£22k 2022 iX3 M Sport Pro? Any experience?
Discussion
I'm looking to replace my Leaf (2017, 30Kwh Tekna, 72k, owned from new) as the range is now problematic and we need a bigger car as we'll be taking 5 people out occasionally instead of the usual 4.
I need something with a bit of legroom and headroom in the back (my son is 12 and 5'6" and he's not going to get smaller)
I need 200 mile (ish) motorway range for a journey we occasionally do. I can deal with it being a bit less on a cold wet day, but not 140.
I need a decent boot - doesn't have to be huge, but minimum 400 litres and a useful shape
I need it to either have a pale headlining, or ideally a glass roof. I simply cannot stand cars with a black headlining because "sporty", and my kids hate them. I recently had the misfortune of being the rear-seat passenger in some Peugeot SUV thing with a black headlining and it was hateful.
Ideally proper doorhandles instead of things that pop out
Needs to ride well and ideally have some physical buttons for various controls.
Options considered:
Kia EV6 - on paper probably the best option (especially. with the warranty), but I really cannot get excited about it.
Hyundai Ioniq 5 - as above
Enyaq - as above
Tesla - just no
Audi e-tron - inefficient and seemingly have reliability issues
Various lease things (Capri, Explorer, iD4, etc) - just not that interested and often have coal-mine interiors.
Which has lead me to an iX3. The M Sport Pro is a decent boxy shape, has every toy you could list, does enough range, has physical buttons for various things. Plus my wife likes BMW's, hasn't had one in a long time and frankly deserves something nice to roll around in.
£22k will get a 60k 2022 M Sport Pro with 95% or more battery health. it'll depreciate by £10k in three years in all likelihood, but that'll be the same as half-decent lease deal on something less special.
Apart from some expensive fixes for cabin ventilation, they don't seem to have any real issues. I'd welcome any input from anyone who's considered one / had one / driven one etc.
I need something with a bit of legroom and headroom in the back (my son is 12 and 5'6" and he's not going to get smaller)
I need 200 mile (ish) motorway range for a journey we occasionally do. I can deal with it being a bit less on a cold wet day, but not 140.
I need a decent boot - doesn't have to be huge, but minimum 400 litres and a useful shape
I need it to either have a pale headlining, or ideally a glass roof. I simply cannot stand cars with a black headlining because "sporty", and my kids hate them. I recently had the misfortune of being the rear-seat passenger in some Peugeot SUV thing with a black headlining and it was hateful.
Ideally proper doorhandles instead of things that pop out
Needs to ride well and ideally have some physical buttons for various controls.
Options considered:
Kia EV6 - on paper probably the best option (especially. with the warranty), but I really cannot get excited about it.
Hyundai Ioniq 5 - as above
Enyaq - as above
Tesla - just no
Audi e-tron - inefficient and seemingly have reliability issues
Various lease things (Capri, Explorer, iD4, etc) - just not that interested and often have coal-mine interiors.
Which has lead me to an iX3. The M Sport Pro is a decent boxy shape, has every toy you could list, does enough range, has physical buttons for various things. Plus my wife likes BMW's, hasn't had one in a long time and frankly deserves something nice to roll around in.
£22k will get a 60k 2022 M Sport Pro with 95% or more battery health. it'll depreciate by £10k in three years in all likelihood, but that'll be the same as half-decent lease deal on something less special.
Apart from some expensive fixes for cabin ventilation, they don't seem to have any real issues. I'd welcome any input from anyone who's considered one / had one / driven one etc.
Watching this thread as I'm looking at one of these for end of this year.
Range doesn't seem to be amazing, but trim and spec levels are immense and I think they look really good. Bjørn Nyland has a great EV Youtube channel for looking more at the data side of things and I watched an iX3 video a couple of weeks back where he showed comparisons between the iX3, Etron, iX etc, where the iX3 came out quite favourably.
The full fat iX is creeping down towards that price level now so a bit of budget creep might be worth it for a dedicated EV platform. I had a Mustang Mach E hire car for 10 days in Italy last year and was really pleasantly surprised by how good it was so it's on my list too!
Range doesn't seem to be amazing, but trim and spec levels are immense and I think they look really good. Bjørn Nyland has a great EV Youtube channel for looking more at the data side of things and I watched an iX3 video a couple of weeks back where he showed comparisons between the iX3, Etron, iX etc, where the iX3 came out quite favourably.
The full fat iX is creeping down towards that price level now so a bit of budget creep might be worth it for a dedicated EV platform. I had a Mustang Mach E hire car for 10 days in Italy last year and was really pleasantly surprised by how good it was so it's on my list too!
Panthro said:
Can you keep a warranty on it for the 3 years? If so it seems like a sensible option if you can find one in good condition with higher miles.
Yes, a 50,000 mile car at 4 years old (registered March 2022) can have a comprehensive BMW warranty for £850 per year. A 70,000 mile car of the same age is £1,350 per year.I've only owned lower value and fairly simple and reliable cars (Honda Accord 2.4, Skoda Superb, VW Caravelle, Nissan Leaf) for the last 10 years, so warranty is a concern on something like this, especially as the front shocks are £700 each plus fitting and the cabin ventilation blower can run to many thousands of pounds to fix.
Ive Got a Prefacelift Premier Pro (Equivilent to the M Sport Pro on spec) and cant fault it.
Still gets the advertised range after 50k and is loaded with kit.
Only real issue I had was the sunroof rubbers shrinking which causes horrendous wind noise. These got done under warranty but they said if it was paid for it would only be 2-300 quid to get done.
Only thing to watch is they love a set of tyres, and they aren't cheap. Ive owned mine for nearly 30k and I'm not far off needing rear tyre set #3 and front tyre set #2. Decent tyres are around £200 a pop. Also BMW want to charge £345 quid for a brake fluid change and a pollen filter, so I would suggest not getting BMW to service it and get a specialist who can update the iDrive (Thats what I will be doing).
Still gets the advertised range after 50k and is loaded with kit.
Only real issue I had was the sunroof rubbers shrinking which causes horrendous wind noise. These got done under warranty but they said if it was paid for it would only be 2-300 quid to get done.
Only thing to watch is they love a set of tyres, and they aren't cheap. Ive owned mine for nearly 30k and I'm not far off needing rear tyre set #3 and front tyre set #2. Decent tyres are around £200 a pop. Also BMW want to charge £345 quid for a brake fluid change and a pollen filter, so I would suggest not getting BMW to service it and get a specialist who can update the iDrive (Thats what I will be doing).
Edited by SteBrown91 on Friday 27th March 10:59
SteBrown91 said:
Ive Got a Prefacelift Premier Pro (Equivilent to the M Sport Pro on spec) and cant fault it.
Still gets the advertised range after 50k and is loaded with kit.
Only real issue I had was the sunroof rubbers shrinking which causes horrendous wind noise. These got done under warranty but they said if it was paid for it would only be 2-300 quid to get done.
Only thing to watch is they love a set of tyres, and they aren't cheap. Ive owned mine for nearly 30k and I'm not far off needing rear tyre set #3 and front tyre set #2. Decent tyres are around £200 a pop. Also BMW want to charge £345 quid for a brake fluid change and a pollen filter, so I would suggest not getting BMW to service it and get a specialist who can update the iDrive (Thats what I will be doing).
When you say advertised range, does that mean the claimed 288 miles? Or real world range? if so, what would that be if you don't mind me asking?Still gets the advertised range after 50k and is loaded with kit.
Only real issue I had was the sunroof rubbers shrinking which causes horrendous wind noise. These got done under warranty but they said if it was paid for it would only be 2-300 quid to get done.
Only thing to watch is they love a set of tyres, and they aren't cheap. Ive owned mine for nearly 30k and I'm not far off needing rear tyre set #3 and front tyre set #2. Decent tyres are around £200 a pop. Also BMW want to charge £345 quid for a brake fluid change and a pollen filter, so I would suggest not getting BMW to service it and get a specialist who can update the iDrive (Thats what I will be doing).
Edited by SteBrown91 on Friday 27th March 10:59
flickyspinny said:
Yes, a 50,000 mile car at 4 years old (registered March 2022) can have a comprehensive BMW warranty for £850 per year. A 70,000 mile car of the same age is £1,350 per year.
I've only owned lower value and fairly simple and reliable cars (Honda Accord 2.4, Skoda Superb, VW Caravelle, Nissan Leaf) for the last 10 years, so warranty is a concern on something like this, especially as the front shocks are £700 each plus fitting and the cabin ventilation blower can run to many thousands of pounds to fix.
That seems like a lot of money for a mid range suv once if hits 60k miles.I've only owned lower value and fairly simple and reliable cars (Honda Accord 2.4, Skoda Superb, VW Caravelle, Nissan Leaf) for the last 10 years, so warranty is a concern on something like this, especially as the front shocks are £700 each plus fitting and the cabin ventilation blower can run to many thousands of pounds to fix.
nordboy said:
When you say advertised range, does that mean the claimed 288 miles? Or real world range? if so, what would that be if you don't mind me asking?
On a summers day lightly laden on the adaptive cruise set to 70 it will do 250ish easily,Summer commuting with mixed roads is around 230-240 miles
So If I did a steady 65 I have no doubt you could get close to 283 miles WLTP range.
Winter is more like 200 (or worse if baltic)
Panthro said:
That seems like a lot of money for a mid range suv once if hits 60k miles.
I think it's because they came with pretty much every toy available (heated everything, panoramic roof, adaptive dampers).I've heard that even the windscreen washers can be an expensive fix, and that BMW insist on you using BMW washer fluid to maintain the warranty.
I'm out of my depth with this, not going to lie.
SteBrown91 said:
Ive Got a Prefacelift Premier Pro (Equivilent to the M Sport Pro on spec) and cant fault it.
Still gets the advertised range after 50k and is loaded with kit.
Only real issue I had was the sunroof rubbers shrinking which causes horrendous wind noise. These got done under warranty but they said if it was paid for it would only be 2-300 quid to get done.
Only thing to watch is they love a set of tyres, and they aren't cheap. Ive owned mine for nearly 30k and I'm not far off needing rear tyre set #3 and front tyre set #2. Decent tyres are around £200 a pop. Also BMW want to charge £345 quid for a brake fluid change and a pollen filter, so I would suggest not getting BMW to service it and get a specialist who can update the iDrive (Thats what I will be doing).
Thank you - that's really helpfulStill gets the advertised range after 50k and is loaded with kit.
Only real issue I had was the sunroof rubbers shrinking which causes horrendous wind noise. These got done under warranty but they said if it was paid for it would only be 2-300 quid to get done.
Only thing to watch is they love a set of tyres, and they aren't cheap. Ive owned mine for nearly 30k and I'm not far off needing rear tyre set #3 and front tyre set #2. Decent tyres are around £200 a pop. Also BMW want to charge £345 quid for a brake fluid change and a pollen filter, so I would suggest not getting BMW to service it and get a specialist who can update the iDrive (Thats what I will be doing).
Edited by SteBrown91 on Friday 27th March 10:59
My wife has a 71 plate Premium (Premier?) Pro with all the toys. She’s got the light oyster interior and the glass roof and it’s a very pleasant, airy place to spend time.
I have to say it’s a very pleasant thing to drive. I’ve got the spare key set to my preferences so there’s no interfering lane-keeping nonsense, it’s just a car with two pedals - one to stop and one to go.
It’s weirdly rapid at covering ground; across country B roads it would leave my 911 GTS far behind bouncing around in potholes. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not engaging in the slightest, but it’s effortless. Quiet, comfortable, good size while not being ludicrously wide or long. Tow bar for the bike rack. The tech is actually just about spot on with knobs for the heating and buttons for the seats and stuff. CarPlay is flawless so far. Despite being RWD the traction is outstanding, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the TC light flicker.
Comparing it to a ‘22 XC90 we had for a while and an Audi Q5, it’s miles ahead. It’s not as good as our F-Pace, although that was an SVR. And my wife still says her favourite was the Disco 5. She does, however, really like the iX3.
That being said, the range is atrocious. Summer motorway range was 220 last year, summer local range about 200, winter local range about 165. I believe newer ones have a battery conditioner or something, but they have better range.
It’s had a few faults covered under warranty; the heater broke over the winter and it currently thinks the charging port is open when it’s not. The paintwork is poor quality although the build is decent. Tyres get absolutely shredded.
Personally I think it’s great and would certainly buy another. EVs are just so much better than w
ky four pot ICE cars - provided you can make the range and charging work for you - but I think I’d still rather have a nice 6 or 8 cylinder.
I have to say it’s a very pleasant thing to drive. I’ve got the spare key set to my preferences so there’s no interfering lane-keeping nonsense, it’s just a car with two pedals - one to stop and one to go.
It’s weirdly rapid at covering ground; across country B roads it would leave my 911 GTS far behind bouncing around in potholes. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not engaging in the slightest, but it’s effortless. Quiet, comfortable, good size while not being ludicrously wide or long. Tow bar for the bike rack. The tech is actually just about spot on with knobs for the heating and buttons for the seats and stuff. CarPlay is flawless so far. Despite being RWD the traction is outstanding, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the TC light flicker.
Comparing it to a ‘22 XC90 we had for a while and an Audi Q5, it’s miles ahead. It’s not as good as our F-Pace, although that was an SVR. And my wife still says her favourite was the Disco 5. She does, however, really like the iX3.
That being said, the range is atrocious. Summer motorway range was 220 last year, summer local range about 200, winter local range about 165. I believe newer ones have a battery conditioner or something, but they have better range.
It’s had a few faults covered under warranty; the heater broke over the winter and it currently thinks the charging port is open when it’s not. The paintwork is poor quality although the build is decent. Tyres get absolutely shredded.
Personally I think it’s great and would certainly buy another. EVs are just so much better than w
ky four pot ICE cars - provided you can make the range and charging work for you - but I think I’d still rather have a nice 6 or 8 cylinder. Crumpet said:
My wife has a 71 plate Premium (Premier?) Pro with all the toys. She s got the light oyster interior and the glass roof and it s a very pleasant, airy place to spend time.
I have to say it s a very pleasant thing to drive. I ve got the spare key set to my preferences so there s no interfering lane-keeping nonsense, it s just a car with two pedals - one to stop and one to go.
It s weirdly rapid at covering ground; across country B roads it would leave my 911 GTS far behind bouncing around in potholes. Don t get me wrong, it s not engaging in the slightest, but it s effortless. Quiet, comfortable, good size while not being ludicrously wide or long. Tow bar for the bike rack. The tech is actually just about spot on with knobs for the heating and buttons for the seats and stuff. CarPlay is flawless so far. Despite being RWD the traction is outstanding, I don t think I ve ever seen the TC light flicker.
Comparing it to a 22 XC90 we had for a while and an Audi Q5, it s miles ahead. It s not as good as our F-Pace, although that was an SVR. And my wife still says her favourite was the Disco 5. She does, however, really like the iX3.
That being said, the range is atrocious. Summer motorway range was 220 last year, summer local range about 200, winter local range about 165. I believe newer ones have a battery conditioner or something, but they have better range.
It s had a few faults covered under warranty; the heater broke over the winter and it currently thinks the charging port is open when it s not. The paintwork is poor quality although the build is decent. Tyres get absolutely shredded.
Personally I think it s great and would certainly buy another. EVs are just so much better than wky four pot ICE cars - provided you can make the range and charging work for you - but I think I d still rather have a nice 6 or 8 cylinder.
Good info. I think i may struggle with that sort of range though? We'd have a 2 EV household and poor range would make the aurguments for the home charger overnight interesting!!!I have to say it s a very pleasant thing to drive. I ve got the spare key set to my preferences so there s no interfering lane-keeping nonsense, it s just a car with two pedals - one to stop and one to go.
It s weirdly rapid at covering ground; across country B roads it would leave my 911 GTS far behind bouncing around in potholes. Don t get me wrong, it s not engaging in the slightest, but it s effortless. Quiet, comfortable, good size while not being ludicrously wide or long. Tow bar for the bike rack. The tech is actually just about spot on with knobs for the heating and buttons for the seats and stuff. CarPlay is flawless so far. Despite being RWD the traction is outstanding, I don t think I ve ever seen the TC light flicker.
Comparing it to a 22 XC90 we had for a while and an Audi Q5, it s miles ahead. It s not as good as our F-Pace, although that was an SVR. And my wife still says her favourite was the Disco 5. She does, however, really like the iX3.
That being said, the range is atrocious. Summer motorway range was 220 last year, summer local range about 200, winter local range about 165. I believe newer ones have a battery conditioner or something, but they have better range.
It s had a few faults covered under warranty; the heater broke over the winter and it currently thinks the charging port is open when it s not. The paintwork is poor quality although the build is decent. Tyres get absolutely shredded.
Personally I think it s great and would certainly buy another. EVs are just so much better than w
ky four pot ICE cars - provided you can make the range and charging work for you - but I think I d still rather have a nice 6 or 8 cylinder. At that price, no option will be as good as a model Y AWD LR, so you'll need to compromise somewhere. I presume you've said no because of Elon.
The ioniq 5 will break at some point, or be stolen, but is a decent option. The enyaq is OK too, although media system and app is about 5 years behind tesla. Neither are built in China, as I presume you'll want to avoid Chinese assembled cars for similar reasons to avoiding tesla. Some VW models like id4 are built in China, so best to check.
Id probably go ipace. Much better to drive than the BMW and auid models - it's even better than the tesla. Yes range and efficiency are crap, and you'll need the £1500 a year warranty, but it's about the nicest built option. Get a 22 plate ideally.
The ioniq 5 will break at some point, or be stolen, but is a decent option. The enyaq is OK too, although media system and app is about 5 years behind tesla. Neither are built in China, as I presume you'll want to avoid Chinese assembled cars for similar reasons to avoiding tesla. Some VW models like id4 are built in China, so best to check.
Id probably go ipace. Much better to drive than the BMW and auid models - it's even better than the tesla. Yes range and efficiency are crap, and you'll need the £1500 a year warranty, but it's about the nicest built option. Get a 22 plate ideally.
Pickle_Rick said:
At that price, no option will be as good as a model Y AWD LR, so you'll need to compromise somewhere. I presume you've said no because of Elon.
The ioniq 5 will break at some point, or be stolen, but is a decent option. The enyaq is OK too, although media system and app is about 5 years behind tesla. Neither are built in China, as I presume you'll want to avoid Chinese assembled cars for similar reasons to avoiding tesla. Some VW models like id4 are built in China, so best to check.
Id probably go ipace. Much better to drive than the BMW and auid models - it's even better than the tesla. Yes range and efficiency are crap, and you'll need the £1500 a year warranty, but it's about the nicest built option. Get a 22 plate ideally.
Agree about the iPace. I had one for a few days when my SVR was being serviced and thought it was cracking.The ioniq 5 will break at some point, or be stolen, but is a decent option. The enyaq is OK too, although media system and app is about 5 years behind tesla. Neither are built in China, as I presume you'll want to avoid Chinese assembled cars for similar reasons to avoiding tesla. Some VW models like id4 are built in China, so best to check.
Id probably go ipace. Much better to drive than the BMW and auid models - it's even better than the tesla. Yes range and efficiency are crap, and you'll need the £1500 a year warranty, but it's about the nicest built option. Get a 22 plate ideally.
Somewhat disagree with the Tesla. But only from the perspective of being a rear seat passenger where they’re bordering on unacceptably bad. And interior build is very questionable in the ones I’ve been in. Sure they drive ok, though.
Thank you all.
Very helpful.
Yes, Tesla out partly because of passenger comfort, but also because I've never liked the look of them, they seem to be exclusively driven very aggressively around these parts, and partly because of the stupidly bright lights on the things - I have a real hatred of them. And partly Musk.
iPace out simply due to the significant and drawn-out dramas I've heard relating to them and also everyone I know who has owned a JLR product in the last ten years has had extensive issues with them. I don't have time in my life for that kind of noise.
Will let you know what I get!
Very helpful.
Yes, Tesla out partly because of passenger comfort, but also because I've never liked the look of them, they seem to be exclusively driven very aggressively around these parts, and partly because of the stupidly bright lights on the things - I have a real hatred of them. And partly Musk.
iPace out simply due to the significant and drawn-out dramas I've heard relating to them and also everyone I know who has owned a JLR product in the last ten years has had extensive issues with them. I don't have time in my life for that kind of noise.
Will let you know what I get!
2023 M Sport Pro here .its been a fantastic car in our ownership since new. Not a single fault and does everything exactly as we ask it to. Looks fantastic too.
We never see less than 200mi range, even in winter, round town with pre-heating. I have seen 275mi range on a steady full laden run to Devon and most way back, but that did take us to 4%!! Have seen it pulling 160kw on rapid chargers in France last summer.
Interesting comment about tyre wear above, we are on 18k miles on the original tyres, with over 4mm tread left across all 4 tyres. I am fully expecting 25k from the set, but I guess that is a function of how loaded it has been and how it has been driven etc. Even the pressures rarely even need topping up etc.
Only downsides I guess is that there are no heated rear seat and no matrix LEDs headlight options on these and I would have preferred the mocha interior, but that is nit picking.
I don’t have much experience in other SUV EVs to compare to, but did have a weeks rental in a 2026 VW ID7 GTX in Norway recently and whilst it was obviously more powerful (and 4WD), it’s efficiency was poor and the infotainment really was poor by comparison. Build quality noticeably worse too. I really wouldn’t wish to get myself into anything sharing this same platform, having had 3 years in the iX3 it felt like a step backwards.
Above all, the iX3 blends ‘previous gen’ sensible physical buttons and ergonomics to modern EV usability - personally I love it.
We never see less than 200mi range, even in winter, round town with pre-heating. I have seen 275mi range on a steady full laden run to Devon and most way back, but that did take us to 4%!! Have seen it pulling 160kw on rapid chargers in France last summer.
Interesting comment about tyre wear above, we are on 18k miles on the original tyres, with over 4mm tread left across all 4 tyres. I am fully expecting 25k from the set, but I guess that is a function of how loaded it has been and how it has been driven etc. Even the pressures rarely even need topping up etc.
Only downsides I guess is that there are no heated rear seat and no matrix LEDs headlight options on these and I would have preferred the mocha interior, but that is nit picking.
I don’t have much experience in other SUV EVs to compare to, but did have a weeks rental in a 2026 VW ID7 GTX in Norway recently and whilst it was obviously more powerful (and 4WD), it’s efficiency was poor and the infotainment really was poor by comparison. Build quality noticeably worse too. I really wouldn’t wish to get myself into anything sharing this same platform, having had 3 years in the iX3 it felt like a step backwards.
Above all, the iX3 blends ‘previous gen’ sensible physical buttons and ergonomics to modern EV usability - personally I love it.
Edited by MattyD803 on Saturday 28th March 22:36
Right, thank you everyone for all of your input.
I've just reserved a 2022 BMW approved used M Sport Pro, about to be serviced and MOT'd, in the desired colour (blue). The only thing it's missing is a towbar, but I can add that in afterwards.
Will probably be at least a week before I can get it - will post photos when I do.
Thanks again for everyone's help.
I've just reserved a 2022 BMW approved used M Sport Pro, about to be serviced and MOT'd, in the desired colour (blue). The only thing it's missing is a towbar, but I can add that in afterwards.
Will probably be at least a week before I can get it - will post photos when I do.
Thanks again for everyone's help.
Crumpet said:
Good stuff! I think you ll like it!
I managed to get one with the retractable tow bar but they were few and far between. Seems like, at least for the early ones, you weren t allowed to add any spec and they just came as they came.
Almost all of them will have been company/lease cars so rarely have much kit added as has a huge affect on the monthly cost.I managed to get one with the retractable tow bar but they were few and far between. Seems like, at least for the early ones, you weren t allowed to add any spec and they just came as they came.
Ours is also Phytonic Blue. It's a lovely colour, especially against the 'black trim' on the Pro edition....but be aware that the quality of paint finish from the Chinese factory wasn't great (lots of swirls, particularly on the side flanks), so I had the full car machine polished by my local detailer and resealed and ceramic coated shortly after it arrived with us to get it just right.
Regarding options.....There were none really (by usual BMW standards). When we ordered ours in Summer 2023, the ONLY options were trim level of 'normal' or 'pro', the choice of exterior colour (Black, Blue, White or Grey), interior colour (Black, Oyster or Mocha) and addition of a tow bar. No alternative wheel options or additional packs etc.
Regarding options.....There were none really (by usual BMW standards). When we ordered ours in Summer 2023, the ONLY options were trim level of 'normal' or 'pro', the choice of exterior colour (Black, Blue, White or Grey), interior colour (Black, Oyster or Mocha) and addition of a tow bar. No alternative wheel options or additional packs etc.
Edited by MattyD803 on Monday 13th April 15:36
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