The last decade or so has seen a rather fascinating story play out where EV development is concerned. Crudely speaking, the cars are the same now as they were a decade ago, in that, the battery still typically sits under the floor and between the axles, powering either one or two motors. On a more advanced level, improvements in software and thermal efficiencies have led to vehicles that are virtually unrecognizable from the EVs of old. Buyers expect a lot more range from their cars now as they do efficiency, both in charging as well as driving. It’s a much higher bar that manufacturers are competing with but even when you think you’ve seen it all, there’s still more to come as the new BMW iX3 proves.
Here at Tarmac Life, we’ve been following the BMW iX3’s journey with intent it would seem. I first spotted the Bavarian brand’s ‘Vision Neue Klasse’ concept on a trip to Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2024. Then, we heard about its ‘Heart of Joy‘ onboard computer system that would effectively revolutionize the driver’s interaction with the car. Dave was in Spain for its international launch and Harry in Melbourne for its Australian launch, meaning that the review was mine for the taking once the car landed on our shores!
The iX3 is well and truly a production car but there’s something inherently concept car-ish about its design. Take a look at the vehicle’s angular lines that are somehow sharp yet soft, getting this right is like walking a tightrope, Philippe Petit style. Accentuated wheel arches flaunt the car’s large alloys when viewed from a three quarter angle, yet, they can even appear two dimensional when viewed from the side. It really is a masterful piece of design and perhaps the creases are accentuated by this spectacular ‘Frozen Space Silver metallic‘ colour but it is all the more reason to select the shade when specifying your iX3. At $6,000, it’s not a cheap option though and with a total of nine colours on offer, I can foretell the existence of more popular choices seeing as ‘Alpine White‘ is the only free shade while the others are all $2,000 options.
There is indeed a lengthy options list that one can dive through while specifying an iX3, the base vehicle starts at $125,000 but our review vehicle featured a price tag closer to $150,000, mainly thanks to its paintwork and 22 inch ‘M light alloy wheels‘ which were a $7,700 option. Still, as the press vehicle is often the first example of a car to be seen on the roads and therefore, in view of the public, it must be specified in an eye catching way and BMW New Zealand certainly nailed the brief with this one.
While on the topic of brief, the iX3’s dimensions are actually a lot more compact than the below photo might suggest. Length comes in at 4.78m, height is 1.64m and width is 1.89m which is not exactly compact but is in line with that of the ICE powered X3. Positively though, because this is an EV, its interior dimensions are closer to that of an X5 rather than the iX3’s combustion powered counterpart. Still, it manages a drag coefficient of 0.24 Cd making it one of the most aerodynamic electric SUVs out there!
Very much an integral part of the design, the LED headlights and taillights deserve a special mention. On the nose, BMW have once again lit up their ‘Iconic Glow’ grille but this time, the nostrils have shrunk so it doesn’t look quite as obnoxious as an X7 for example. There’s a slim light bar that frames the grille and headlights, providing a pulsating dance of light as you approach the car, all part of this ‘Iconic Glow exterior package‘ by the way. The headlight units themselves are matrix but their projection sits rather low on the road so I didn’t find opposing drivers flashing their lights at me. Additionally, on a dark country road, the high beam system dips almost instantaneously when another car come into view, keeping the bright lights illuminated on the dark side of the road, this is not a new technology per say but it’s been implemented well here.
The impressive light artistry continues down the side where the door handles are framed in LED light strips, making for a rather cool effect on approach. It does have pop-out door handles which are a bit putting off but achieving such a low drag co-efficient comes with its drawbacks. And around the rear, the large taillights project a pinkish hue rather than the typical red shade on stop-lights. Again, a very distinctive light signature and I can appreciate having two separate lamps for once rather than a light bar to join them up.
Opening the tailgate unravels a generous 520 litre boot which will expand out to 1,750 litres with the seats folded down. Worth noting that there is a 58 litre frunk under the bonnet and the iX3 has been tow rated for 2,000kgs which is pretty decent for an electric SUV, it’s certainly as practical as it is stylish and that continues on the inside.
Like the exterior, the interior is also a mix of more traditional BMW elements combined with a futuristic sense of where the brand is headed, both in design and technology! Firstly, you shut the door and hear this reassuring ‘thunk’ sound reminding you that although the powertrain might have changed, BMW’s dedication to quality has not. The iX3 feels rather robust in general but it’s more than just a feeling as the vehicle is also the first to be 5-star rated under ANCAP’s ‘Four Stage Safety Framework’ which measures driver support systems, crash avoidance, crash protection and post-crash integrity.
Enough talk of gloom and doom, the cabin thankfully is also an airy place to be, helped by a large panoramic sunroof with ‘Climate Comfort Glazing‘ which simply means an electrochromic film has been applied to the glass, allowing it go from clear to murky in an instant to reduce heat into the cabin. The iX3 has some fairly large windows as well which again help with adding a sense of space to the interior, of which there are seven total options when it comes to colour and material choices. Only two of these have a price tag attached, those both feature leather rather than the ‘Cotemporary’ material, whatever that is!
Our review model came specified in the ‘Contemporary Castanea bicolour design‘ which is best likened to a dark/burnished tan if we’re talking colours. The seats themselves were the multifunction units rather than the M-Sport ones, both of which are no cost options. Even though this car didn’t feature the sportier seats, they are still on the firmer side of supportive. You don’t sink into the seats so the leather options might be worth considering if seat comfort is of utmost priority to you. Seat heating was included as was massage functionality which includes a number of different choices, although I found most to be a little uncomfortable on the lower back but that’s just personal preference. Despite not being a natural fabric, these seats were still comfortable and coupled with the natural fabrics that wrap around the dashboard, provide a good reason for why the iX3’s production is so light on the environment.
On the other hand, the iX3’s interior options list is anything but light! There was the glass sunroof I mentioned earlier, the upholstery choices, M steering wheel and even the 13-speaker Harman Kardon Hi-Fi audio system which is excellent by the way!
However, the biggest talking point of the interior has to be that ‘Panoramic Vision’ display. It essentially replaces the gauge cluster with a display that’s now projected onto the lower part of the windscreen. Interestingly, it didn’t take much getting used to and provides a sort of halfway mark for those who don’t use a heads up display, myself included. To some extent, it almost makes the driver feel like Iron Man who has his assistant Jarvis accessible through this VR wraparound display of sorts! The information on offer is plenty and customizable to a certain extent, you obviously have to retain the speedometer but everything else can be altered. There’s also a constant smiling face which is BMW’s virtual assistant who reacts with a nod for example when you turn the volume up the stereo. Its list of functions is seemingly endless, something that is both a pro and con as AI has turned into such a divisive technology since the car’s initial launch last year.
Flashes of the future continue as the iX3 doesn’t have a physical start/stop button, instead it’s ready to go once you’re in the driving seat (key included) and it’ll turn off once you’ve taken the key out of its vicinity. There’s no park button either, instead, you simply press the electronic parking brake to disengage its drive functionality. It may be a huge leap forward for BMW where technology is concerned but the car stands firmly by the brand’s mantra ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’, so much so that they’ve gone even further back to an older slogan, ‘The Joy of Driving’ which has been the label for the iX3.
Before I can talk about how the iX3 drives, we have to discuss its technical data because this is really where the shift has been with BMW taking EV technology to a whole new level. The battery is a rather large one, 108kWhr net but in the right specification, it will deliver 805km of range, WLTP by the way! I place importance on the right spec because you do need the 20 inch wheels for example to achieve this figure, the 22 inch units on this review model reduce that down to about 600kms to illustrate the difference.
Power on this iX3 50 model is 345kW with torque rated at 645Nm and a 0-100 time of 4.9s which is plenty! For those wanting more oomph, there is an iX3 M60 model on the way. In the meantime, its DC charging figure of 400kW should keep the speed freaks busy, it’ll take 22kW of AC charge as well. Claimed consumption is 17.1kWhr/100km but despite my seemingly efficient 588 or so kilometres of distance covered with the car, I returned an average of 19.9kWhr/100km.
Now to the way it drives, a piece of critical importance with any BMW. The iX3 features a sporty driving position so you always feel ready to pounce on a good corner even on the seemingly mundane commutes. Like the seats, the suspension is also set up to be firm but not overly harsh, it’ll still go over most driving surfaces with relative comfort and having deployed my parents in the back seat for some feedback, they were quite happy with the way the iX3 handled most of what Auckland had to throw at it, speed humps included.
The iX3’s set-up really comes to life when the road gets twisty, it dances along, almost in a way that a circa 2.5 tonne vehicle shouldn’t be able to do so, rear wheel bias is to be credited for this. If I were to make an analogy where BMW is likened to KFC, their rear wheel drive expertise would be the fast food equivalent of ’11 herbs and spices’. Yes, it’s got the X-Drive all wheel drive system but importance was placed on making sure the two back wheels get the pick of the bunch when it comes to power and that approach really does reward the most enthusiastic of drivers. While the steering is light like most modern cars, there’s still enough resistance at play to make you feel like you are really piloting the vehicle, contrary to the vague feedback offered by many modern cars.
To some extent, you expect a widely talked about BMW product to offer a remarkable driving experience, what was less expected was the sheer amount of attention that this iX3 gets while on the road. Maybe it was the sharp design, the paintwork, wheels or perhaps the combination of all of these factors but I noticed cafe-goers in Ponsonby putting down their espresso cups to have a better look at this car so it’s just as well then that it drives so well.
Positively, you don’t need to drive the iX3 like a hooligan to really appreciate how good it is on the road. In traffic, its adaptive regen braking will keep you from getting too close to the car in front while the noteworthy soft-stop system transitions the braking from regen to calipers without a hitch. The leap forward that the iX3 has taken in every respect of BMW’s EV development is really quite remarkable.
The Verdict
Although a brand new vehicle, this iX3 is the product of a marriage between two distinct but important eras in BMW’s history. Firstly, the ‘Neue Klasse’ name comes from a range of cars that brought BMW back from the brink in the late 60s/early 70s. Fast forward to the 2010s and BMW had established themselves as leaders in the electrified vehicle space with the i3 and i8 leading the charge until they were wound down. Now, in 2026, BMW find themselves at a crossroad yet again and the iX3 ‘Neue Klasse’ has been tasked with kicking things off for the forty new models to follow. Effectively, the car represents a fresh start for BMW’s ‘i’ (EV) division as much as for the wider brand itself. The question then begs, is this new beginning a good one? And in response, I would say that simply based off this iX3 50, then yes, if this is the future of BMW’s EVs then they are off to a flying start.
2026 BMW iX3 50: 5/5
Thanks for reading! For more BMW news and reviews, visit Tarmac Life.
Car courtesy of BMW New Zealand. Pictures and words by Matthew D’Souza.
This article was entirely researched, composed and written without the use of AI.
