Whisper it, but not even a company like BMW hits the spot every time writes Ian Donaldson.

Take the original X3, a medium-sized off-roader that made its debut to less than universal acclaim.

The new one sets out to do better, and how. It’s bigger and roomier than before, faster yet more economical and comes with more kit as standard.

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Oh, and the version likely to be the biggest seller by far is also a handy £115 less than the car it replaces, with the £30,490 SE model taking pride of place. And, for a company that knows how to tempt you with expensive options, there’s more kit as standard this time.

Included with every new generation X3 is leather upholstery, two-zone automatic air conditioning, smart satin aluminium roof rails and a multi-function iDrive controller panel between the front seats.

The body has been given a going over, with more aggressive looks at the front. A nice detail is a subtle recontouring of the bodywork below the doors, better to preserve dresses and expensive trousers as shorter drivers clamber aboard this high-built car.

But perhaps the two biggest areas where the X3 needed improving can’t be reduced to a set of figures; the way the car rode and the less than quality feel of the interior.

Well, my bottom felt the difference in ride and my eyes saw promptly how big a quality leap BMW has made this time round.

Even with the stiff-sidewalled runflat tyres BMW puts on most of its cars, the new X3 tackled the Austrian road surfaces, where the car was launched, with a resilient softness you simply wouldn’t have felt in the old one.

It promises well for the car on our much more pockmarked roads in the UK.

As to interior quality, it’s a characteristic of BMWs, with their deliberate leanings to driver satisfaction, that its dashboards are likely to strike drivers as a bit severe looking, however well put together.

There’s certainly nothing overtly plush about the white on black instruments and bold, clearly marked switches. But they’re nicely made and their simplicity lets you concentrate on the road.

Which in the case of the press drive was packed with snow nearly 3,000 metres up an Austrian glacier, where we tried the cars in extremis but without the possibility of hitting anything harder than a bank of snow.

Fitted with winter tyres (an £1,800 package that includes wheels and tyres with softer rubber but no spikes) the new X3s laughed off surfaces you could scarcely stand on, helped by the full-time four-wheel drive system and a mass of clever electronics that know where the grip is to be found and make the most of it.

Away from the test track, on roads kept free of snow and ice the whole winter through, the new X3 proved itself a comfortable and surprisingly swift companion, with 181bhp from its 2.0 litre diesel.

It also managed 43mpg despite its low geared adventures on the piste.

That’s a creditable figure and tribute to BMW’s concentration with extracting the best from available technology and not taking the expensive path of booster batteries and the like.

Find an extra £1,495 for BMW’s eight-speed automatic gearbox and performance and economy are unaffected and you’ll enjoy ultra smooth progress and a well rested left foot.

Both versions hit 130mph and reach 62mph in 8.5 seconds with 54.4mpg recorded in the official fuel consumption test.

The auto box helps make this new X3 one of the most improved cars I’ve driven for a very long time.