2026 BMW iX3 review
A new electric vehicle with more than 800km of range threatens to reset benchmarks.
‘New Year, new me’. How often have you groaned when you’ve heard those immortal words?
In the car world, it’s a similar story with brands always harping on with claims its latest replacement for a middling-of-the-road model has leapt to the very top of its class, but for once we might have to make an exception for the second chapter of the BMW iX3 saga.
Sharing absolutely zilch with the current all-electric mid-size SUV, the new iX3 is the first act of a radical multi-billion-dollar fightback against both the likes of Tesla and advanced rivals from China.
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Sitting on an all-new platform, it boasts the carmaker’s sixth-generation EV powertrain, BMW’s latest most advanced digital tech and delivers a fresh design direction from the German brand that ensures it looks like nothing else.
Nothing except maybe the 1961 BMW 1500 – the classic sedan is relevant as it heralded the introduction of BMW’s last Neue Klasse family, with the same banner used again to roll out the “new class” of BMWs that, as well as the iX3, includes a sharp-suited 3 Series replacement.
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The Neue Klasse iX3 certainly makes an impression in the flesh with its bold shape, flush door handles and smooth surfacing that all help unlock a low drag coefficient for admirable efficiency.
Initially, when the iX3 touches down next year, it will only be offered with a single iX3 50 powertrain. Later, an almost identical-looking X3 will join the line-up based on the current car’s platform.
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For now, the EV version comes with a pair of new motors that produce 345kW and 645Nm of torque with a large 108kWh battery to provide for a sprightly 0-100km/h dash of 4.9 seconds.
The iX3 can travel a bladder-busting 805km before it needs plugging in, gifting it the longest range of any EV currently sold in Australia.
In other words, buy an iX3 and anxiety associated with running an EV, in all but the remotest locations, won’t be an issue.
Climb into the iX3 and it’s hard not to hate the hideous-looking steering wheel, with its 12 o’clock spoke, but luckily a less offensive BMW M tiller is available. From then you’ll love the look, feel and tech offered by the BMW.
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Highlights include the backlit fabric dash covering and the full-width strip iDrive that stretches from pillar-to-pillar which is clear and customisable and if you find that distracting there’s a cool 3D head-up display and a further large infotainment touchscreen that all run the German brand’s faster and more intuitive software.
Beneath the skin BMW has embedded four “super brains” that offer greater processing power and faster reactions than any of its rivals, including one excruciatingly dubbed the “Heart of Joy”, which carefully manages the iX3 powertrain, traction control and transition from brake regeneration and more sophisticated functions like torque vectoring and adaptive dampers, where fitted.
With up to 98 per cent of all real-world braking carried out in the real world it is hard not to be flattered as a driver by how smoothly you can slow the iX3, even though it’s the car that does the majority of the heavy lifting.
It’s the smoothness and refined way it goes about its business that continues to impress behind the wheel. Even on slippery roads traction is impeccable, the steering well-weighted and precise and the ride generally decent, although the iX3 did get a little busy, something not helped by the large 21-inch rims of our cars. In the future BMW will also offer the mid-size SUV with adaptive dampers too that should improve things further.
Faults? There are but a few. Curiously, the new full-width iDrive screen makes it difficult to judge the BMW’s width, the rear boot could be bigger and think twice about ordering the M Sport Pro pack as it adds a boring black front fascia that ruins the iX3’s cool grille detailing but, in its defence, does add a better-looking round steering wheel.
Overall, the iX3 is a hit and further software updates, plus added powertrains that will include even more efficient versions and a wild 750kW quad-motor M variant.
BMW iX3 50 xDrive
PRICE: About $120,000
MOTOR: Dual electric, 345kW/645Nm
WARRANTY/SERVICING: Five years/unlimited km
SAFETY: Seven airbags, lane-keep assist, blind spot alert, exit warning, driver monitor, adaptive cruise control, auto parking
RANGE: 800km
CARGO: 520 litres (boot), 58 litres (frunk)
SPARE: Repair kit
