BMW iX3 MY 2026 - My First impressions
Discussion
Hello!
Figured I'd start a thread here rather than tack on to the iX3 first drive thread. Just for context, I'm 30k miles and 4 years in on an EV6, driven a few EV's (Macan and Taycan's).
So I was near my local BMW dealer and thought I'd pop in and have a look at the iX3. I was pretty lucky, the saleswoman I previously spoke to said the car wasn't booked out and if I wanted I could take it out. Happy days!
Really impressed with the interior and the driving position, was able to get much lower than in the EV6. Performance wise, I think the throttle map is much less aggressive than the EV6. Handling was really good (OK, its not as good as the Taycan I tried) hit some imperfections and it was well isolated.
Think this is going to be the next daily. Probably an M Sport rather than an M Sport Pro and stick with 20" rims as I want to get winters and take it skiing.
Happy to answer any questions you might have.
Cheers,
T1b
Figured I'd start a thread here rather than tack on to the iX3 first drive thread. Just for context, I'm 30k miles and 4 years in on an EV6, driven a few EV's (Macan and Taycan's).
So I was near my local BMW dealer and thought I'd pop in and have a look at the iX3. I was pretty lucky, the saleswoman I previously spoke to said the car wasn't booked out and if I wanted I could take it out. Happy days!
Really impressed with the interior and the driving position, was able to get much lower than in the EV6. Performance wise, I think the throttle map is much less aggressive than the EV6. Handling was really good (OK, its not as good as the Taycan I tried) hit some imperfections and it was well isolated.
Think this is going to be the next daily. Probably an M Sport rather than an M Sport Pro and stick with 20" rims as I want to get winters and take it skiing.
Happy to answer any questions you might have.
Cheers,
T1b
Nice.
Once you get it and have done some long motorway trips I'll be interested to hear about range. There's been a lot of talk about how the 'Neue Klasse' EVs are a big leap forward in efficiency and thus range. However you're still pushing a brick through the air, so I'm a little curious about how much that efficiency holds up at, say, a steady 70mph on cruise control on a quiet motorway, summer and winter.
It's easy to get 6 miles/kWh in London traffic in summer, quite another to hold onto 4+ m/kWh at a steady motorway cruise.
I'm also interested in how the 'base of windscreen display' works out in real life use, and if it becomes something you'd look for in future cars, or just a nice gimmick you could happily live without.
I have one on order (msport with 20 inch wheels) coming July (to replace my iX). Will be test driving one at local dealer in the next few days - their dem car has 22 inch wheels so efficiency won’t be that reliable and I won’t be doing a long drive I suppose
I really like the wide bottom of windscreen display - not driven yet but sat in driver seat in showroom and it looks really clear and easy to read. The angled central screen which looks odd in the photos followed the line of the steering wheel really well so that the nearest side is a finger away
Mine will be eucalyptus green which seems to be the same as mini Smokey green. Quite a lot of grey with green mixed in
I really like the wide bottom of windscreen display - not driven yet but sat in driver seat in showroom and it looks really clear and easy to read. The angled central screen which looks odd in the photos followed the line of the steering wheel really well so that the nearest side is a finger away
Mine will be eucalyptus green which seems to be the same as mini Smokey green. Quite a lot of grey with green mixed in
I just had a look around one in my local showroom (sadly not in there to buy but in the vain hope the wiper scuttle cover I'd ordered for my E46 M3 had turned up). They look even better in the flesh. An interesting comparison was that it was parked next to a X5. Blimey what an anachronism that looks now! You'd never think they were both for sale at the same time, far more in common with my 23 year old car outside. I think BMW have nailed it with Neu Klasse. A few years of depreciation and I'll be looking.
andrew-6xade said:
I think they're great looking cars.
Sadly I can't justify the £800/month net on salary sacrifice for one.
That's where I am, I've looked at them at the dealer and feels like the right replacement for or current ix3 when the lease expires later this year. It would cost £720 net for me for a M sport pro without tech pack in ocean blue and the 20 inch aero wheels. I just don't think I can justify it. I might wait to see the pricing and spec on the 40 model as that might make more sense financially, and should be able to order from April/May I was told.Sadly I can't justify the £800/month net on salary sacrifice for one.
Annoyingly, the 3 dealers I've been 2 all have cars with sunroof and the HK stereo. The HK sounded good to my ears, but would like to hear the standard one.
Another observation, it looks quite 'low', more like a tall estate rather than an SUV if that makes sense.
JackReacher said:
andrew-6xade said:
I think they're great looking cars.
Sadly I can't justify the £800/month net on salary sacrifice for one.
That's where I am, I've looked at them at the dealer and feels like the right replacement for or current ix3 when the lease expires later this year. It would cost £720 net for me for a M sport pro without tech pack in ocean blue and the 20 inch aero wheels. I just don't think I can justify it. I might wait to see the pricing and spec on the 40 model as that might make more sense financially, and should be able to order from April/May I was told.Sadly I can't justify the £800/month net on salary sacrifice for one.
Annoyingly, the 3 dealers I've been 2 all have cars with sunroof and the HK stereo. The HK sounded good to my ears, but would like to hear the standard one.
Another observation, it looks quite 'low', more like a tall estate rather than an SUV if that makes sense.
andrew-6xade said:
JackReacher said:
andrew-6xade said:
I think they're great looking cars.
Sadly I can't justify the £800/month net on salary sacrifice for one.
That's where I am, I've looked at them at the dealer and feels like the right replacement for or current ix3 when the lease expires later this year. It would cost £720 net for me for a M sport pro without tech pack in ocean blue and the 20 inch aero wheels. I just don't think I can justify it. I might wait to see the pricing and spec on the 40 model as that might make more sense financially, and should be able to order from April/May I was told.Sadly I can't justify the £800/month net on salary sacrifice for one.
Annoyingly, the 3 dealers I've been 2 all have cars with sunroof and the HK stereo. The HK sounded good to my ears, but would like to hear the standard one.
Another observation, it looks quite 'low', more like a tall estate rather than an SUV if that makes sense.
JackReacher said:
andrew-6xade said:
JackReacher said:
andrew-6xade said:
I think they're great looking cars.
Sadly I can't justify the £800/month net on salary sacrifice for one.
That's where I am, I've looked at them at the dealer and feels like the right replacement for or current ix3 when the lease expires later this year. It would cost £720 net for me for a M sport pro without tech pack in ocean blue and the 20 inch aero wheels. I just don't think I can justify it. I might wait to see the pricing and spec on the 40 model as that might make more sense financially, and should be able to order from April/May I was told.Sadly I can't justify the £800/month net on salary sacrifice for one.
Annoyingly, the 3 dealers I've been 2 all have cars with sunroof and the HK stereo. The HK sounded good to my ears, but would like to hear the standard one.
Another observation, it looks quite 'low', more like a tall estate rather than an SUV if that makes sense.
I do wish people (including journalists) would take weather into account when talking about range. In the winter my iX needs about an extra hour of charging to get to Edinburgh (that was on a very stormy day with temperatures below 5 degrees) and back (around 390 miles) than in the summer on a warm day
andrew-6xade said:
So roughly 3.5 miles/kWh. Not bad, but nothing special. Range itself is very good due to the large battery. It’s about what I expected. I get roughly the same motorway efficiency in my 2022 Model Y. Smaller battery of course, so less range. Some journos are way more interested in whipping up the EV's aren't as good as they're cracked up to be. Totally missing the point that driving style, weather, temperature etc will affect your range in an EV.
I lose an easy 20 - 25% range in the winter.
Sadly WLTP acts as comparison tool with other cars rather than an indicator off what it will really be capable of in a variety of conditions.
I was watching Fully charged and they have a range test "race" annually in Finland(?) with EV's, it's an absolute torture test in -15°C conditions. Very interesting watch.
Back to the iX3, either way it's a game changer.
I lose an easy 20 - 25% range in the winter.
Sadly WLTP acts as comparison tool with other cars rather than an indicator off what it will really be capable of in a variety of conditions.
I was watching Fully charged and they have a range test "race" annually in Finland(?) with EV's, it's an absolute torture test in -15°C conditions. Very interesting watch.
Back to the iX3, either way it's a game changer.
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