There’s good news and bad news about the all-new 2027 BMW iX3. On the one hand, it’s unequivocally BMW’s best electric vehicle ever—an SUV brimming with new technology and designed from the ground up to, as the company says, skip a generation. It’s the best shot the German automaker has to get on the same technological level as Tesla, Rivian and the Chinese.
On the other hand, timing isn’t its strong suit.
I don’t need to spell it all out for you, surely. Suffice it to say, after taking office, President Donald Trump and Congress took a blowtorch to everything EV fanatics hold near and dear faster than you can say Bayerische Motoren Werke. The EV tax credit is gone, sales have started to slide, and it’s been open season on lots of electric models—present and future—that no longer pencil out in this new, tariff-fueled reality.
2027 BMW iX3
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
Meanwhile, here comes the iX3, promising 400 miles of range, some of the fastest charging seen on any modern EV, better software updates, superior packaging and an all-around better EV experience than what came before.
The big question, then, is whether BMW’s finest electric car yet will be sunk by America’s retreat on EVs—or help to turn things around. After spending some time with the SUV in Spain last month, I’m convinced it’s the latter.
(Full Disclosure: BMW covered all travel and lodging so I could drive the iX3.)
2027 BMW iX3: What Is It?
2027 BMW iX3
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
The iX3 is a midsize electric crossover that represents a top-to-bottom rethink of how the company makes electric cars. It’s the first BMW to use the company’s new “Neue Klasse” platform. Dozens of cars with various fuel sources will leverage part or all of this next-gen technology stack. But it all breaks cover first in the iX3: an 800-volt architecture, a powerful computing system, denser batteries, the whole nine.
2027 BMW iX3 xDrive50 (U.S.)
The best part is that the iX3 xDrive50 will start at around $60,000 in the U.S. when it goes on sale in 2026. It’s not cheap by any means, but let me put that into perspective.
The iX, BMW’s only electric SUV in America, historically ran you about $90,000 and up, until a recent price drop. It’s a well-regarded machine, sure. But, like a lot of this generation’s EVs, it was priced for wealthy enthusiasts—not regular people.
2027 BMW iX3.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
The average new car in America costs around $50,000 now. Silly, sure, but it’s remarkable that such a high-spec EV isn’t so far above that. The iX3 commands a premium over a gas-powered X3, too, but not even a huge one.
Plus, you get about double the horsepower, over a second shaved off of your 0-60 time and noticeably updated tech. You don’t just get an electric SUV—you get an electric SUV with top-tier specs that should make it remarkably usable in the real world.
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On paper, the iX3 is a strong contender to thrive even in the current doomy environment. After all, with tax breaks, fuel economy standards and EV sales mandates dead in the water for the foreseeable future, electric cars have no choice but to stand on their own four wheels.
But specs and press releases are only half the battle. The good news is that the iX3 also delivers IRL.
2027 BMW iX3.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
2027 BMW iX3: Driving Impressions
Unlike some of BMW’s recent efforts to shake things up, the iX3’s design lands. Gone are the oversized gaping nostrils of the XM or the buck teeth of the iX. Like the rest of this SUV, the iX3’s front end is distinct and forward-thinking, but tasteful.
It’s pleasant to drive too. The iX3 soaks up bumps like nobody’s business, leading to an impeccably smooth ride even over poor roads and cobblestones. It feels controlled and predictable when you push a little harder around corners too. In a world full of lumbering, heavy electric crossovers, the iX3 feels noticeably agile and lighter than it really is.
2027 BMW iX3. Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
According to BMW, 0-60 mph happens in 4.7 seconds, which is unremarkable for a desensitized EV reviewer—electric cars are just that ridiculous these days—but will feel like a rocketship to almost anybody else. What’s nice is that the power comes on nice and easy, not jerkily.
What’s almost more impressive than how the iX3 goes, though, is how it stops. Hit the brake pedal or let the regenerative braking system take over, and the iX3 goes from about 5 mph to zero imperceptibly—as if at that very moment the surrounding air turned into molasses. There’s no familiar jolt that signifies that the car has stopped moving. And if you were blindfolded, I think you’d be hard-pressed to spot the exact moment when the car had come to a halt. It’s that good.
2027 BMW iX3.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
Speaking of braking, BMW has added a nice new feature to its driver-assistance suite that I’m not aware of in any other car. You can hit the brakes—for example, to let another car merge onto the highway—and the Highway Assistant won’t immediately boot you out and make you re-engage. Instead, the car just slows down, then gradually comes back up to cruising speed.
It’s a neat addition that makes adaptive cruise control a lot more user-friendly. But either it was tough to get used to quickly, or it needs some fine-tuning. I had to really stab the brake pedal to actually cancel adaptive cruise when I wanted to.
How Is It As An EV?
Range anxiety has largely given way to charging anxiety at this point. And that makes a lot of sense. Now that most electric cars have a baseline of acceptable range, people are realizing that the real game-changer is being able to top up as quickly as possible.
Good news there: The iX3 delivers a one-two punch of excellent range and ultra-fast charging capability. And that stems from the very basics of how it’s designed.
2027 BMW iX3.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
The SUV provides an estimated 400 miles of range on the EPA testing cycle, plus the ability to recharge at 400 kilowatts. To put that into perspective, there are barely any plugs in the U.S. that even go that high. Optimal charging should yield 175 miles of added range in 10 minutes, BMW says, or a 10%-80% charge time of 21 minutes.
At the iX3’s heart is a 108.7 kilowatt-hour battery pack with new cylindrical nickel-manganese-cobalt cells. Supplied by China’s CATL, these cells are 20% more energy-dense than the Gen-5 BMW batteries that came before. They’re arranged in the battery pack without the use of modules—basically sub-assemblies—which makes for a more efficient use of space. And the pack doubles as the floor of the vehicle, which is a first for BMW.
2027 BMW iX3
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
According to BMW’s project lead for the Neue Klasse battery, Philip Guerrero, this makes the SUV lighter and helps give it a slimmer profile. BMW wasn’t able to do that with cars like the i4 and i5 because those used platforms shared with combustion cars.
Charging performance is boosted by the iX3’s new 800-volt platform. Versus more conventional 400-volt systems, it can charge at high power but low currents. Plus, BMW is introducing some clever features to help customers find working charging stations in the wild.
A new “AI correction layer” on the route planner and navigation system will do two things. It’ll note where cars are actually charging to give more precise routing—so you aren’t circling the Walmart parking lot endlessly trying to find the Electrify America stalls. And, based on both online reviews and vehicle data, BMW will flag stations that routinely don’t deliver their advertised peak charging rate.
2026 BMW iX3.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
On top of all that, the iX3 is BMW’s first EV with bidirectional charging. That’ll be a standard feature from the factory, with BMW offering an assortment of adapters for different use-cases. I think that will be a non-negotiable feature in short order.
The best EVs also take full advantage of compact, flexible EV powertrains and give buyers back extra space. Think the Rivian R1T’s Gear Tunnel or the Tesla Model Y’s massive under-floor rear storage compartment or the Lucid Gravity’s generally cavernous interior. Notably, the iX3 is BMW’s first EV with a frunk. But it’s not that spacious, so I think BMW still has a thing or two to learn about EV packaging.
One Highlight: Panoramic Vision Display
Hop into the iX3 and you’re greeted by exactly what you’d expect: a sturdy, stylish interior packed with elegant materials. There’s also something entirely new: Panoramic iDrive.
BMW’s new infotainment system revolves around a funky parallelogram-shaped screen that’s tilted toward the driver. Button-lovers may shudder at the lack of physical controls for things like the climate settings—personally, I don’t love having to use a screen to direct my air vents—but the interface is crisp, attractive and has the glassy feel of a tech product.
2026 BMW iX3.
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
I enjoyed poking around the multitude of settings, but I still wonder how much screen and how much of a learning curve your average Joe is willing to tolerate.
What I think people will love is BMW’s clever Panoramic Vision Display. This pillar-to-pillar strip of screen below the windshield houses your gauge cluster all the way on the left, plus several customizable slots for things you’d like to see at a glance.
Available widgets range from the expected (weather, date/time, trip information) to the nerdy (high-voltage battery temperature, amperage). Why would you need to know your steering wheel angle in a family crossover, or at all? I have no idea. But you can do just that in the iX3.
2027 BMW iX3: Early Verdict
BMW iX3
Photo by: Tim Levin/InsideEVs
In the EV market of 2026 and beyond, only the strong will survive. The era of participation trophies and ridiculously cheap lease deals is officially over. That means only genuinely appealing, well-priced EVs have a real shot at success.
So far, the BMW iX3 seems to be exactly that: an EV that can stand on its own merits, that costs about as much as a gas-powered car but is better all around. The kind of thing the market’s been waiting for.
What’s encouraging is that if you look past all the doom-and-gloom headlines about carmakers rolling back their electrification plans, there’s also real, tangible progress happening. If the iX3 proves anything, it’s that electric cars are getting better every single day. Soon enough, slowdown or not, they’ll be impossible for even the skeptics to ignore.
Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com
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