BMW reveals new iX3 electric car
German luxury brand’s fightback begins as Tesla, Chinese rivals, push to take its territory.
There’s nowhere to hide with the new BMW iX3 for the folk from the famous Bavarian carmaker.
Trailing even budget Chinese brands for tech, the once pioneering EV brand had to swallow a brave pill, tear up the past and start again from scratch.
The mid-size battery-powered SUV is its comeback – the first of a new family of ‘Neue Klasse’ next-generation BMWs.
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Get this wrong and BMW risks being overrun by the fresh-face EV start-ups all out to consign traditional brands like it to the history books.
To ensure it succeeds, no stone has been left unturned by designers and engineers.
Paying homage to the 1500 ‘Neue Klasse’ sedan that reinvigorated BMW in the early 1960s, the most ambitious BMW in modern history neatly mimics the original carmaker’s saviour with an elegant light etching of that car’s narrow kidney grille, but the rest of the car’s blockier form is far more contemporary and pleasing, at least to our eyes.
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The flush glass and smooth door handles, meanwhile, hint at aerodynamic efficiency that enables the posh Tesla Model Y rival to travel an astonishing 805km on a single charge of its large 108kWh battery.
Based on an all-new architecture, BMW introduces its latest sixth-generation EV powertrain, with the launch-spec iX3 50 xDrive coming with dual motors that produce 345kW and 645Nm of torque.
That’s enough for a brisk 0-100km/h dash of 4.9 seconds, but most will be more impressed by the speed it takes to top up iX3’s battery.
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Thanks to new 800-volt electrics, BMW claims in just ten minutes you can squeeze in as much as 350km at a charging rate of up to 400kW. Not bad, if you ignore the 450+km XPeng now claims for its cheaper G6.
Luckily, BMW fights back with its styling that extends within. Again, BMW has not left anything on the table. In comes its all-new BMW Panoramic iDrive tech that runs its latest operating system.
Combined with a huge 17.9-inch infotainment that’s angled towards the driver, the highlight of the new system is the full width 43.3-inch customisable screen at eye level.
The tech is neat, fast and intuitive and is blended with yet another head-up display that is said to feature cool 3D graphics that ensure you never need to take your eyes off the road.
Behind the wheel, engineers insist the EV revolution won’t leave real drivers behind, and to ensure the iX3 drives like a BMW it has invented something called the Heart of Joy.
Said to be ten times quicker to crunch data than existing tech, the new supercomputer manages the powertrain and all-wheel drive to maximise stability and traction, while enhancing agility.
BMW claims unbeatable precision and poise through corners and says, thanks to its pioneering tech, more than 98 per cent of all braking will be via regen, clawing back vital energy that will replenish the battery and enable it to average an impressive 15kWh/100km – equating to a 20 per cent improvement over the current model.
Throw in low-carbon manufacturing and higher rates of recycled materials and BMW claims if you charge your car using power generated from renewables, after 17,500km of driving the BMW iX3 will begin to have a smaller carbon footprint compared to a petrol-powered SUV.
Set to land in Australia next year, the BMW iX3 has been uncannily unveiled on the very same day as the Mercedes GLC with EQ Technology that also spearheads the fellow German brand’s latest EV tech.
With the grudge match sett to superheat in the mid-size luxury SUV segment, that also remember includes the talented Porsche Macan and accomplished twin, the Audi Q6 e-tron, it seems Australian consumers are about to become the biggest winners, with the Europeans suddenly all making the most credible vehicles – at least until the Chinese inevitably catch up, which they will and soon.
BMW iX3
PRICE: From about $100,000 plus on-road costs (estimated) MOTOR: iX3 M50 – two electric, 345kW/645Nm, 108kWh (usable) battery
WARRANTY/SERVICING: Five years/unlimited km, eight years/160,000km for HV battery
RANGE: 805km
THIRST: 15.0kWh/100km (WLTP estimated)
CARGO: 520 litres + 58 litres (frunk)
SPARE: Repair kit
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