The all-new BMW iX3 is extra than simply the model’s newest electrical SUV. It’s the primary manufacturing Neue Klasse mannequin, which suggests it carries the load of being each a design assertion and a expertise showcase. After driving it a couple of months in the past and seeing in individual twice now, I discovered a lot to love — however 5 options actually stood out to me. They’re not simply intelligent and funky; they genuinely enhance on a regular basis life with the automobile.
1. Panoramic Show: Info Proper The place You Want It
BMW calls it the Panoramic Show, however to me it seems like the proper center floor between a Head-Up Show and the central iDrive display. As an alternative of wanting down and away from the street, key info is projected throughout the decrease fringe of the windshield.
What I really like is how pure it feels. Inside minutes, I used to be glancing at navigation prompts or driver-assist information with out pondering twice. It nearly made me overlook the Head-Up Show was even there. And the pliability is spot-on: in the event you don’t like muddle, you possibly can strip it down to simply the fundamentals. Need extra? Add widgets like media or route steerage. It’s a system that adapts to you, not the opposite method round.
2. Inside House That Punches Above Its Class
This is without doubt one of the clearest indicators that the iX3 is constructed on an EV-first platform. And not using a transmission tunnel and with a protracted wheelbase, the inside feels extremely open. Up entrance, the lateral area and legroom are beneficiant, giving an actual sense of width. Within the again, the shock is how a lot room you get — almost on par with an X5, regardless of the iX3’s smaller footprint.
Headroom is equally spectacular. At 1.9m (6’2”), I nonetheless had about 10 cm above me, which suggests taller passengers received’t really feel cramped. And BMW didn’t cease there: the rear bench reclines, including one other layer of consolation for lengthy journeys. It’s small particulars like that which make the distinction between “spacious” and “considerate.”
3. The Frunk: Small However Severely Helpful
Seventeen liters doesn’t sound like a lot on paper, however in apply the iX3’s entrance trunk is genuinely helpful. It’s simply the correct dimension for a big backpack, a few grocery luggage, or your charging cables. It additionally provides you flexibility: you possibly can maintain on a regular basis gadgets separate from the rear cargo space, or stash one thing you need fast entry to with out digging by way of the trunk. When you begin utilizing it, you notice how invaluable that additional little bit of storage actually is.
4. Retractable Door Handles: Clear Appears to be like With a Enjoyable Issue
At first, I assumed the retractable door handles is perhaps extra type than substance. However seeing them in motion modified my thoughts. They offer the aspect profile of the iX3 a smooth, uninterrupted look that basically suits the Neue Klasse’s clear design. The aero advantages are apparent — much less drag, higher effectivity — however there’s additionally a enjoyable factor. Children particularly will love watching them pop out and in. It’s a kind of particulars that makes the automobile really feel futuristic with out being excessive.
5. iDrive X: Quick, Logical, and Lovely
BMW’s iDrive has at all times been forward of the curve, however the brand new iDrive X seems like the primary time it really clicks with how we use tech in the present day. In contrast to the generally laggy launches of iDrive 8.5 and 9, this method is clean and responsive proper out of the gate.
The structure is a big enchancment. Menus are grouped extra logically, with each vertical and horizontal navigation that feels immediately acquainted in the event you’ve ever used a smartphone. Each icon acts as a shortcut — faucet it, and also you’re straight into the settings web page. It’s like your complete display is one big set of shortcuts.
QuickSelect is one other spotlight: you possibly can create your individual row of widgets for the features you employ most frequently. Add within the attractive graphics, and also you get a system that’s not simply highly effective however fulfilling to make use of every single day.
The New iX3 is a Enormous Step Ahead for BMW
The brand new BMW iX3 seems like greater than only a mannequin replace. It’s a imaginative and prescient of the place BMW is headed with the Neue Klasse: smarter tech, higher usability, and considerate design touches that make each day driving simpler.
From the Panoramic Show that makes info simpler to observe, to the roomy cabin and helpful storage touches, to the clear design and improved iDrive X — these are the small print that made the largest impression on me. If the remainder of BMW’s Neue Klasse fashions observe the identical method, on a regular basis driving might begin to really feel very completely different in one of the simplest ways.
