500 miles, lower price: is BMW’s new iX3 the future of electric SUVs?
Our first look video of this car, the BMW EX-3 Neuerlass, is one of our most popular videos of 2025. And that’s before we’ve even driven it, which finally I am here in Rhonda in Spain to do today. Now, in case you’ve forgotten, this marks a whole reinvention for BMW because for the first time, it’s developing both the hardware and the software. And it is also the first car to get BMW’s new design look. But you know, we knew all that already. What we don’t know yet is what it feels like on the road behind the wheel. So, should we go for a drive? Yes, let’s let me remind you of the headlines. You’ve got 108 kWh battery and up to 500 miles of range depending on the spec. prices. They start at £58,755 on the road, which means almost double the range of the old EX-3 for less money. And it undercuts rivals like the Audi Q6 Ron and the Mercedes GLC. BMW is now using four super brains to run the key systems. ADAS, driving dynamics, comfort, and infotainment, all tied together in what they call the heart of joy. Not so sure about the name. The point of all that is speed and control. These systems talk to each other more intelligently than ever before. Because BMW has developed the systems, it also has more control over how the car drives. So it can make it more BMW if you like. So this model is the X drive 50 which will be the launch model in the UK. It’s got 21in wheels. The color is space silver. Um, initially only a few color options will be offered and more will be added down the line. And by the way, order books are open now. So this is of course where you see the real difference with the car here at the front. It has these little twin oval kidneys there. It’s a real throwback to the Neuer class cars of the past, which I like. The big thing for me though is that the chrome has gone. Chrome has been replaced by light. That’s because chrome isn’t that sustainable to make. And BMW are putting a lot of focus into the sustainability of this story. And if you look down here in the center, this is where the cameras are housed. So, the ADA systems, which are controlled by their very own Superbrain, again, are a really big story on this car. They are very clever. But like I said, we know all of this. Let’s go for a drive. I’ve already spent several hours driving this car over a variety of different roads. I’ve done a long motorway journey. Um, I’m on some faster country roads now. And spoiler alert, it’s really nice to drive. Power-wise, in this iDrive 50, you get 463 horsepower from dual motors. Naugh to 62 takes 4.9 seconds. So, yeah, it’s pretty quick for a car of this size. It’s in EVs, so you were probably expecting that. But for me, the standout isn’t the power. It’s how smoothly that power is delivered. You get exactly the amount you want when you want it. And what you don’t get is that slightly aggressive punch you in the back feeling of power that some electric cars have. On the move, the whole thing just feels really well tied together. Uh pulling away is smooth. The acceleration comes in predictably. Power is there right throughout the range. I do love this steering wheel. Sometimes steering wheels just feel right, don’t they? Do you know what I mean? They just have got that feeling of rightness in your hands and this has got it. Um, the steering is lovely. Nice weight distribution as well between the front and rear of the car. Goes exactly where you want it to go. It’s light around town, then tightens up as you pick up speed. In terms of suspension setup, you’ve got a similar setup to the petrol um X3. It’s got steel springs rather than um air suspension, but the big news is that there is a hydraulic partner that softens off the edges of the bumps so that the ride does feel settled and smooth. Yesterday I drove the N Sport Pro version and I’ve got to say the two I’m enjoying driving this more. This is the standard car. It doesn’t have the kind of waftiness that you get with air suspension, but I think for steel springs, it’s pretty good. I would though be quite curious to drive this on smaller wheels. All the cars here have got 21s. You can spec 22s. I’d like to try it on 20s because of course the bigger the sidewall is, the less rubber there is to soak up lumps and bumps in the road. You know, no suspension trickery will give you more sidewall, even if it will disguise it a bit. So, I reckon if you want a softer, more pillowy ride, then spec the smaller wheels. Um, I did find the ride in this more comfortable um than, as I said, in the M Sport Pro. It’s picking up some of the smaller lumps and bumps, just those uneven surfaces, but nothing to bother you. It’s a really nice driving position as well. Loads of adjustment in the seat. Uh, lots of adjustment in the steering wheel. Seats are um operated uh electronically. The steering wheel is a manual adjustment. But I mean, I’m small, 5’4. Um, I’ve got a really nice comfortable driving position. Um, there’s a lot of much taller people than me out here driving cars. And I’ve spoken to them and they said it works for them as well. Got good visibility, really nice deep windows. And of course, you’ve got that slightly high ride which gives you a great view of the road. It’s just a really comfy thing to be in. I could happily do a very long drive in this, no problems at all. Like I said, when it comes to driving, you’ve got that one processor basically in charge of all of it. Acceleration, braking, recouping, some of the steering functions, and I reckon the place you can feel that most is in the brakes. So BMW says that around 98% of your braking can be done through regeneration rather than traditional pads and brakes. And that is brilliant because we love brake regeneration at Electrifying. What this gives you in practice, I think, is really smooth, consistent pedal feel. And it really comes into its own and stop start traffic where you’ve got no jerkiness with the brake at all. It’s just a kind of effortless, smooth glide. It’s really very nice. Another area you see the benefit of the systems is the charging capability. So, this is built on an 800vt platform, which is basically the high performance end of EV charging. It will charge at speeds of up to 400 kW. The caveat there being, of course, that you’ve got to find a charger that can deliver those speeds. First of all, if you do, it means that you can get from 10 to 80% in 21 minutes. You can add 200 miles in around 10 minutes. I mean, that is incredible, isn’t it? It’s barely enough time to, you know, nip to the L and grab a coffee. And it doesn’t seem that long ago that we were celebrating charging speeds of 10 to 80% in half an hour. It’s coming down all the time. Um, so it gets all the other charging kit that you’d imagine as well. Um, it comes equipped with vehicle to load which means that you can plug electrical appliances into your car. It has vehicle to home and vehicle to grid capability which helps you use your car to balance the overall energy grid. And if a lot of that is new technology to you, then do head over to electrify.com because we’ve got explainers and guides to it all over there. Now, you might not be looking for a brand new EV, and that’s where we can help. Our used car listings at electrifying.com have loads of different models with handy info like battery warranties. So, you can see the listings by scanning the QR code on the screen right now. So, if you’re watching on your smart TV or your tablet, you can carry on watching and scroll our listings on your phone at the same time. So, the EX-3 has a party trick. This you could take your hands off of the wheel. Um, it’s got a motorway assistant um a bit like the the um blue cruise system if you’ve um heard of that that runs in um in the Ford Macki at the moment and is going into other Fords. So, it’s licensed for use um widely across Europe and in Germany. It will be licensed for UK. Uh it’s not there at the moment. They’re not sure if the early cars will get the license through in time. So, we’ll update the uh the website electrifying.com with news of when that update comes. But basically, it’s combining all the safety systems in the car together and using that superbrain that I talked about, that individual superbrain that is managing all those systems to offer an incredibly responsive driver assistance. So, this is what’s known as level two autonomy. hands off the wheel, eyes on the road and it does check um to make sure that you are looking in the mirror and you are looking around you. So if I try to look away gets quite cross with me and it will ultimately um turn the systems off and make me put my hands back on the wheel. So it feels a bit weird the first time you do it. You have a tendency to hold your hands up there and then you just relax into it. Now I don’t actually love um ADAS systems generally. I I drove an ES90, a Volvo ES90 recently, and I really didn’t like the systems in it. They were overly intrusive. Steering wheel was tugging quite a lot. Was also reading out the wrong road signs. However, in this, I’ve got to say, it’s one of the pieces of technology that has really impressed me. Uh, and I’ve used it quite a lot on the motorway. It’s super slick, super smooth. And what I like about it is that BMW is not pretending that this is self-driving technology, you know, cuz it’s not. is even calling it an assistant. It just helps you with the driving. Um, but this is by far the smoothest and most relaxing system I’ve used. And I am a terrible backseat driver and I hate being driven. While I’m here, let’s have a quick chat about efficiency. So, it’s really hard to talk about efficiency when you are in a car on a launch that’s been driven by loads of other journalists. So, if you look at um the overall efficiency of the car today, just based on my driving, um I’ve been getting around 380 miles um out of a full battery. So, I’ve done quite a lot of motorway driving, quite a lot of faster driving up in the mountains. I really don’t think that’s bad at all. Um obviously, the aim is 500 miles. You’re not going to get that on the motorway. You know, purely motorway driving, I was averaging 3 miles per kilowatt earlier. Um and you know, that gives you 300 miles. I’d be happy to drive 300 miles on the motorway, but I’m going to caveat all of this by saying that it is too soon. You know, we need to have the car for longer in the UK over a real mixture of road conditions to see if we can get anywhere close to that 500 claim miles. Now, as much as I really love all the ADA systems um and the operating system that’s running them, there’s a bit of the technology that I’m not as keen on. Um connecting to CarPlay we found really clunky. wouldn’t connect at all first thing. Tried again later in the day, it did connect. So, it can be a bit hit and miss on that. The other thing is that there is a really irritating digital assistant. It looks like an alien and it pops up there on the the big um bar, the big screen, head-up display across the the windcreen there. Oh, it just pops up at the wrong time. Doesn’t have the answers to the questions that you need. And honestly, it’s a bit more trouble than it’s worth at the moment. Now apparently it is going to be upgraded and um all EX-3s will get the latest um LLM um Amazon Alexa model. So that will be you know driven by AI. It’ll be much more intuitive. In 800 m keep left at the fork. I will be waiting for that version to come in because the alien has driven me mad. So, let’s take a quick look inside because I think this is where all this new design approach really comes to life. It is so much more modern and paired back in here. It’s got a bit of a Scandinavian vibe, I think. I really love Bingy steering wheel. I want to take it out of the car and take it with me into my house. Please, could we do that, BMW? A removable steering wheel. Um, it’s got the 12:00 spoke. It’s the sport steering wheel. Um, I just really like as well all the controls that are on here. They’re haptic controls, but they’re very satisfying. They work really well. Um, if you don’t want this, you can have a standard steering wheel, but you’d be mad if you don’t want this cuz it looks fabulous. Um, okay. You will have noticed that switches and buttons, they’re not part of the vibe now anymore. They’ve gone, as has the lovely rotary dial that we know and love. It’s all about the screens. You’ve got the big central screen here and you’ve got another one that runs the whole width of the car that everybody can see no matter where you’re sat in the car. Um, actually, I really like it. There is also an optional head-up display. Again, works really well. Um, I’m not actually missing the switches and buttons, and I do like switches and buttons normally. You’ve got volume control here, climate control across the bottom there, easy to access. And even though the AI voice assistant does drive me mount, um it will do simple things like um you know, change the climate control or tell you what the efficiency is pretty well once it gets the hang of you. Just want to show you one quick thing. When you swipe down there, this is the control for the panoramic vision display. What I really like is that you can configure it to what you want it to be. So, I’ll have the outside temperature on there. I’m going to have Oh, I’ll have the time up there. Just flick that up. I’ll have the date. So, the functions that you use a lot, you can just simply flick them up and they will appear on that display. It’s very intuitive and easy to use. I don’t often like technology in cars because I I think it’s basically over complicated and I don’t think generally they do it as well as the big tech companies. But I’ve got to say heart of joy. Don’t like what you’re called, but I do like what you’re doing when it comes to the technology. Let’s do a quick look at the space in the back. Rear seats properly roomy. About on a par with the current BMW X5, so adults will be comfortable on longer drives. Bootwise, 520 L. With the seats down, that opens up to 1,750 LERs, more than the old model. The sleeker shape, that means it’s deeper rather than taller, but it’s still a pretty practical load area. And up front, there’s a Humy 58 L frunk. You get an automatic tailgate as standard. There’s an option of roof racks, plus an electric foldout toe bar, which is good for up to two tons. As I said, if you want all the lowdown on the details, check out my full walkound video here on the channel. You know, the phrase game changer is thrown around by manufacturers way too often in my opinion. But in the case of this car, the EX-3 Neyer class, it is deserved. It really moves things on, not just in the way it looks, but in how it drives, in how the technology comes together. All of those super brains and that heart of joy are doing their thing. Daff name, but it really is a joy behind the wheel. And don’t forget, it costs less than the outgoing model and crucially less than the competition. Bravo BMW
Read the review: https://www.electrifying.com/reviews/bmw-reviews/ix3-neue-klasse/review
Join Ginny as she gets behind the wheel of the brand-new BMW iX3, the long-awaited electric SUV that promises a headline-grabbing 500 miles of range. After years of watching the EV landscape shift, this latest model from BMW arrives with bold ambitions: more range, a lower price, and the suggestion that this might finally be the moment the brand climbs to the top of the electric-vehicle world.
In this review, Ginny dives deep into everything that matters. How realistic is that 500-mile figure in real-world driving? Has the updated platform addressed the compromises of the outgoing model? And does the improved efficiency mean this SUV can now go wheel-to-wheel with rivals like the latest offerings from Tesla and Mercedes-Benz?
We also explore interior space, tech upgrades, cabin quality, charging performance, ride comfort, and, crucially, whether the price drop finally makes this one of the most compelling family EVs on the market.
#BMWiX3 #BMW #ElectricSUV #EVReview #GinnyBuckley
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Electrifying.com is the #1 destination for electric car reviews, explainers and guides. Founded by Ginny Buckley, we bring you the latest updates on EVs and in-depth reviews of the hottest new models. Whether you’re switching to electric or just curious, our plain-English guides and expert advice make it easy to navigate the world of electric cars. Stay informed, make confident decisions, and join the electric revolution with Electrifying.com!
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0:00 – From first look to first drive: BMW iX3 Neue Klasse
0:42 – Key specs recap: 108kWh battery, 500-mile range & pricing
1:34 – New face of BMW: twin kidneys, ‘chrome replaced by light’ & ADAS hardware
2:32 – On the road: power, performance & smooth delivery
3:30 – Ride & handling: steel springs, comfort vs M Sport Pro & wheel size tips
4:45 – Regen braking, 800V charging, 10–80% in 21 minutes
6:12 – V2L, vehicle-to-home & vehicle-to-grid explained
7:36 – Not just new cars: used EV help on electrifying.com
7:58 – Hands-off motorway assistant: Level 2 autonomy & why it impresses
10:03 – Real-world efficiency so far vs 500-mile claim
10:59 – Tech gripes: clunky CarPlay & the annoying ‘alien’ assistant
12:04 – Interior tour: minimalist cabin, screens & ‘Heart of Joy’ UX
14:24 – Space & practicality: rear room, boot, frunk & towing
15:04 – Verdict: is the iX3 really a game changer? Price vs rivals
