BMW iX3 launches Neue Klasse era as brand’s 500-mile EV platform sets future direction

It is, on the one hand, just another mid-sized, mid-price electric SUV and, as such, perhaps not the strongest candidate for earning one of just 12 spaces for two-page reviews this title has to offer each year.

It also provides the benchmark for all BMWs from now on. And those are not my words; they belong instead to David George, CEO of BMW Group UK. The new platform upon which it sits and the tech it contains will underpin no fewer than – his words again – “Forty product launches between now and the end of next year.” No wonder the company calls it the Neue Klasse in direct reference to the BMW 1500 launched with the same name in 1961 and which saved the company in the most literal sense. Although no longer facing an existential threat, BMW sees this neue Neue Klasse as no less important.

In technical terms the iX3 is fairly extraordinary, probably the most notable stat being the 500-mile range claimed for it, a new record for a car sold in the UK when measured by the same WLTP method required of all cars sold in Europe. Now, of course, it won’t actually do that – when I first climbed aboard it claimed to have both a 100% charge and a range of 443 miles, but it is no less honest than any other EV out there and the issue lies with the mandated means of measuring, not the car being measured. But it should still go further on a charge than any other car on sale.

Handily its closest rival, the Mercedes-Benz GLC 400, is also brand new, similarly state of the art and the statistical comparison is interesting: the Mercedes has a smaller battery and a range some 60 miles short of the BMW’s, yet it weighs 165kg more and can charge at 320kW while the BMW will take a 400kW charge if you can find somewhere to provide it. I did find a load of comparative data between this new iX3 and its predecessor but I won’t trouble you with it because what was competitive four years ago is a joke today: a 280-mile range and charging speed of 135kW.

So it all stacks up on paper. In the flesh too the new design language is pleasing and a welcome relief from some of BMW’s more, er, courageous shapes of recent times. The interior is so spacious all 6ft 3in of me could sit behind myself, which makes me ponder the point of the yet larger iX5 that will doubtless sit on this platform in time.

There is, of course, an all-new operating system (with associated app) and I could doubtless fill every remaining page detailing its capabilities, but suffice to say there’s a broader than ever range of really useful features – it’ll show you a charging curve so you can disconnect when it starts to slow – and utterly pointless gimmicks, like the ability to see how many degrees of steering you are using. There’s the usual digital dash but, above it, a car-wide strip of displays which is largely configurable to show whatever information you want to see. It looks great.

I tried two cars with different steering wheel designs and didn’t like either – they’re too small, the diameter of their rims too large and filled with BMW’s usual squishy material. Also there are no paddles for adjusting the energy regeneration before you need to brake, which I thought a surprising omission for a BMW, even when in SUV form.

“Its smooth demeanour is too often upset by the quality of our roads”

And while yet quicker versions will become available, this one is plenty fast enough. Indeed I don’t really understand the modest 4.9sec 0-62mph time claimed; it’s not how it feels. It also handles pretty well for a car of this size and heft. It can feel a touch ponderous at low speeds, but get on a flowing road and it settles nicely into the apex and controls its body movements well. I’d criticise the lack of steering feel if I could think of another remotely similar car that had any.

But the ride needs improving. For all the technology oozing out of this car, its springs are metal and shaped into coils, and even on standard 20in rims its generally smooth demeanour is too often upset by the rapidly deteriorating quality of our roads. On the biggest 22in rims, comfort levels are never more than adequate, and at times rather less than that. It would be interesting to see what efforts, if any, were made to set this car up for UK roads. The good news is that an adaptive damping option (which was available even on the old iX3) is coming, but not until next year. Right now it feels like expecting an entirely passive system both to control this much high-and-heavy car while also providing impressive levels of comfort is placing too big a burden on its shoulders. Were it my money, I’d wait for the trick shockers.

Otherwise though, this is a fine car that broadly lives up to its ambitious billing. But the one I really want to drive is the next Neue Klasse down the line, the i3 or, put another way, the new 3 Series. Lower, lighter and more efficient as it’s bound to be, if you think this car has impressive numbers, it’s likely we ain’t seen nothing yet…

BMW iX3 50 xDrive M Sport

• Price £60,250
• Engine Front and rear electric motors, 108.7kWh
• Power 469bhp
• Torque 475lb ft
• Weight 2295kg
• Power to weight 204bhp per tonne
• Transmission Single-speed, four-wheel drive
• 0-62mph 6.9sec
• Top speed 130mph
• Range 500 miles (WLTP)
• Charging speed Up to 400kW
• Verdict Klasse act – and just the start.

Review

Audi beats Beemer rival

Audi S5 Avant Edition 1 better than M340i
I’m sure it’s happened at some stage but I can’t remember when… Audi has taken on a directly comparable BMW and come out on top. When I jumped from an S5 Avant into a BMW M 340i, the Audi was not just faster and prettier, it was as good to drive and felt better built too.
Verdict: Comfortable, quiet and very quick.

Coming soon

GTI spec for Peugeot 208

All-new EV hatchback to arrive in late ’26
Peugeot’s next GTI will also be its first all-electric GTI. The problem is that when driven as its makers would like, its range in the cold is barely 100 miles. It has to be more than entertaining: it has to be usable. Crack that without compromising the fun factor and Peugeot could have something.

Insider news

New ‘pint-sized’ Defender

Electric model will be smaller than the 90

Three years ago Land Rover announced it was turning itself into a ‘house of brands’, so Range Rover, Defender and Discovery would no longer be mere model names. Next year, Defender launches a pint-sized, electric version. If the directors had their time again, would they still be committing to an EV-only approach for the car?