BMW iX3 (2026 – ) Electric review

True, the iX3 isn’t going to be a cheap car to buy. But nor was the previous one, and that didn’t stop it being one of the most popular premium electric SUVs, even towards the end of its life. BMW’s mastery of its next-gen electric tech will have a greater impact on running costs, meanwhile, the claimed ability to go nearly 500 miles between charges saving your money whether you plug into cheaper domestic electricity at home or lean on the public network. True, the incentives for going electric are steadily disappearing with the introduction of pay-per-mile taxation and similar. But company drivers can, for now, still save a packet in Benefit In Kind over equivalent combustion or even hybrid alternatives. Saying that, if you’re still not ready to go full electric the regular X3 is still a damn fine car!

Call it a holding score for now, for the fact literally everything on the iX3 is brand-new so we don’t know how reliable it will prove to be. We’ll take some comfort in the fact BMW has huge experience in electric vehicles and the Neue Klasse range has been thoroughly tested in all conditions. We’ll just have to hope any teething troubles have been ironed out.

There’s a whole other story on the iX3’s next-gen tech, but take confidence in the fact one of the car’s four ‘superbrains’ is dedicated to keeping you safe via the many and various assistance systems. The fact they were slick enough we didn’t feel motivated to immediately turn them off is a good sign, though the distraction monitor did get a bit fussy at times. While the legislation is yet to catch up here we were able to enjoy the ‘hands off’ motorway driving feature on the Spanish roads we drove it on, which worked impressively but feels a bit spooky. Also, it’s not like you can take a nap or sit there doom-scrolling the socials, given ultimate responsibility for the vehicle remains in your hands. Even if they’re not actually holding the wheel. As such you have to wonder what the actual gain is, until such point the machines fully take over.

We’ve said it before, but the advantage of cars built from the start as electric vehicles rather than – as with the previous iX3 – adapted from combustion-engined ones is interior space. We won’t bore you with the whys and wherefores but, basically, the need to accommodate a giant battery also frees up tons of room inside, the flat floor great for leg-room in the back. This makes the iX3 a great family car whether your kids are small enough to still be in child seats or lanky enough to need space to slouch, the centre seat in the back still a little lumpier than the outer two but sufficient for three-up school or club runs. The boot is a little shallow given the size of the car but there’s a useful ‘frunk’ under what would be the bonnet where you can stash mucky charging cables away from the rest of your stuff. The iX3’s really impressive feat is its ride comfort, though. This thing just glides, even over the horrendously lumpy Spanish roads we were driving on. But it’s still a BMW, so nor does it wallow about in the corners. We even did a few laps of a race track and, if not its comfort zone, the iX3 proved it could still handle being hustled around. Silent, speedy, effortlessly refined and comfy it’s just a lovely place to spend time.

In typical BMW fashion there are many and various ways to make your iX3 glitzier and more expensive across the three trim levels available at the outset. And, true to say, the plain black cabin of our test car did reveal some slightly cheaper feeling materials than the fancier one pictured, so it’s definitely worth the upgrade to one of the nicer interior packages. You still get nice stuff like heated seats and a power tailgate as standard, at least. The real talking point, though, is the Panoramic iDrive system, which ditches the conventional screen in front of the driver for a full-width display running beneath the windscreen. Key info like speed and the rest remain front and centre and in your line of sight but other elements can be customised with neat drag and drop widgets. It's a much clearer and more effective arrangement than the often fiddly screen-based instrument clusters found in many modern cars, the system powering the main central screen similarly clear, logical and easy to use. Which is just as well, because versions of this system will be appearing across the BMW range in the not-too-distant future!

There isn’t the space to explain the sheer level of effort BMW has gone into with its new battery, its sixth-generation motors or the (slightly sinister sounding) Heart of Joy ‘superbrain’ devoted to making your every input to the throttle, brakes or steering feel as smooth and satisfying as it does. The beauty is that you don’t need to understand how it’s doing what it’s doing. You can just appreciate how effortless it feels. True, the fact the only model available at launch is the dual-motor, 469 horsepower iX3 50 xDrive flatters the car, less powerful single-motor versions with smaller batteries coming in due course. And at the efficiency we saw your range will be closer to 300 miles than the 493 miles claimed by BMW. But if you can find a charger fast enough it will top up in the blink of an eye, or at up to 400kW to put a number on it. That’s not the reality on much of the public charging infrastructure, or isn’t yet. But the iX3 is ready for when it is. And, in the meantime, you can enjoy features like the ‘soft stop’ that can gift even the most lead-footed driver near chauffeur levels of smoothness. Which will at least keep the rabble in the back quiet in busy stop-start morning traffic.