The new iX3 enters one of the contentious segments in the EV world: premium midsize SUVs, where being merely good gets you forgotten. The Audi Q6 E-Tron is deeply competent, the Porsche Macan Electric is properly sorted, the Mercedes-Benz GLC EV is very convincing, and the Tesla Model Y still lords over the class with its annoying blend of usefulness, software, and value. On paper, the iX3 arrives loaded for bear.
It rides on a new bespoke EV platform, promises standout range and efficiency, and it finally feels like an EV conceived from the ground up to be electric. The iX3 is also truly excellent to drive, impressively efficient in real-world use, and much easier to like inside than its odd screen setup initially suggests. It has a few typical BMW quirks, but it is the first Neue Klasse model, soon followed by a second, and it seems worth the wait.
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After a few days with it, the surprise is that the hype was mostly deserved—this is a fantastic vehicle, and a true reset for the brand. BMW has good reason to be proud of this vehicle, design quirks and all.
2027 BMW iX3
Base Price €69,630
As-Tested Price €82,738
EV Range 500 miles WLTP / 400 miles EPA
Drive Type Dual-motor all-wheel drive
Output 463 hp
Maximum torque 476 lb-ft
Speed 0-62 MPH 4.9 seconds
Maximum speed 130 mph
Battery 108.7 kWh
Charge Type CCS @ 400 kW
Charge Time 10-80% in 21 minutes
Weight 5,037 lbs
Looks Odd. Works Better Than You Think
Photo by: Andrei Nedelea
The iX3 is one of those designs that improves the longer you stare at it, which is fortunate because your first reaction may not be the most positive. The shark-nose front end is the main event, and once your eyes make peace with that, the rest of the design settles down nicely.
The rear looks planted and sporty, and from some angles, it has the sort of visual confidence BMW has been missing lately. The side is a bit bland and featureless, which reminds me of the iX. The larger BMW EV is also a bit slab-sided, but it looks better from other angles.
My tester had the M Sport pack, which makes the bumpers more aggressive, eliminates any unpainted plastic, and just seems to suit the iX3 very well. Its 21-inch aero M wheels also nicely complemented the design, especially from the side, where, aside from the creases that accentuate the wheel arches, not much else is going on.
Photo by: Andrei Nedelea
The iX3 still registers as a BMW from the outside, and you couldn’t confuse it with something else. The interior is where the real break with tradition happens, and it may take more getting used to than the exterior. Much of it is clever and genuinely fresh. Some of it feels like BMW wandered a bit too close to the “because we can” school of design, but at least it’s not another dashboard with too many screens.
The door handles are worth mentioning because they’re peak modern, premium car nonsense (and illegal in China as of 2027). They sit flush, motor out when the car unlocks, and at night they glow with a full LED halo that looks properly fancy.
But when you pull them, there’s no click, because the car uses a pressure sensor and an electronic popper to unlatch the door. It works fine. It also feels like BMW reinvented the act of opening a door just to prove it could. If you pull harder, though, you can open them mechanically.
Photo by: Andrei Nedelea
The good news about t the iX3’s interior is that there is plenty of room. It feels almost as big as an X5, with lots of space in all directions and a flat floor in the back, making it realistic to carry three passengers in the second row, even if their shoulders will be a bit tight. I had no trouble fitting behind my own driving position with knee room to spare, and I am exactly six feet (183 cm) tall.
The steering wheel looks unusual, especially in the more sculptural two-spoke layout, but it’s better in the hand than photos suggest. My tester had the M Sport wheel, which looks more conventional by comparison. Either way, it works as the shape never feels awkward while driving, and the haptic controls, while not true buttons, are convincing enough that you stop missing real switchgear after a while.
The parallelogram-shaped central display also looks like BMW was rationing straight lines, but it’s actually easy to use. This latest version of the BMW operating system, OS X, is quick, clear, and mostly intuitive. It’s the first larger BMW to come without an iDrive controller, which feels like a loss since BMW once had the best non-touch interface in the business.
Photos by: Andrei Nedelea
Photos by: Andrei Nedelea
The panoramic display that stretches from pillar to pillar under the windshield was one of my favorite parts of the iX3. It’s a combination of a traditional screen and a head-up display, and it has all the information you need right in your line of sight. Most of it is customizable, so you can pick from a very wide selection of widgets.
BMW interior materials seem to have taken a step back with many of its new models, with the worst offender being the new X3. Before trying the iX3, I feared it would be more of the same, or even worse. To my surprise, most surfaces feel nicer to the touch in the new EV. There are plenty of soft-touch surfaces, which are absent in the gas-powered X3. Even though the iX3 still uses the same knitted plastic material as the X3, there’s less of it here, and it just feels fancier and more upmarket overall.
Seat comfort with the slightly more body-hugging sport seats is exceptional, and there is a huge range of adjustability in the driver’s seat and the steering wheel. You can get it pretty low to help you feel connected to the vehicle, and this low driving position gives you confidence to drive it quickly. What I can’t understand is why the front seat backs don’t have netting or pockets. This just seems like a very bad and visible place to cut costs, if that’s the reason this and most other new BMWs don’t have this.
The Numbers Look Good
Photo by: Andrei Nedelea
BMW says the iX3 should be really efficient for such a big and heavy SUV. My dual-motor, big-battery xDrive 50 tester weighed 5,037 lbs (2,285 kg), yet it had no problem returning almost 3.7 miles/kWh (17 kWh/100 km) in the city at fairly low speeds. That’s better than any other electric SUV in its class, and it comes courtesy of BMW’s sixth-generation electric powertrain and batteries.
Pair that with the 108.7-kWh battery pack and the result is a claimed WLTP range of 500 miles (805 km). BMW hasn’t released EPA figures for the U.S., which tend to be more conservative, but expect over 400 miles of range. In more realistic use, based on what I saw, around 380 miles (611 km) is a believable number, which is still enough to make this one of the most convincing long-distance electric SUVs on sale.
Yes, you can beat the official claim if you drive like you’re transporting nitroglycerin and swear off climate control, but even without hypermiling techniques, the iX3 is a proper distance machine.
Photo by: Andrei Nedelea
The iX3 is the fastest-charging EV from a European manufacturer. Its 800-volt platform allows it to take up to 400 kilowatts, bringing the battery from 10% to 80% in 21 minutes with an average charging power of over 230 kW. Charging for 10 minutes in optimal conditions adds 217 miles (350 km).
But it’s not just efficient and super fast-charging. The iX3 also feels quicker than its claimed 0-60 mph time of 4.7 seconds suggests. It feels like it has more power than the claimed output of 469 hp and 475 lb-ft (645 Nm), and continues pulling hard even at higher speeds before topping out at 130 mph (210 km/h).
Most of the motivation comes from the rear-mounted synchronous motor, which makes 326 hp and 320 lb-ft (435 Nm) on its own. The front motor contributes only 167 hp and 188 lb-ft (255 Nm) when you floor it or when the vehicle shuffles power to the front under low-grip conditions.
It Drives Like A BMW
Photo by: Andrei Nedelea
The reassuring thing about the iX3 is that, however futuristic it may look parked up, it quickly feels familiar from behind the wheel. Not as in old-fashioned, but familiar in the specifically BMW sense: There’s a firm edge to the ride, real body control, and an eagerness to change direction that immediately separates it from the sort of anesthetized electric SUVs that mistake silence for sophistication. This is something that China can’t yet replicate, no matter how technologically advanced its EVs are.
It’s not soft, and some buyers will probably want a little more compliance, especially since air suspension isn’t offered and adaptive dampers won’t arrive until later. But the payoff is a chassis that feels happy taking corners quickly; it’s unexpectedly enjoyable on a good road. For a fairly large electric SUV, the iX3 shrinks around you in a way that very few rivals can match.
The steering is precise and confidence-inspiring, although I was surprised by how much you have to turn it. It feels like you have to apply more lock than feels natural for a modern vehicle, which makes the driving experience feel somewhat old-fashioned despite everything else being modern. It’s also really light, maybe a bit too light, even in its firmer Sport mode setting.
Photo by: Andrei Nedelea
Disabling the traction control and flooring it out of a corner will get the back to step out, but I had no trouble keeping it in check. The fact that it has a huge, heavy battery very low in the vehicle, which also acts as an integral part of the chassis, makes it feel far less top-heavy than the gas-burning X3, giving you more confidence to drive it spiritedly.
BMW hails the Heart of Joy driving control unit (one of the supercomputers that run the vehicle) as a bit of a revolution. It improves many aspects of how the iX3 drives compared to its predecessors, but what I really wanted to experience were its claimed ’10x quicker’ responses.
The short answer is that it works, and you can definitely feel it. Traction control intervention is more precise, and it almost feels like the car knows what you’re about to do beforehand. This supercomputer also contributes to how nice it feels to power out of corners in the iX3, because even when its back axle does step out, it’s still working to keep you sliding controllably.
Photo by: Andrei Nedelea
Another thing it enables is the soft stop or limo stop function. This eliminates that final jolt of whiplash that pulls your head away from the headrest when you stop. When you come to a stop in the iX3, especially when using the regenerative braking, it’s unbelievably smooth. It works on inclines and around bends, and it really encourages you to use the excellent one-pedal driving feature. This was one of my favorite features of the vehicle, and it’s something no other rival does anywhere near this well.
The acceleration sound, which you can switch off, is reminiscent of what Hans Zimmer created for the previous generation of BMW EVs. However, it’s not as theatrical as before, and it’s just a bit flatter. It’s not clear if it’s trying to imitate a combustion car sound or if it’s trying to be a spaceship. It lands somewhere in the middle.
It also has excellent advanced driver assistance systems. The iX3 is very smooth when steering itself on any road, though here in Europe, you still have to keep your hands on the wheel at all times. You can even initiate an automatic lane change merely by glancing into the side mirror, which is a cool feature. Its self-parking feature shows a little progress indicator, too, and it gave me more confidence than other similar systems did as I observed it squeeze into a parking spot.
The Hype Is Deserved
Gallery: 2026 BMW iX3 xDrive 50
Once you get past the styling and the unusual cabin layout, the iX3 reveals itself as one of the most complete EVs BMW has ever built. It’s smooth, quiet, quick enough to feel properly expensive, and efficient enough to make some rivals look a bit wasteful. More importantly, it has the one thing BMW absolutely had to get right here: It feels engineered by people who still care how a car drives, and it makes me very excited to try the i3 sedan built on the same Neue Klasse bones.
That matters because the iX3 is more than just another premium electric SUV. It’s BMW finally showing that its EV future need not be a compromise among technology, efficiency, and driver appeal. Some Chinese rivals still offer more wow-factor per euro, and Tesla still wins on ecosystem advantages, but as a polished, genuinely satisfying all-rounder, the iX3 feels like BMW getting its groove back at exactly the right time.
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