Thanks for the comparo: Weirdly enough, I felt even less of a difference between the X2 M35i and the X3 M40i; I test drove the latter initially, drove it again, then drove the X2 M35i out of frustration at my disappointment with the M40i. I was so surprised how much I liked the X2 over the X3, I drove them both again twice to make sure I wasn't crazy.
I then took it a step further and drove a Countryman JCW with the new B48; neither my X2 nor the X3M40i had adaptive dampers, and the JCW had them, so I wanted an idea of the difference. I might have swung that way were it not for the cargo space ( and the fact the Mini ran out of gas on the test drive, but that's another story) because I liked the Adaptive set up, but it wasn't a deal breaker. I finally bagged the X2 in back in March and other than the usual stuff we all don't like (Tranny/throttle lag) I'm super happy with it.
Of course, me being me, I'm eyeing the Next Big Thing already, but it's good to know there isn't THAT much air between the X3M and the X2 M35i...keep my wallet and my wife happy
