Price, specifications confirmed for updated BMW iX3 ahead of November on-sale
The new BMW iX3 electric SUV will be priced from $114,900 plus on-road costs when it arrives in dealerships in November.
And Australians will get the mildly updated model (compared with the iX3 revealed in 2020) that was announced overnight, bringing with it a revised grille, slimmer headlights, standard M Sport pack and more pronounced BMW kidney grille, among other styling tweaks.
The all-electric iX3 is the most affordable of BMW’s new electric SUVs, undercutting the larger BMW iX and providing a more affordable alternative to luxury EV rivals such as the Audi e-Tron, Mercedes-Benz EQC and Jaguar I-Pace.
Whereas the iX rides on a bespoke EV architecture, the iX3 shares its underpinnings and body with the X3 mid-sized SUV that is available with a range of ICE drivetrains.
READ MORE: Why China will soon dominate EV sales in Australia
Whereas many of those rivals – and BMW’s upcoming iX – drive all four wheels using two electric motors, the BMW iX3 gets a single rear-mounted motor driving the rear wheels through a single-speed reduction gear.
Peak outputs are 210kW and 400Nm, enough to dash from 0-100km/h in 6.8 seconds. BMW says the electric motor can rev to 17,000rpm and is 93 percent efficient.
The iX3’s battery pack has an 80kWh capacity of which 74kWh is usable.
The WLTP range is 460km between charges.
Home AC charging can be done at up to 11kW, which should take about 7.5 hours for a full charge.
Faster DC charging can be done at up to 150kW, allowing up to 100km of range in 10 minutes (depending on the battery’s state of charge and other factors such as the temperature). A 10-80 percent charge is claimed to take as little as 32 minutes.
Owners will also have a five-year Chargefox subscription that allows free charging on the largest high-speed charging network in the country.
Wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto for BMW iX3
In keeping with the high specification level splashed on other BMWs sold in Australia, all iX3s coming here get plenty of kit. That includes a 12.3-inch infotainment screen, digital instrument cluster and wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto.
For now it appears to miss out on the new iDrive 8 operating system that has been much-hyped for the iX.
Higher quality Vernasca leather is standard and can be had in black, oyster (near white) or mocha (brown) wrapped around sports seats that come as part of the model update.
Black or aluminium trim is standard inside, or owners can choose an open-pore ash wood.
Other options include laser lights to extend the high beams ($2000) and a Shadow Package ($2000).
There’s also a head-up display, adaptive suspension, tyre pressure monitoring, electrically adjusted front seats, heated front seats, powered tailgate, panoramic sunroof, wireless phone charging, digital radio, gesture control and a 16-speaker Harman Kardon sound system.
The M Sport styling and trim package is also standard having been recently updated on the iX3 overseas, bringing a different front bumper, rear diffuser, 20-inch wheels and various blue highlights.
There’s even a vibrant blue start/stop button as well as standard ambient lighting that defaults to blue.
Plus, BMW now includes a futuristic sound that activates when you start and stop the car; it was developed by Hollywood sound editor Hans Zimmer.
Like the Tesla Model 3 and MG ZS the BMW iX3 is being sourced from China, which is fast shaping up to be the dominant EV supplier to Australia.
At $114,900 the iX3 is more expensive than all the mainstream X3 ICE variants, which start from $71,900 for the rear-drive sDrive 20i and go to $113,900 for the high-performance M40i. A recently-added X3 M Competition now tops the range at $160,900 before on-roads.
However, it’s among the more affordable EV SUVs currently available in Australia; the only ones that undercut it are the smaller Mercedes-Benz EQA and Volvo XC40 Pure Electric.
