BMW iX3: a shockingly good electric SUV
Looks unambitious, but X3-based BEV is both e cient and good to drive
The future isn’t what it was. The electric BMW i3, with us since 2013, held out the promise of a world that was both technologically daring and environmentally sensitive, with some really funky doors. The new iX3, by contrast, looks like exactly what it is: an X3 with the internal combustion componentry removed and replaced by the latest version of BMW’s electric drive.
The result defies all expectations: it drives really well, its packaging isn’t at all compromised by the change of energy source, and its range is above average. Although it’s heavier than any other X3, it’s also the only rear-wheel-drive version. The centre of gravity is 75mm lower, and the weight distribution has gone from front- to rear-biased, with great benefits including the most tenacious roadholding of any X3.
You can put down a £500 deposit now, but UK models won’t arrive from the factory in China until next summer. Initially the iX3 will come in just one high-spec form, the Premier Edition for £61,900, or the even higher-spec Premier Edition Pro for a further £3000. That puts it in the same price bracket as the Jaguar i-Pace, Mercedes EQC, Audi e-Tron 50 quattro and Volvo XC40, all of which outshine its performance figures.
The 74kWh lithium-ion battery sits in the floor, while the 282bhp electric motor, singlespeed transmission and various electronic gubbins are grouped up front, leaving the cabin and boot as roomy as a regular X3’s. Outside and in, visual changes are few, mostly involving blue highlights and tweaks to the instrumentation.
The basic iX3 comes with 19-inch wheels; the UK gets the same aerodynamic design, but in a 20-inch version that’s unkind to low-speed ride. That aside, there are few dynamic complaints, once you adjust to the 6.8sec 0-62mph time and 112mph top speed. It’s a car that can challenge or eclipse its rivals. At the end of a long day’s driving, three qualities stood out: superb handling, long range and low running costs.
The lighter front end transforms the steering, and a prolonged stab at the DSC button further boosts the fun, so long as the recuperation mode is in the lowest setting; if not, de-throttling is followed by a counter-productive slow-down response. Slow using the brake pedal, rather than the throttle, and there’s plenty of power and feel.
The ocial eciency rating is 3.6 miles per kWh, with a range of 285 miles. Our figure for the day was closer to 2.0 miles per kWh. But even driven hard like this, the range is still far better than most. Charging via a fast charger can get the battery 80 per cent full in 34 minutes, but if you’re using a home wallbox you’re looking at 7.5 hours for a zero-to-full charge. If you can live with that, this is an electric SUV that offers lovely steering and brilliant driver involvement.
First verdict
Expensive and heavy, but the iX3 is usefully e cient, dynamically improved over other X3s and more practical than most EVs #### #
This is the only rear-drive X3. It’s also the heaviest but it o ers the most tenacious roadholding