BMW iX3 is very impressive on all fronts

The launch of BMW’s new iX3 fully electric SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle) heralded the start of a new era for the premium German carmaker, marking its biggest visual and technical reset in 20 years.

This is a very impressive car on all fronts, introducing bold new design language to be used on future BMW cars. A mid-sized SUV designed and built to be aerodynamic in all aspects, the drag coefficient is just 0.24. Dimensions are 4,782mm in length, 1,635mm in height, 1,895mm in width, and a wheelbase of 2,897mm.

Trim levels are iX3, iX3 M Sport (my review car), and iX3 M Sport Pro. My car looked well in a dark grey exterior colour of Polarised Grey, but other exterior colours include Alpine White (no extra cost); however, alternative colour options are pricey.

The first thing you notice are the vertical illuminated, and slimmer kidney grilles, and a lovely headlight setup. The brand’s BMW Iconic Glow lights up the kidney grille to create a distinctive light. (An additional €1,196.) Square-shaped muscular wheel arches, and the slim LED tail lights that reach almost the entire width of the rear, also add interest. 

My M Sport review car added a more aerodynamic lower bumper trim compared to standard models. Optional bicolour BMW Individual aerodynamic 22-inch alloy wheels convey a commanding presence but are costly at €3,306. M Sport brakes with dark blue calipers were optional but looked the part. The large rear window, with wiper, allows for good rear visibility.

The spacious and upmarket interior is designed for comfort, is very well finished, and leather-free with soft-touch, sustainable fabrics from recycled materials, and polyurethane on dash panels. Gentle ambient lighting on the dash was quite lovely.

The panoramic glass sunroof with climate comfort technology (€1,606) doesn’t require a blind. You can also opt for sun protection glass on windows to darken the glass, reducing heat in sunlight while also adding privacy (€567).

Front seats are electrically adjustable, with a two-seat memory function. You can set two memory seat settings.

There’s no start-stop button. Sit into the driver’s seat, put the car into Drive (or Reverse), and just go. A large touchscreen screen, slightly angled towards the driver, replaces most traditional physical buttons, with the Home Screen divided into three distinct layers. Temperature controls are permanently on the lower part of the screen. The screen includes BMW maps with online navigation and active route guidance.

A full-width display runs along the base of the windscreen, projecting lots of driver data almost at eye level, but is not in any way distracting. It replaces the traditional driver’s instrument cluster. There’s space for six widgets, such as date, weather, navigation, charging, and your media selection. You can remove or add widgets using drag and drop with your finger. My highly specced car also had an excellent 3D Head-Up-Display that showed my current speed, remaining battery range, and extra info like corners coming up ahead on country roads, and the distance to adjoining roads.

The chunky, two-spoke steering wheel in synthetic leather can be heated. There's a minimalist control design where illuminated buttons and touch-sensitive elements only appear and light up when they are active or available for use. A neat feature. Main controls for media are buttons on the steering wheel.

Features include a wireless charging pad with cooling, an excellent reversing camera with panoramic view, Park Assist, front and rear parking sensors, a reverse emergency braking function, and exit warning.

There’s lots of rear head and leg-room even behind a tall person in front, a completely flat floor, and two USB-C ports. The wide middle seat back lowers as an armrest with two cupholders.

A power tailgate revealed boot space of 520 litres with all seats in use, and up to 1,750 litres with rear seats folded. The boot has a high floor with an area below for cables, but you can also store them in the 5’8 litre frunk under the bonnet, which is waterproof and rustproof. There's a tyre repair kit.

Optional equipment included a Technology Plus Pack 2 at €2,141, which included two-zone automatic air conditioning, the Head-up Display, and a Harman Kardon sound system. Driving Assistant Plus includes Active Cruise Control and systems such as lane departure warnings and Hill Descent Control.

The car has a rated range 805km. Dual electric motors deliver 469hp and 645 Nm of torque, that propels the car from 0-100km/h in 4.9 seconds. Fast DC charging from 10% to 80% takes around 20 minutes, 11kW home charging 11 hours.

I found the car very agile for its large size, smooth to drive, easy to park, an absolute delight to drive on motorways, and well stuck to the road when cornering and on country roads. I found steering quite direct, and the AWD makes driving on wet surfaces so much safer.

The car earned a maximum five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP.

PRICE: My car as tested, €83,215.