BLENDING EV NOVELTY WITH FAMILIARITY
THE shift toward electric vehicles (EVs) is proving to be gradual and fragmented. With many countries and governments phasing out the internal combustion engine (ICE) in the coming decades, whatever lead automakers had with the ICE powertrain for the past century or so is going to be erased. Thus, the EV age has become an equalizer of sorts for the automotive industry. As a result, brands like Hyundai are reinventing the vehicle altogether, while a luxury brand like BMW and its iX3 blend today’s familiarity with tomorrow’s propulsion technology.
That familiarity begins with the way the 2024 BMW iX3 looks. The X3 is the German luxury automaker’s best-selling model in the Philippines, and if you’ve seen any of those, well, you won’t be surprised by the iX3’s looks. It’s practically an X3 with the M Sport package that’s been given several blue highlights and an enclosed grille.
Unlike other EVs like Hyundai’s Ioniq 5, the iX3 doesn’t look like something out of a sci-fi movie, and for some, that’s probably a good thing. With the iX3, you also get 19-inch wheels, adaptive LED headlights, and a panoramic sunroof as standard.
Even when you step inside the iX3, there’s going to be a strong sense of familiarity because of the way it looks. Again, like the exterior, the interior is pretty much what you’ve seen in the X3, and in BMW’s case today, it’s mostly a good thing. Design-wise, it doesn’t reinvent anything, but that also means you’ve got a ton of physical controls, which makes this an interior that’s very easy to operate. Ditto the iDrive 7, which I prefer more than the iDrive 8, solely because of the abundance of physical controls.
It’s also worth noting that in typical BMW fashion, the interior is impeccably built with solid yet plush materials, sharp displays, and minute design details that give the familiar interior a distinct flavor. This includes the blue highlights that are in line with BMW’s i branding, along with a few M Sport details through the door sill plates. There’s, of course, the configurable ambient lighting, and a nice Harman Kardon sound system.
However, unlike cars like the Ioniq 5, the iX3 is essentially an X3 with a battery and electric motor. This means that its platform was meant to accommodate an ICE and its related components. Granted, the interior space is (mostly) unchanged from the X3, which means it’s still pretty good in terms of rear seat space and cargo. Those batteries, however, have reduced the cargo area to a still-impressive 510 liters. Where the packaging constraint is felt is when it comes to that transmission tunnel taking up a bit of foot room and in the event that you need a spare tire. That’s because you don’t have any, and instead you’re now left with a tire repair kit and an inflator.
The driving experience
Now, as for the driving experience, the 2024 BMW iX3 combines familiarity in terms of how you operate the vehicle, along with the novelty and instant torque associated with an EV. It’s the perfect middle ground for those who’d find something like an Ioniq 5 to be too futuristic. Even if this isn’t underpinned by a bespoke EV platform, the iX3 inherits the fifth-generation eDrive powertrain of other BMW EVs. In this case, it’s a single electric motor that produces 286 hp and 400 Nm of torque, which is enough for a 0 to 100 kph time of just 6.8 seconds.
What BMW gets right with the iX3 is the driving experience. The electric motor still has instant torque delivery, but it’s been tuned in a way that there’s a sense of linearity to its delivery as opposed to offering everything in one press of the pedal. Therefore, it’s easy to modulate this EV when accelerating out of stoplights or overtaking other vehicles. Yes, you have a lot of power, but not enough to overwhelm the rear wheels and send this electric crossover to an uncontrolled slide.
As expected, refinement is top-notch in a BMW, especially when it’s transformed into an EV. BMW has always done a good job at isolating engine noise, and with the ICE already out of the equation, that level of silence inside the iX3 is even more prominent. Ride comfort, too, is surprisingly better in the iX3 compared to the diesel-fed X3, probably due to the heavier batteries adding a bit of suppleness to the iX3’s ride.
Yet despite the added heft of the batteries, bringing the iX3 to around 2.2 tons, this electric SUV still offers a good amount of fun behind the wheel. The steering is typical BMW, providing plenty of precision and accuracy, though not a lot of feedback compared to older models. Despite being an EV, the brakes are well-tuned in the iX3, avoiding the typical unnatural initial bite from the brake pedal due to the regenerative braking transitioning to the friction brakes. Body control is likewise excellent, as the iX3 still corners mostly flat — aided by the low positioning of the batteries lowering its center of gravity.
Speaking of the battery, what you get is a 74 kilowatt-hours (KWh) (80 kWh gross size) battery pack that’s good enough for a WLTP-rated range of 460 kilometers (kms) With a consumption figure of 5.9 kms per liter under my hands, that should mean a real-world range of 436 kms. Still pretty good as I was able to travel to Subic, Zambales from Sta. Rosa, Laguna with 49-percent charge left before recharging at the Unioil Subic 25 kW DC charging station.
Unfortunately, that’s also another aspect where the iX3 isn’t the best — mostly as a constraint of its ICE-native platform. The iX3 can only accept up to 150 kW of direct current (DC) fast charging and 11 kW of alternate current (AC) charging — figures that are about half of the 350 kW DC and 22 kW AC that the more affordable Ioniq 5 can accept. It also doesn’t have vehicle-to-load (V2L) bi-directional charging, so you can’t use the iX3 to power your appliances when camping, or to power a house in the event of a blackout.
A transitional EV
In summary, the 2024 BMW iX3 is more of a transitional EV as opposed to an EV that aims to revolutionize the entire vehicle experience. To some, the result may seem too conservative and unimaginative, while for others, the iX3’s familiarity allows for a less intimidating switch to an EV.
Retailing at P4.990 million, the iX3 is also priced extremely well — just P500,000 more compared to the diesel X3 xDrive20d Professional. Yet it offers enough real-world range for it to be a primary luxury car for those who want to go all-in on an EV. It’s also worth noting that while it may cost slightly more than a diesel X3, charging an EV is cheaper than filling up with diesel. It’s affordable to maintain, too, as every purchase of the iX3 comes with six years of BMW Service Inclusive. And if you’re worried about the battery, the iX3 comes with an eight-year warranty on it.