BMW reboots tech and user interface with iX3

MALAGA, Spain – Oh, look who’s laughing now? Back when its rivals were focused on diesel cars, BMW made an expensive and early push into electric vehicle (EV) technology with the i3.

The German brand continued to hone the technology and, now, the second-generation iX3, due in Singapore in 2026, features its sixth generation of EV tech, along with a snazzy new user interface.

The innovations will find their way into as many as 40 new and updated BMWs by 2027. So, this is a car worth finding out about during a recent test drive in Spain.

Headlining the host of innovations is the operating range. BMW claims that a fully charged battery is good for more than 800km. This is quite a jump from the 460km range of the outgoing iX3 and ahead of the Audi Q6 e-tron and Porsche Macan Electric, which are in the 600-something kilometres range.

Contributing to the iX3’s long operating range is the more energy-dense battery set-up. This means that BMW is squeezing more energy.

The braking technology is also more advanced. The car is better able to recover energy as it slows down, charging up the battery.

Charging speed has been dramatically increased to a rate of 400kW. In contrast, the outgoing iX3 peaks at 150kW and the i5 saloon limousine maxes out at 205kW.

Assuming that the driver of the new iX3 can find a charger capable of dispensing electrons at such a high speed, plugging in for 10 minutes can add up to 372km of range.

BMW says the range and charging time bring the iX3 close to the experience of using and refilling a petrol-powered car. It is not possible to verify those claims in Spain because there is not enough time at the event to run down the iX3’s battery and charge it back up.

Future BMW electric cars are expected to feature similarly advanced battery and charging tech.

The test route includes a mix of country roads and faster motorways covering just over 300km. The car posts an average energy consumption rate of 22.6kWh/100km, which is good, considering that a fair bit of the distance is covered in a bit of a hurry.

Under Singapore’s driving conditions, where the air-conditioning is typically a bigger energy consumer than sustained acceleration, the iX3 should be able to cover more than 550km before it needs to be charged.

The programme in Spain includes a couple of laps on a private racetrack. This is meant as an opportunity to push the car a bit more than is possible on public roads.

The Circuito Ascari Ronda is a flowing and challenging track featuring banked turns and rather big elevation changes. The iX3 handles the course with aplomb. Especially at a particularly sharp directional change at an uphill section of the track, the car feels agile while maintaining a sure-footed stance.

Setting aside how incongruous it seems to put a tall sport utility vehicle on a racetrack, driving an EV in anger takes getting used to. The lack of engine noise seems to make it a bit harder to gauge how quickly the car is accelerating. On the circuit, there have been a few instances when the iX3 seems to arrive at the corner or braking zone a split second sooner than expected.

Away from the circuit, the iX3’s ride is comfortable and settled, even when the car is going over bad surfaces at low speeds – a situation which many EVs tend to struggle with.

The user interface is quite different from the BMWs launched before the iX3. Instead of having a pod for driving information set behind the steering wheel, the information is projected across a black bar that runs across the width of the dashboard, at the bottom of the windscreen. This is supplemented by a high-definition head-up display.

The reset in user interface extends to the steering wheel. Two banks of controls on steering turn out to be easy to master after a few minutes of orientation.

The way the steering wheel looks takes some getting used to. The M steering wheel, which has two diagonal spokes to connect the rim to the middle of the wheel, is probably the most conventional-looking of the three options available.

The other two designs have vertical spokes that extend from the 12 o’clock position, which is unlike any other car.

Then there is the rhombus-shaped touchscreen in the middle of the dashboard. The rationale for the design is that it enables the most frequently used digital controls to be positioned closer to the driver’s hand. In right-hand-drive cars, like those bound for Singapore, the shape will be flipped to complement the location of the steering wheel.

The operating menu is intuitive. It needs to be because, unsurprisingly, the infotainment touchscreen is really the control centre of the car. Everything, including setting the direction of air coming out from the vents, can be done only with the screen.

While the materials used for the front of the cabin feel quite premium, details like the flaps covering the air-conditioning ducts and the rear door panels can probably be finer to match the car’s positioning.

That said, the car has a spacious rear section, being usefully wide, and it also has a flat floor, so three adults should be quite comfortably seated.

While the outgoing iX3 is basically the electric version of the contemporary petrol-powered X3, the new car looks nothing like the current generation of X3 that was unveiled in 2024.

The standout design cue on the iX3 is the kidney grille. After the wide and tall grilles on models like the 4-series and the i7, the one on the iX3 seems almost petite, being very narrow and short. This is supposed to be a reference to the BMW saloons of the 1960s and 1970s, and there is a chance that future BMWs will also bear some resemblance to models from that era.

The rear design is more technical-looking, dominated by the thick bar of LED lights.

BMW was probably too early to the EV game with its i3 city car in 2013, predating the arrival of the Tesla Model 3 and any electric BYD exported from China. But with the latest iX3, the challenge is to stand out in a sea of electric cars. This makes BMW’s tech revamp all the more important.

Overheard at the BMW event

BMW iX3 50 xDrive

Price: From $382,000 with certificate of entitlement (estimated)
Motor: Asynchronous front and synchronous rear with 108.7kWh lithium-ion battery
Transmission: Single-speed, all-wheel drive
Power: 345kW
Torque: 645Nm
0-100kmh: 4.9 seconds
Top speed: 210kmh
Power consumption: 17.9kWh/100km
Charging capacity: 11kW AC; 400kW DC
Agent: Performance Motors; Eurokars Auto