Munich/Arjeplog. Driving dynamic and reliability are
just two of the major characteristics of any BMW automobile. To ensure
that a BMW functions in all conditions and that the customer is able
to enjoy unrestricted access to that brand-typical “driving pleasure”
at any time, BMW invests a great deal of time and know-how in both the
construction and the testing of new automobiles. Long before a new
model series arrives on the market, it will have had to withstand
possibly the most severe endurance tests. This includes, for example,
testing under extreme climatic conditions such as those prevailing in
scorching hot deserts or freezing cold winter landscapes.
Fine tuning for optimal safety and maximum driving enjoyment.
Moreover, the extensive ice surfaces of frozen lakes and the numerous
remote roads with their firmly packed layers of snow offer excellent
conditions for fine tuning of the settings activated via the Driving
Experience Control function – and hence for the application of maximum
driving pleasure and best possible driving safety. As a result,
engineers are in a position to sense the vehicle’s dynamic behaviour
much more accurately and synchronize the control of driver assistant
systems such as Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) or Dynamic Traction
Control (DTC) even more precisely and to attune it to the vehicle as a
whole. It is this painstaking development work that later provides the
customer with a competently tuned chassis for that typical BMW driving pleasure.
Ideal preconditions for testing the BMW X3 in the polar region.
Within the framework of the final winter trials, a BMW testing team
completed a fastidious testing programme in wintery North Sweden. In
the landscape around the small town of Arjeplog, pre-series models of
the new BMW X3 had to prove that they are also able to withstand cold,
ice and snow. Located in the historic province of Lapland barely 56
kilometres south of the polar circle, Arjeplog offers the ideal
conditions for this. An abundant amount of snow and temperatures of
minus 20 degrees and below cause the many lakes in the surrounding
area to freeze over. The resulting vast, even surfaces serve as
proving grounds on which steering, suspension and drive
characteristics can be meticulously tested and various different
technical solutions compared against one another. In the process, the
intelligent four-wheel technology xDrive is able to demonstrate its
advantages by not only ensuring best possible traction on icy surfaces
but, thanks to fully variable distribution of torque, also by
optimizing handling agility, this in turn resulting in enhanced
driving dynamics and active driving safety.