Advert
The new BMW iX3 is a revolution rather than an evolution, with a driving range of up to 500 miles, 400 kW ultra-rapid charging, a cleaner design style on the outside and a full-width display in the cabin.
The previous generation BMW iX3 ‘Sports Activity Vehicle’ (SAV) was based on the internal combustion engine X3 platform; this resulted in it looking and driving like a BMW X3, which was a good thing, but it had some limitations, such as it was rear-wheel drive only, and it had a driving range of 280 miles – which was reasonable when it was launched, but certainly isn’t up there with rivals today. This time the new iX3 is based on a bespoke electric platform and BMW has thrown everything at it to ensure that it is class-leading in many ways, including with a range of up to 500 miles – making it the longest-range BEV on sale in the UK at launch – and this time it comes with all-wheel drive.
The new BMW iX3 is the first series-production ‘Neue Klasse’ model. This means that the car isn’t a re-work of the old model, but a brand new approach, in a wide variety of ways ranging from the cleaner exterior design to the 800-volt architecture with 400 kW rapid charging. It also provides the foundation for many other new models coming over the next few years; BMW says that the technologies of the Neue Klasse will be incorporated into a total of 40 new models and model updates between now and 2027.
As well as the exterior styling which is cleaner (with a slippery drag coefficient of 0.24) (but which features some interesting design details), the interior has also moved on from a traditional BMW cabin, and includes a narrow display that sits between the dashboard and the windscreen across the entire width of the car.
The new BMW iX3 measures 4,782 mm in length and 1,895 mm in width, compared to 4,734 mm and 1,891 mm width for the previous model, making the new iX3 48mm longer and just 4mm wider. It has improved rear legroom compared with the predecessor, with a 520-litre boot (510 litres for the previous model) which can be increased to 1,750 litres with the seats folded. For the first time in an electric BMW, there’s an additional 58-litre storage compartment under the bonnet.
Under the skin is a battery with cylindrical cells and a usable energy content of 108.7 kWh, providing energy to dual electric motors delivering all-wheel drive.
BMW Group’s sixth-generation eDrive technology boasts the reduction of energy losses by 40 per cent, weight by 10 per cent, and manufacturing costs by 20 per cent.
Another brand new feature of the BMW iX3 is its new digital vehicle architecture, with four ‘superbrain’ high performance computers, including what BMW calls the ‘Heart of Joy’ superbrain which looks after the drivetrain and management of driving dynamics, processing information up to ten times faster than conventional units.
This system also reduces the wiring required by around 600 metres (yes the wiring in modern cars stretches a long way) and reduces weight by 30 per cent compared to the technology previously used.
The BMW iX3 driving experience is extremely quiet and refined, with excellent performance (a 0-62 mph time of 4.9 seconds), impressive handling and all-wheel drive grip.
Ride quality is excellent overall but if you want your iX3 to glide serenely over potholes it’s probably best to avoid the huge 22-inch alloy wheels on our test car, which look fantastic, but smaller wheels/higher profile tyres will be more comfortable on poor road surfaces.
From the driver’s seat your main focus is likely to be on the iX3’s cockpit design. BMW models over recent years have had some of the best cockpits, with an instrument display directly in front of the driver, a head-up display (optional in many cases), a central touchscreen, and – increasingly rarely of late – the excellent iDrive system with a rotary controller and shortcut buttons on the centre console between the front seats.
With the new iX3’s BMW Panoramic iDrive system, the iDrive rotary controller has now gone completely, along with the display in front of the driver. In fact most of the new iX3 models (although not our test car) have a spoke at the top of the steering wheel, which would block the view of a display. Our test car featured an optional 3D Head-Up Display in front of the driver, projecting information onto the windscreen, featuring navigation and driving information with spatial depth. Instead of the traditional driver’s display, you now get the BMW Panoramic Vision display, which displays information on a strip running across the entire width of the interior between the top of the dashboard and the bottom of the windscreen. The idea is that because this information sits higher, you take your eyes away from the road less of the time, and this seems to work. Key driving information appears directly in the driver’s field of vision, and content projected in the centre and front passenger side of the display can be customised.
You also get a large central touchscreen (in an interesting shape), which features shortcut buttons along the bottom for cabin temperature and heated seats, media, navigation, phone, apps, climate, vehicle, and drive modes. Shortcut buttons on the right of the screen include options to switch off the lane departure and speed warnings.
Virtually all physical controls have gone; the only ones that remain are for the gear selector, parking brake, windscreen defrosting, rear window heating, hazard warning lights and volume control (and thankfully windscreen wipers, indicators and exterior mirrors). The idea is that the controls on the steering wheel (which now features prominent thumb rests) – or voice control – are used to control other car functions.
The BMW iX3 has a WLTP combined electric driving range of between 421-500 miles, the variation primarily depends on wheel and tyre size. The BMW iX3 50 xDrive M Sport Pro, as tested, has a range of 447 miles, thanks to its large 22-inch alloy wheels (a £3,300 option).
The iX3 has WLTP consumption of 3.7-4.1 miles/kWh, which is good for an SUV (or ‘SAV’ as BMW calls it) weighing 2,360 kg, reflecting the vehicle’s efficiency.
Another class-leading feature, thanks to the iX3’s 800-volt architecture, is its maximum ultra-rapid charging rate of 400 kW. This is capable of delivering up to 231 miles of range in 10 minutes, or a 10% to 80% charge in just 21 minutes. All these figures are dependent upon the charge curve – ie. how charging speed reduces as the battery’ state of charge increases – so it’s interesting that you can now view the charging speed and the charging curve in the My BMW App.
The iX3 can also use ‘Plug & Charge’, which allows you to just park and plug in, and the car will start charging automatically (at compatible charging points).
The iX3 can also be charged via alternating current (AC) at a rate of 11 kW as standard, or 22 kW when the AC Charging Professional package is specified, which, in a first for BMW, also features bidirectional charging, offering Vehicle-to-Home capability of up to 11 kW with a compatible wallbox and Vehicle-to-Load of up to 3.7 kW.
The new BMW iX3 is available in the UK in three trim levels: iX3, iX3 M Sport and iX3 M Sport Pro.
The iX3 trim standard features include 20-inch alloy wheels, under-bonnet storage, an electrically operated charging flap, heated front seats with electric adjustment, Driving Assistant Plus with automatic cruise control, and charging capabilities of 400 kW DC / 11kW AC.
The iX3 M Sport trim adds M exterior styling, 20-inch M Sport alloy wheels, a sports steering wheel, translucent dashboard lighting, and Veganza/M PerformTex upholstery.
The iX3 M Sport Pro trim gains upgraded M Sport seats, an M high-gloss black rear diffuser, M Sport brakes with red-painted callipers, BMW Iconic Glow, Adaptive LED headlights and a Shadowline glass 3D kidney grille.
The iX3 features 20-inch alloy wheels as standard, with 20, 21 and 22-inch light alloy wheels available as options.
The new BMW iX3 is priced from £58,755. Our iX3 50 xDrive M Sport Pro test car price was £61,750, with options of Space Silver paint colour (£875), 22-inch M light alloy wheels (£3,300), Heated Steering Wheel (£250) (disappointing that this isn’t standard), Towbar (£1,025), Panoramic glass sunroof with climate comfort glazing (£1,275), Sun Protection Glass (£450), Parking Assistant Pro (£775), Technology Plus Pack including 3-zone automatic air conditioning, BMW 3D Head-up Display and Harman/Kardon Surround Sound Audio System (£1,700). With all options totalling £9,650, this took the total price to £72,162.
Further variants of the BMW iX3 will follow, including a new entry-level model.
Sustainability has been a key focus with the new BMW iX3. It has been designed around a ‘secondary first’ principle, which prioritises recycled over newly extracted raw materials where possible; around a third of the BMW iX3 is made from secondary sources. The iX3 is built at BMW Group Plant Debrecen, the company’s first car plant operating without fossil fuels during normal operations.
The iX3 has a 34 per cent lower product carbon footprint (CO2e) over its full vehicle life cycle than its predecessor – as measured in CO2 equivalents over 200,000 kilometres (124,260 miles). This means that, when using energy sourced from the European electricity mix, it will have a smaller product carbon footprint (based on overall life cycle) than a comparable combustion-engine model once it has covered around 21,500 kilometres (13,358 miles). If the car is charged exclusively using electricity from renewable sources, it only needs to clock up 17,500 kilometres (10,873 miles) before it reaches the same point.
People really shouldn’t be able to complain about the range of electric cars with the new BMW iX3 offering up to 500 miles. It’s a similar story with charging speed: the car’s 400 kW ultra-rapid charging can replenish up to 231 miles in 10 minutes (subject to the speed of the charger). Another issue with some of the latest EVs is having all car controls and information on just one central screen. BMW is instead offering the solution of a ‘head-up display’ stretching all the way across the width of the cockpit, combined with a large central touchscreen. And externally, the iX3 has cleaner styling, whilst also featuring some interesting design details. Oh, and what about the most important feature of a BMW, the driving experience? Well, the iX3 offers refinement, comfort, performance, impressive handling and excellent levels of grip, thanks to featuring standard all-wheel drive. So the new BMW iX3 is a complete package, and the pricing hasn’t drastically increased compared to the previous generation model. The BMW iX3 is awarded a Green Car Guide rating of 10 out of 10.
Drive an EV for less than you think with Select Car Leasing 
Save 20-50% on an EV through salary sacrifice with The Electric Car Scheme 
ClearWatt supports buyers, sellers and owners of EVs with app-based battery health testing and detailed EV data insights available for every used EV in the UK. Take the stress out of buying a used EV with ClearWatt and save 10% on all their products with promo code “GCG10”. 
Zapmap: UK's No.1 EV charging points app 2025. Zapmap helps EV drivers search for EV chargers, plan longer journeys and pay for charging. 
With Pod, you're in good hands. With over 15 years of EV charging experience, drivers trust Pod to keep their EVs charged and ready to go. 
Paul Clarke, GreenCarGuide Editor
