |
112.2 |
647 |
|
2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport |
18.31 |
53.54 |
95.4 |
561 |
|
2011 Lexus GX 460 |
20.19 |
59.02 |
109.8 |
538 |
|
2012 BMW X3 xDrive35i |
12.19 |
35.63 |
110.6 |
322 |
|
2011 Nissan Juke SL AWD |
8.75 |
25.58 |
99.6 |
257 |
Everything shown above is an unmodified stock vehicle. We're keeping track of our Jeep modifications separately.
This finishing order makes sense considering the relative off-road mission and reputation -- not to mention hardware -- of each vehicle. The Toyota and Lexus lead the list in wheel lift thanks to KDSS, but our unmodified base Jeep sneaks up amongst them on the strength of its short wheelbase.
Dan Edmunds, Director of Vehicle Testing
carchatter1 says:
07:38 PM, 02/ 4/12
"RTFM" absolutely must be in there by now if fubar is. I can just picture an M1-A1 with a bunch of guys crammed in there trying to figure something out and yelling "RTFM"!
gslippy says:
09:07 PM, 02/ 4/12
I hadn't really noticed how this RTI was done before, but I like it.
Would you consider testing a mainstream passenger car as a baseline, such as the Optima, Camry, or Sonic in your garage?
As a person who's never owned an AWD or an SUV, it's hard for me to appreciate the scale of these numbers.
firstwagon says:
10:02 PM, 02/ 4/12
The numbers are low but it doesn't really matter. It's not an off roader.
It's a tall compact wagon. Sure it weighs as much as the full sized wood walled V8 wagons of yesterday but it's just a CRV for people with a lot more money.
Too each their own.
brn says:
07:03 AM, 02/ 5/12
Agree with firstwagon. For it's target audience, this is just fine. However, it should quell those (very few) that try and say this thing is an off roader.
pc123456 says:
08:05 AM, 02/ 5/12
Do the Camry and/or the Quest for a comparison point at the low end.
ed124c says:
09:20 AM, 02/ 5/12
Since I am a loyal reader, how about doing this test with a 2005-2009 Outback 4 cylinder? (Sixes are a rare beast, thankfully)
And a question for Dan: How much difference would there be between new tires and almost worn out tires? Can it be calculated?
fushigi says:
09:52 AM, 02/ 5/12
IBM is also good for acronyms. One service manual had a disassembly process that required removing the AMD. The AMD is an Air Movement Device. IBM created a three letter acronym for what could be properly identified with a three letter word - fan.
I would be curious how good (or not) my Outlander GT would do on the ramp, though I freely admit that like firstwagon notes, it's really used more as a wagon/cargo hauler than an offroader. The ground clearance and AWD are good in snow and that's what ultimately matters to me.
yellowmiata says:
01:24 PM, 02/ 5/12
I'm in favor of measuring abilities, but shouldn't these measurements / factors lead to performance? Lets take these vehicles off road an see them actually articulate rather than just driving up a ramp attached to a wall.
IL never did take the stock jeep to its true limit, rather just modded for modding's sake. All this modding for a drive-up-the-wall number isn't in which I'm interested. I'd rather see these factors / measurements / numbers lead to real-world utility. Any thoughts on when *that* might happen?
Kevin
trent310 says:
05:49 PM, 02/ 5/12
Why are the image filenames called 'BMX'?
firstwagon says:
07:02 PM, 02/ 5/12
"IL never did take the stock jeep to its true limit, rather just modded for modding's sake."
Must have missed something. Aside from off road tires, what did they mod?
isend2c says:
10:24 PM, 02/ 5/12
This car looks the least ridiculous of all those tested, the Toyota was insane - so much articulation. The X3 has such a stiff body and limited travel so it doesn't look crazy, just as if it hit a bad set of potholes.
I'm with fushigi, I'd Also like to see the Outlander, as I have an SE, but mine is FWD. I think it would do pretty well for a crossover, as it has pretty good clearance and Mitsubishi has been pushing their AWD system a lot recently.
The X3 is one of my favorite cars, I won't push the dunes or boulders in my car, I anticipate liking how the X3 handles and I like the cargo capacity. I think it's like the Outlander, just better in every way.
yellowmiata says:
08:46 AM, 02/ 6/12
@ firstwagon
I believe we're both right here: you that the tires are the only thing they modded, me that they added new tires + rims and disconnected the sway bar to measure articulation up a wall ramp.
I wish they'd use this thing to its limit (if it has one). Right now I've only seen a handful of trips out to the jeep's natural habitat. Adding all of these things without stock comparison is gratuitous. With the miata mods we had a baseline, didn't we? So we'd know how things stack up. IL, don't let this be a city-poser jeep!
Kevin
csubowtie says:
11:45 AM, 02/ 6/12
I think my vehicles flex that much in my short driveway on the side of a hill.
stovt001 says:
11:58 AM, 02/ 6/12
Thanks for the laugh fushigi.
Take the NSX up the ramp for giggles?
ptcdawg says:
02:01 PM, 02/ 6/12
I say you run this thing off a cliff, sans driver.
afdriver says:
11:47 PM, 02/ 7/12
My votes for the next cars are for a Forester and a Countryman.