Das Torque Meister
Vanilla flavoured on the outside with just some added colour, beefy goodness on the inside. I simply love it when my beef jerky is coated in vanilla ice cream and covered with nuts. Ok maybe not. The Alpina XD3 Biturbo, is Biturbocharged goodness, in an X3 body with ‘Beemer’ and ‘Alpina’ badging. You get all the X3 frills, the tall commanding ride height, utility room at the rear for your gear, that a vanilla X3 would provide, and 700Nm of beefy torque available under your right foot.
Why yes, it is a diesel, but when on the road, there is little hint of the characteristic diesel chatter that many cars are plagued with, thanks to the very good interior insulation. The straight six-cylinder engine is mated to a version of the ZF 8HP 8-speed SWITCH-TRONIC transmission, which a similar to the one found on the Rolls-Royce Phantom, but pushing all four wheels in the case of the XD3.
Taking off from the lights, you’d immediately feel a good push into the seat. At just a low 1,000rpm, the XD3 is already pushing more than 450Nm of torque, which is much more than the maximum available on some performance oriented cars in the market. While most gear changes happen within the 1,000 – 1,500rpm mark, pushing the rev counter past this unleashes the XD3’s full 700Nm of torque. In many cases, the lump of torque you get tends to die off very quickly, thanks to very intelligent turbocharging, the Alpina is able to hold on to its full 700Nm till 3,000rpm, with it tapering down gradually. At the 5,500rpm redline, you still are able to harness more than 300Nm.
At 1,985kg, the XD3 is not light at all, but with all this torque on tap, and given its large 20” rims, it is easy to flick the SUV around a few tight bends. Directional changes are met with minimal body roll, as the all-wheel drive keeps the car almost neutral. Alpina had also taken the time to develop their suspension. Under Sport+ mode, road dampening is greatly reduced, giving minimum lean into the corners, while responding well to changing conditions under speed. Steering feel is precise, and gear changes can be executed manually, by way of two gear shift buttons, located at the back of the steering wheel. Buttons, not paddles… which are actually a good idea, especially when doing multiple directional changes. It becomes more difficult to switch cogs by accident.
Additionally, the transmission is able to skip a few gears when downshifting, meaning that if you do need to speed up, you will be able to hit at the optimum gearing, ensuring that you are able to utilise the best from the creamy straight six.
It may look a little more common at first glance, but the XD3 is special. A Porsche Macan Turbo PDK could match it in performance very easily, but the straight line acceleration you can get, with the amount of torque delivered from the Alpina is hard to match.
As an everyday driver, the Alpina does extremely well, doing the supermarket run. Ride comfort is good, even with the large rims and thin tyres.
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