Think futuristic car and you’d probably imagine a sleek-styled sports car that’s laden with the all-encompassing abilities of AI? No? Surely an EV of some persuasion then… Maybe a Tesla? I can’t speak for Tesla here having never driven one, but BMW thinks it has the answer. It is simply: the iX3.
Forget what you think you know about the iX electric brand. Forget the iX3 that’s come before and was built on the existing platform of the garden-variety X3. Even the dedicated iX… it’s not this… what BMW calls ‘Neue Klasse’. This is the first of the new-gen BMWs to launch into South Africa, and it has very little in common with the ICE or even the ICE+Electric X3 range except maybe a badge, a general sizing target and likely some buttons dotted around the cabin.
What powers the new BMW iX3 then?
It has been built from the ground up to be a dedicated EV, and with that comes some novel engineering advancements. For one, the batteries that power the car haven’t been incorporated into the floor as much as constructed to be the floor. Each of the individual cells, called ‘cell-to-pack’ in BMW-speak, forms part of the greater battery structure which now also forms part of the car’s structure. As for benefits, it’s cheaper to manufacture by 20%, it has 20% better cell-level energy density, which is another way to say more efficient, and it’s 10% lighter, which, together with that more optimal energy discharge, also has substantial range benefits.
And the performance numbers?
The sole local launch variant, the iX3 xDrive50, has a 108.7kWh usable battery capacity (a considerable jump from iX3 Gen-1 with 74kWh effective capacity) and two motors capable of 345kW and 645Nm. BMW quotes a 0-100km/h sprint of 4.9 secs, which is conservative, to say the least, as testing on the launch route recorded 4.48 seconds, albeit not under lab conditions.
Maybe more relevant to prospective owners, the iX3’s 800V architecture can accept up to 400kW charge at a suitable DC charging point, which, it says, should add 372km of range in about 21 minutes. Naturally, the pertinent question, especially from a local context, remains: where to find a charger that can deliver that charge? Then there’s also the matter of fast chargers being overtaken by the growing number of low-cost EVs duking it out for a charging spot on the network.
While these are questions that are relevant to the once-promised ease of EV ownership, the iX3 largely helps to curb some range anxiety with its efficiency improvements. The launch route consisted of two individual drives spanning mountain passes, highway driving and city sections totalling up to around 280km. During this near-300km stretch, thriftiness was hardly put to the test, with the car averaging in the region of 24kWh/100km, while we still managed to hand it back with 52% of its remaining charge. Promising then.
Is the Panoramic iDrive that much better than a normal screen?
Well, yes, it is. The Panoramic iDrive consists of a projection-type windscreen display spanning from A-pillar to A-pillar (43 inches) that projects information into the driver’s and passenger’s line of sight. The system is intended to assist with driver focus and is extensively customisable according to what information is required for a specific trip. Essential driving information sits in front of the driver, while the middle and passenger-side modules can be configured to show either the BMW Assistant, navigation, media, or some combination of the three.
An optional 3D head-up display sits above the driver-side section, showing largely identical information directly in your line of sight. Whether that’s a worthy tick on the configurator largely depends on preference, but that’s a nice-to-have considering that information is already present.
More conventionally, in the middle of the dashboard lives the slightly canted 17.9-inch touchscreen that features high-resolution graphics with a reasonably easy-to-understand interface that includes all core car functions. The in-built maps are graphically impressive with different layouts, and the M-Menu functions are included (measuring performance metrics like braking distances and acceleration data), while the climate interface allows for minute tweaks to airflow by dragging your finger around the screen on the depicted airflow graphics.
How does the BMW iX3 drive?
Incredibly well, and, strangely, like a BMW. The carmaker has put a new high-performance control unit, called the Heart of Joy, in charge of functions like drivetrain, braking, recuperation, and steering management that replaces the old wire-to-control-unit-to-output arrangement. Also referred to as a ‘Superbrain’, the idea behind this is to create a better driving experience, although, I’ll admit, the margins of improvements in 90% of those specific areas may be more nuanced than what I can translate to tangible experience.
That said, as part of the braking and recuperation management, the iX3 features Soft Stop. This function brings it to a near-imperceptible halt when recuperation is activated, with BMW saying that this vehicle system can handle about 98% of daily braking requirements.
Cruise control, too, is smarter than most readily available systems, with the car featuring speed sign recognition. The system is activated with a touch of a button, which either slows the car down or speeds it up according to the published speed limit. If you want to, for instance, maintain 85km/h in an 80km/h zone, you can also set those tolerances on the central screen.
Dynamics then? Well, considering that this is an EV, and considering that it’s not trying to replace the vibrations, sensations, and all you’d expect from a conventional car, it’s incredibly competent at feeling like a BMW… which just happens to be silent. It hides its 2.3-tonne weight well, dancing through corners and sweeps with a level of ease not often seen in EVs.
While the steering wheel still translates some texture from the road to your hands, in the more comfort-oriented drive modes, the steering feel is exceptionally light, as it’s entirely weighted towards ease of use over conventional engine-over-axle driving dynamics. Press the drive mode button, select Sport, and it adds some helpful weighting back to the steering experience…
Comfort levels are also incredible even with the 22-inch wheels fitted to our launch unit. When you point it at a gravel road, it handles the bumps with more poise than you’d expect from a vehicle in the mid-size SUV class.
But is the BMW iX3 worth R1.69m?
Yes, it’s worth it. Pricing isn’t far north of the X3 M50’s asking price (R1,565,447), and considering that and the technological gap between these two vehicles and the near-R1.7m sticker price, it shouldn’t be a hard pill to swallow. If you want all of the above without the long-range ability and all-wheel drive of the xDrive50, an iX3 40 is scheduled to arrive early in 2027. But for buyers set on going electric, who want a hyper-modern car and insist it has to be a BMW… the iX3 is it.
Want more BMW iX3? Full feature in the August Edition of TopGear Mag SA
| Spec | BMW iX3 xDrive50 |
|---|---|
| Battery capacity (usable) | 108.7kWh |
| Motors | Dual motor, AWD |
| Power | 345kW |
| Torque | 645Nm |
| 0–100km/h (claimed) | 4.9 sec |
| 0–100km/h (tested, launch route) | 4.48 sec |
| Charging architecture | 800V |
| Max DC charge rate | 400kW |
| Charging speed | 372km range in ~21 min |
| Efficiency (launch route) | Around 24kWh/100km |
| Kerb weight | 2.3 tonnes |
| Wheels (launch unit) | 22-inch |
| Central touchscreen | 17.9-inch |
| Panoramic iDrive display | 43-inch (A-pillar to A-pillar) |
| Price | R1,690,000 |
