Believe it or not, high-performance vehicles hold a very high distinction in the Indian market. This has been proven as correct especially over the recent years where the potential buyers have stretched their wallets to pay an extra sizeable amount for a high-performance vehicle over a run-of-the-mill product.

Thankfully, even mainstream manufacturers are putting down all of their focus to deliver some exhilarating products at a very small price hike over their standard derivatives. However, if someone’s looking for a true-blue performance vehicle, the choice still boils down to only a few contenders in the market.

Be it Audi’s RS division, Mercedes-Benz’s AMG unit, or BMW’s M high-performance division, these are known for making some of the best high-performance luxury vehicles with great track records and so on.

What we’re putting our focus on today is BMW’s all-new X3 M, which has just made its way to the Indian market. Priced at Rs 99.9 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), the M version of the BMW X3 is significantly costlier than the standard model, but it gets a few modifications to justify the hefty price tag.

The X3, for the first time, has received the M treatment from BMW’s high-performance division, and, thankfully, it has made its way to the Indian market soon enough.

However, the BMW X3 M, as is a norm with cars that come from the brand’s high-performance division, gets a more aggressive design as compared to the standard model. This includes a more aggressive exterior design than the standard X3.

It does, however, has the same road presence as the standard X3. After all, both the SUVs are similar in size despite that this one costs significantly more than its standard sibling. After all, you can grab an X7 at the same price as the BMW X3 M.

On the interior side of things, the overall layout of the dashboard is very similar to the standard model. Do note that BMW cars have made it a bit more special and sportier as opposed to the standard layout of the X3.

The interior layout and overall styling of the X3 M, therefore, are largely identical to the standard X3.

On the tech front, the X3 M, as mentioned above, features electrically-adjustable sport seats with memory, leather upholstery, ambient lighting, and an M-specific instrument cluster. It also comes equipped with full-LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers, anti-dazzle interior and exterior mirrors, a head-up display, park assist, wireless charging, wireless Apple Carplay, and a powered tailgate.

BMW says that the X3 M has the most powerful straight-six M car petrol engine. After all, powering the X3 M is a 3.0-litre M TwinPower Turbo unit, which is capable of churning out 473bhp and 600Nm of torque. The power is sent to all four wheels via an 8-speed M Steptronic transmission. Further, there are four driving modes onboard to ensure optimal performance with the added advantage of comfort, if the user so desires.

The BMW X3 M rivals the newly launched Mercedes-Benz GLC 43 Coupe, which, thanks to the local assembly, is now much more affordable than before, also undercutting the X3 M by a huge margin. However, the BMW X3 M still remains to be more practical than the GLC 43 Coupe. Also, grab the latest info on the upcoming cars, only at autoX.