Here are the two eye-poppers debuting on the forthcoming BMW iX3:
- 400 miles of range
- Rapid recharging of up to 230 miles in just 10 minutes
Yep, those stats are huge. Although arguably, a bigger deal is how BMW can keep these promises, and it all comes down to what’s under the skin of the first BMW to don Neue Klasse duds—i.e., that’s BMW’s language for their new, more refined BMW design parameters. What’s underneath? BMW’s fascinating Gen6 e-drive system. As EVs evolve, what they are is about to change a lot. And Gen6 e-drive is just the start of how we’re going to think about electric cars going forward. Here are a few key aspects and why the iX3 is the start, not the endpoint.
- Base Trim Engine
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Electric
- Base Trim Transmission
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single-speed Automatic
- Base Trim Drivetrain
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All-Wheel Drive
- Make
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BMW
- Model
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iX3
More Power From Less Battery
We don’t yet know the exact weight of the iX3, but we do know it gets prodigious battery output of 108.7 kWh. That’s massive—more juice than the standard-range battery in the Ford Lightning. However, our expectation is that it’s not adding massive weight to the iX3. That’s because the Gen6 e-drive system features much greater power density. Plus, BMW’s Neue Klasse EV was designed from day one to dramatically shave weight while also refining the density of cells in a new battery structure that reminds us of Mercedes’ system pioneered in their recent, record-setting AMGs.
Here, though, BMW will be one of the first manufacturers to sell a car in the U.S. that uses more efficient cell-to-pack architecture. Basically, that’s cramming more energy into a smaller space, and using the battery itself structurally, eliminating the redundancy of both battery packaging and distinct stiffening for the chassis. BMW says they’ve packed in 20 percent more energy density than with fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology seen in cars like the i4.
Way Faster Charging
In addition, BMW says the new battery design and new software also enable better thermal management, which will lead to far faster DC public charging. The system maxes out at 400 kW on 800V DC fast chargers, which means adding 230 miles in 10 minutes, or a complete recharge to 400 miles of range in 21 minutes.
Fortunately, BMW says you can also charge at 400V stations (a lot of Tesla Superchargers use 400V rather than 800V), and onboard routing software now tells the driver not only where the closest chargers are and sorts by charging speed and brand, but will also monitor the occupancy of stations and re-route the iX3 owner to vacant alternatives as needed.
Faster Home Charging And Vehicle-to-Home Power
If you own an EV, you’re aware that a bigger deal is how fast the car charges in your garage. BMW is promising up to 19.2 kW, which is pretty great. A Genesis GV60 can charge at up to 11 kW. But note that the 19.2 kW may be an over-promise, depending on your home’s panel capacity. Still, this bodes well for BMW. Its 400 kW max public charging smokes most rivals on fast chargers. And it’ll clearly be superior to Mercedes’ new tech on the CLA, which only delivers a “kinda-okay” 9.6 kW on a home station.
BMW is also promising both V2L (Vehicle to Load) power output, say as an electricity backup during an emergency, as well as using the vehicle as part of a whole-home power plant, where solar can feed into the car as storage and back out into your house or the grid.
More Motors, More Efficiency
BMW continues to evolve its EV powertrains. The new iX3’s Gen6 motors, crucially for both supply-chain issues and efficiency, don’t need permanent magnets. Just as important, since EVs tend to be less efficient when their motors run at very high speeds, like on the interstate, BMW says their newest motors are much more efficient at all speeds vs. magnet motors. The iX3 also uses two different kinds of motors. The rear axle gets a 322-horsepower Electrically Excited Synchronous Motor (EESM). On the front, there’s a more conventional, Asynchronous Motor (ASM) that produces 165 horsepower.
BMW says the combination produces 463 horsepower, good for a 4.7-second 0-60 MPH sprint. Even so, they claim the system is 40 percent more efficient, still weighs 10 percent less than the outgoing Gen5 tech—and is 20 percent cheaper to manufacture.
Tech Fast-Forward
BMW is firing up the iX3 as a tech tour-de-force. They seem to even be tacitly acknowledging that customers may feel overwhelmed, since in their 24-page (!) statement on the iX3, they mention the creation of a new “Onboarding Wizard,” which walks the new owner through the many tiers of tech. This BMW incorporates AI on many levels, too, including when you’re using advanced driver assistance. This system allows hands-free highway driving—much like Ford’s BlueCruise.
But, BMW’s now going further. For example, since BMW’s system can suggest lane changes to keep up the pre-set speed, the driver only has to move their eyes toward the side view mirror in the direction of the lane change and the car does the rest—signaling, switching lanes…baking cookies. (Well, not quite, but close!)
Head’s Up For All
A heads-up display apparently is no longer enough to win the tech wars, so BMW has now added what it calls Panoramic iDrive. It shows content on the entirety of the lower rim of the windshield. Yes, passengers can see what’s in the center and right-hand side of this projection. The driver’s field of view gets information like navigation and speed, as with current HUDs, and the driver can also personalize what’s displayed to the rest of the crew onboard. Do we think this is a good thing? Watch this space.
Yet More Tech
BMW says drivers will get physical controls for the wipers, turn signal stalk, adjusting exterior mirrors, audio volume, gear shifts, parking brake, hazards, rear window heater, and defroster. But other functions are to be accessed via haptic buttons (not real buttons) on the steering wheel. These do have texturing so that your fingers “know” where to be placed to actuate functions. In keeping with BMW tradition, driving assistance functions are on the left side of the wheel and infotainment, phone, etc., will live on the left side of the tiller.
BMW-ness Preserved?
The iX3 is a little longer than the current X3, and a little shorter than the X5. Although we don’t have interior space specs yet, we’re betting it’s as roomy as an X5, because the powertrain doesn’t eat as much volume as with a gas car.
How it will drive is a bit of a mystery. BMW is promising improved “driving pleasure” thanks to one of four onboard “superbrains” that are fresh for the Neue Klasse cars. The one devoted to driving is dubbed “Heart of Joy,” which sounds like one of the latest self-help books, not a system bent on making driving more natural and less EV.
A Computational Natural Feel—Perhaps
BMW claims this “high-performance control” weds drivetrain, braking, re-gen, steering, and throttle ten times faster, and they claim this will lead to smoother power transfer and the sensation of improved agility and stability. Perhaps this is a good thing? We do like the way the BMW i4 drives, in part because its digital nature doesn’t seem to overwhelm the analogue feel of the suspension and excellent steering.
One layer BMW is adding in the iX3 is what sounds like much smoother single-pedal driving, where there’s a more intuitive sense of deceleration to a stop. BMW claims that “…in everyday driving, 98 percent of braking maneuvers are carried out using recuperation only, without application of the friction brakes.”
Again, we want to drive an iX3 ourselves to believe it.
TopSpeed’s Take
Yes, we did read all 24 pages of BMW’s release on the iX3. For your sake, we left out a few details in this CliffsNotes distillation. But you probably want to know the iX3 is expected to retail for about $60,000, and at least for now, won’t be made at BMW’s plant in the U.S., but in Hungary. BMW says it will reach customers sometime next spring.
Note that we didn’t even jump in on Neue Klasse execution here, and partly that’s because BMW has rolled it out in bite-sized chunks for so long now that it feels less new (or, “neue”). That probably bodes well, and like Audi, BMW has needed a styling refresh to catch up with Mercedes-Benz’s constant evolution.
But what we hope most of all that BMW gets right here is the preservation of the carmaker’s core DNA. That “Ultimate Driving Machine” legacy has waxed and waned over the years, but they finally seem to have once again gotten back to that core, even on their EVs. Let’s hope that’s still true, even with the “Neue-New-Klasse-Class” BMWs.