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BMW iX3: welcome to the future of BMW
3 months ago
The electric iX3 is the first of a new generation of 'Neue Klasse' BMW cars
So it’s a relief merely not to recoil at first sight of the new BMW iX3. Better still, with a longer read, you’ll find plenty to like. Surfaces as pure as a Claus Luthe BMW, with the clean yet bold character lines of Bangle’s best. Seemingly just-so proportions combined with subtle, intelligent nods to the ‘old’ 1500 New Class (see the gallery below). Heavens, it even has normal-size kidney grilles, and rather elegantly do they blend into the new face of BMW too. A promising start for the new design language BMW says will be adopted by its entire future line-up.
The first production Neue Klasse, it is of course an SUV, because they comprise more than half BMW’s business these days, and an even greater chunk of its profits (Neue Klasse represents by far its biggest-ever new model investment). But those who dislike SUVs shouldn’t let their distaste get in the way of their first impressions of iX3. Rest assured, lower-slung, enthusiast-pleasing models will follow, using the same set of core Neue Klasse ingredients. Indeed, a production version of the svelte Vision Neue Klasse concept will soon evolve into a new i3, which this time will be the electric version of the 3 Series, rather than an ahead-of-its-time city car. For now, see the iX3 as a mere amuse-bouche.
"With no legacy hangovers, it should be more than a match for China, Tesla and Rivian’s finest. If not, we’ll want to know why"
It’s particularly delightful inside, building on recent design strengths from which even the unloved and unlovable iX benefitted. BMW has gone big on digital, not by cramming everything into a touchscreen, but by adding an intriguing new full-width display at the base of the windscreen called BMW Panoramic iDrive. It comprises three elements, all colourfully configurable, along with a rhombus-shaped centre touchscreen oriented towards the driver (yet another heritage nod). BMW insists everything can be controlled through the steering wheel, as part of its ‘hands on the wheel, eyes on the road’ principle, and while we’ve yet to get, ahem, hands on with it – and can’t help but note the touch-sensitive controls rather than proper buttons – BMW has form here; who set the standard for years with the original iDrive system?
The new iX3’s interior is merely a taster of the sheer breadth of technology Neue Klasse represents. It describes technological advancements so broad that BMW likens it to an entire vehicle generation being skipped. Take, for example, the wholly new digital architecture BMW calls ‘superbrain’, consisting of four high-performance computers for driving dynamics, automated driving, infotainment and functions such as climate control. With no legacy hangovers, it should be more than a match for China, Tesla and Rivian’s finest. If not, we’ll want to know why.
Below the surface, the space-efficient Neue Klasse architecture means sixth-generation eDrive, a 108.7kWh battery with a provisional EV range of up to 500 miles, rapid charging 30 per cent faster than today’s models (find the right charger and you’ll gain 231 miles in as little 10 minutes) and energy losses down 40 per cent. Even manufacturing costs are down, meaning the high-end iX3 50 xDrive (462bhp, 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds) will cost from – and I had to double check this – £58,775 when deliveries begin in March 2026.
To put all this into context, the old iX3, a Chinese-built conversion of an ageing ICE model rather than an EV thoroughbred, could only offer 285 miles from an 80kWh battery, despite costing over £65k. Its newer competitors? The iX3 50 xDrive’s arch-rival, the Audi Q6 e-tron, offers an 83kWh battery and a 324-mile range… for prices from £60,515 (fork out £64k for an 100kW battery and you still only get 391 miles). The base spec Porsche Macan costs almost £10,000 more, has only 355bhp, needs 5.7sec to hit 62mph and has a range of 398 miles. It makes the new iX3 sound impressive does it not? And if BMW can replicate such wholly step-ahead stats with all other Neue Klasse cars, it will likely cause heads to be scratched in EV manufacturer board rooms right around the world.
And excitingly, there are plenty more to come, and in quick succession too. BMW says we can look forward to no fewer than 40 new models and model updates between now and 2027. More recently-released BMWs will be facelifted with Neue Klasse technology, including that new superbrain architecture, and hopefully some of its design coherence. Then we’ll be able to breathe easy. The potential promised by that elegant concept has passed its first test with the new BMW iX3, which really is all-new and, so far as we can at least see, thankfully more BMW than ever.
