The iX3 is a really important car for BMW. Not only is it leading the charge for the company’s “Neue Klasse” design scheme, but it’s also the first vehicle to feature BMW’s sixth-generation electric drivetrain system, with new high-voltage batteries and an 800-volt architecture. Being a mainstream global product, it’s the German carmaker’s best shot at making serious inroads through the highly competitive EV market.
BMW’s just revealed final range numbers and a starting price for the iX3 in America, and going by these figures, I think the company is off to a good start. The iX3 50 xDrive will start at $62,850 including destination, and gets an official EPA-estimated range of 434 miles—the fourth highest range of any pure EV on sale in America today.
A starting price of over $62,000 might sound like a lot—and for many people it is—but in the grand scheme of EVs, it’s a pretty damn good price if range is a priority for you. The next highest-range vehicle, the Lucid Gravity, can travel 450 miles on a charge, but it starts at $81,550. Want more range than that? You can get a Silverado EV, but with the long-range battery pack and its 493 miles of range, you’re looking at around $78,000 out the door.
Even if you want to compromise a bit on range, you’ll still be spending more for some of the better performers out there. The Rivian R1T gets up to 420 miles on a charge, but the cheapest examples start at $74,885. Its SUV equivalent, the R1S, is slightly worse, with a starting price of $78,885 and a maximum range of 410 miles.
Here’s another way to look at this: dollars spent per mile. Simply divide the car’s price by its EPA-estimated range, and you get an idea of the value you’re getting for every dollar you spend (this isn’t a definitive ratio to live by, but it gives you a rough idea). With the iX3, that figure works out to $144 per mile. For the Gravity, that figure is $181 per mile. And for the R1T, that figure is $178 per mile. For the longest-range car on sale, the Lucid Air Grand Touring, the number is a whopping $219 per mile of range (higher is worse).
It’s only when you get to more budget-friendly options like the Tesla Model 3 or the Chevy Bolt that you get a dollars-spent-per-mile figure that’s actually lower than the BMW’s. The Model 3’s figure is $121 per mile, for example. But for its most direct competitors, the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class EV and the Audi Q6 e-tron, the BMW blows those cars out of the water, either beating or matching them on price and handily outperforming them on range. The only car that you could argue comes close is the Tesla Model Y, though I don’t think that car can match the iX3 on creature comforts.
The iX3 isn’t some bare-bones, stripped-out box on wheels prioritized to save weight by cutting out features. It’s a real-deal electric X3 equivalent, with a massive head-up display spanning A pillar to A pillar acting as the instrument display, as well as a 17.9-inch infotainment screen that features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto—something the Model Y doesn’t have. The Tesla also doesn’t have an 800-volt architecture, which means its max charging speed is limited to 250 kW. The BMW, meanwhile, can charge at up to 400 kW, able to recouperate 185 miles of range in just 10 minutes, or a 10-80 percent charge in 21 minutes—provided you can find a charging station that outputs a constant 400 kW, that is.
It’s also worth noting that the iX3’s range figures vary wildly depending on which wheels and tires you choose. And the tire that most people will choose, the 20-inch all-season, actually slices the most range from the EPA estimated numbers. Here’s the full chart:
While this isn’t a problem if you live in a place where it doesn’t snow, customers in the Rust Belt might be pretty miffed to learn 11 percent of their range gets instantly deleted if we choose rubber we can actually use when there’s a bit of slush on the ground. It just goes to show how important tires are for efficiency.
Either way, I think the iX3 will be a hit. It’s already proving to be of interest to buyers even before production begins, with over 50,000 preorders for the car racked up as of March, according to BMW Blog. For U.S. buyers, you can build your car on BMW’s configurator right now and put down a $1,000 deposit before deliveries start in late September, in case you want to reserve your spot.
Top graphic image: BMW
Strange that the 21″ All Season option has higher range than the 20″ All Season option…
Either way, this is a home run for BMW. It’s doing very well in Europe and the reviews have been glowing, particularly on the range/charging front – so those figures are the real deal.
Expect the i3 to be cheaper and go even further (same size battery).
The upcoming electric X5 is rumored to have a 140kwh+ battery, so that’ll be a range beast as well.
could be weight the 20s could be cast and the 21’s forged. but the difference of 383 and 399 is 4% so barely a rounding error.
“You can get a Silverado EV, but with the long-range battery pack and its 493 miles of range, you’re looking at around $78,000 out the door.”
You do know that “Out the door” means the true cost to getting a vehicle off the showroom floor and onto the street? “Out the door” includes options, discounts, fees, taxes and licensing.
So while $13,000 in dealer discounts are not unheard of, bringing a $92K truck down to $78K – out the door you’re looking at somewhere around $82K, depending on where you live.
Editing, Folks.
Barf on that “interior”
If I wanted to just have a tablet bolted onto the center I’d buy a Tesla.
Most of the interior is fine, the dashboard and the steering wheel are not.
Cool! That interior sure doesn’t look very cozy. Can an EV have too much range? Like, 95% of my driving is in increments of 20 miles or fewer; often less than 10. For the rare times I’m driving longer distances, it’s still rarely more than 250 miles in any one shot. I wonder how a $50,000 BMW EV with 350 miles of range would sell.
You’ll get your answer very soon! BMW is launching this in top trim (excluding upcoming performance trims), and will launch an iX3 40 with an 87kwh battery down the line.
The range number is heavily dependent on when and how you drive. If you live in the north, you’re probably picking the all seasons, which start at 383mi. Best practice is to stay inside the 10-80 % range, so there goes 30% (268.1). From there winter weather can cut range by another 25-40 %, so optimistically 25% (201.075).
Everyone is aware about fast charging being detrimental (long term), and very wary of being stranded in a snowstorm. My commute is 200mi round trip, so there’s a very short list of options that would be prudent. Meanwhile my 2008 regularly averages over 400mi per tank even in bad weather. On top of that, only my employer’s EVs can be charged on site, further limiting options.
Love the idea, but not the look of this. But I am sure it will sell very well regardless, and then we will all have the option of buying beaver faced cars!
Someone kicked this car in the face. Hard. And that dash board design is a hard no. Its literally two upholstered boards stacked up, and a tablet. I could recreate that look in any car, of any age, with just a few hours in the garage. I really hate tech/minimalist interiors.
Yeah, it’s not attractive, but I currently drive a gen 2 Prius that looks every minute of its 20 years old and then some. I can live with an unattractive car if it delivers in other ways. 400 miles and 20 minute charging is pretty damn sweet. I like the Prius-esque dashboard (use that in your marketing blurbs, BMW, I dare you!) and if this just had a few physical controls in the center stack it might be my ideal EV.
I’m too cheap to ever pay the badge tax for a luxury car, but this continues my belief that BMW is quietly making some of the best luxury EVs available.
Second hand i4 could be an option
Shhh…hoping i4 values tank when the i3 comes out!
So if iX3 = $78,000,
then solving for i, means i = $26,000.
Not sure what it’s going to total up to if I have to add a Q9.
I think you’re misreading the equation. The imaginary number i, when squared, is -1. So we have the square root of -1 multiplied by X multiplied by 3. Since we’re multiplying by i, we are getting an imaginary number, which seems about right, since it takes some imaginative thinking to justify spending $78,000 on this.
You know it starts at $62K?
If you click every option it’s $78k and I do mean every option.
So this is really iX3 = $62,000 + $16,000 where i indicates an imaginary number and we’re solving for X, which is being multiplied by 3. Then we need to figure out if we resolve the $62,000 figure before adding the $16,000 or after.
I did take Calculus in high school before I went on to get an English degree so this is as far as I can take the joke.
Apologies, I only took facts…
And the person I responded to was also in the same class it looks like.
Either way, have a great weekend.
I’m using the numbers provided by the previous commenter. I am forced to assume Sid was contemplating a fully-loaded model or citing price in CAD.
The looks are whatever. The Model Y is weird. We just got used to it. The EV6 is ugly. We just got used to it. This will be the same. It’s just another blob with lipstick.
But technically this is really cool! And I think paints a positive new direction for the electric 3 series and maybe one day smaller electrics from BMW. I would be very curious to see what they are able to do on 2 series and X1/2 sized vehicles. Does this translate to amazing range on 40kwh?
Agree, hoping for a small battery, lighter-weight option…im thinking high 250 mile range would be more than enough for most urban uses. Looking forward to the smaller sedan/wagon/coupe variants.
I am nowhere near what you would call a tyre expert, but shouldn’t summer tyres be stickier and therefore get worse energy consumption?
That sure is what I would have assumed. I wonder if the summers have less tread squirm (lower tread depth and/or wider tread blocks) and therefore lower rolling resistance despite being stickier? Max range configuration on EVs is becoming a bit like max towing configuration on pickups!
“Summer” only necessarily implies that the tires are not suitable for cold weather. It could just be a harder, low-rolling-resistance compound that does not work well/safely at low temperatures or in slush/snow.
On top of that, if the all-seasons are of the M+S variety, I’d expect that to lose even a bit more efficiency compared to a more summer-y all season tire
That would make sense. One assumes summer = high performance, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case.
That’s a lot of batteries. Nothing wrong with that but between that and it being a BMW the price is high.
This might make a compelling CPO buy. I’ll let the first movers take the depreciation hit.
They’re calling it an xDrive50, which gives them plenty of room to release a cheaper smaller batteried 35 model in the future with ~300mi range like they have in Europe
I wish it was standard for automakers and publications to reveal battery pack dimensions and weight.
With chemistry improvements, it’s entirely possible this 108kwh (or 115 depending on who you ask) battery is no bigger or heavier than the current gen 80kwh packs.
As an example, the recent updated i7 keeps the same battery pack footprint as the existing model but goes from 100ish kwh to 112 on chemistry improvements alone. And that’s not the new-gen stuff in this iX3.
Excellent point!
I could get past the looks if they’d just give me physical HVAC controls. I do like that they have several interior color options at the base price, though I wish they’d offer more exterior colors at base price (just white?) and more in general. BMW offers several colors I really like, but not on this.
I also don’t particularly like how many little things are options. Heated steering wheel? Rear seat climate control? Heated rear seats? I have those things in my Toyota and had all but the heated rear seats in my Kia. And both of those came with ventilated front seats, which I can’t even option into this. And my Toyota has an automatic shade for the panoramic sunroof, while this offers an accessory shade for an additional fee. I am sick of “luxury” starting with “minimalist” and not offering minimalist pricing.
I always find amusing the difference between the US and Europe in terms of what is an acceptable amount of creature comforts.
Most of the items you mention aren’t available in mainstream brands, and rarely specified in premium brands (except you are going for something truly luxurious).
I wouldn’t mind having fewer standard features if the standard price reflected it. But it feels strange to move up to a premium brand, pay the associated increase, and get fewer features.
And, honestly, given the range and the price, I might consider it if it had physical HVAC controls. I don’t actually want the pano sunroof I have and don’t need the rear heated seats. I just won’t buy something that puts important controls on a screen.
Welcome to Europe! That what happens here.
You “graduate” to a premium brand which is more expensive but everything is extra. Theoretically you are paying for better engineering but YMMV, I guess.
The thing is that seat and steering wheel heat are important on an electric car, where you don’t have waste heat from the engine to warm the entire cabin. A heat pump or, even worse, resistive heating, will degrade winter range even further than just cold batteries.
I think the difference comes down to climate; for most of the US population east of the Rocky Mountains (aka most of the country’s population), winters are much colder and summers are much hotter than most EU countries. It’s fairly common to have Spanish summers (but more humidity) and Swedish winters in the same location. So something like a heated steering wheel being an optional extra in an EV when they’re standard in EVs $20k cheaper and several years old, it feels a bit insulting. The lack of even the option for ventilated seats is kind of mystifying.
it’s just so f’ing ugly
And too expensive. It costs more than I make in a year. Before taxes. If these dopes want me to switch to an EV so they can keep distracting everybody from their dirty manufacturing, then make the damn things ACTUALLY affordable.
It’s priced right inline with the gas version, if not arguably cheaper. An X3 30 starts at about $52k; the more comparable X3 M50 is more expensive at $66k. EVs are finally starting to approach price parity with ICE counterparts, at least in this case.
You hit the nail in the head. It’s a BMW, it is not supposed to be “affordable”.
This might be sacrilege for me to say, but BMW’s model-naming standard is a relic that should be left behind. I’m not sure car shoppers a generation (or two) younger than me relate to a model name that sounds like half of an algebra problem.
Man, can you imagine what ranges would look like if they could get by with smaller brakes and normal (18? 17?) wheel sizes?
There are diminishing returns to the benefits of smaller wheels, and other compromises start to creep in the smaller you go.
Not to mention, 17″ wheels on this thing would look utterly ridiculous.
No way. Some 17″ wrapped in 75 aspect ratio tires would look like a damned monster truck. All rubber!
I guess it’s nice to see something out of Munich without enlarged kidney disease. Regardless, there will never be one of these in my garage.
I feel like this is a bit “old man yells at clouds” complaint, but the the phrasing of this in comparison to other similar range SUVs seems oddly optimistic in the BMWs favor. The BMW gets praise for getting similar range while being cheaper than cars that are in a complete class/size above it, but there isn’t any mention of that size/class difference which is the primary reason for the cost difference. Yet, when higher value range per dollar cars are brought up, suddenly class/size distinction becomes mention-able. Shouldn’t that be said for both cases? Or do we just do it the one time so the BMW looks better?
Also weird that they didn’t so much as mention the Rivian R2, which is the clearest cut competitor to this. Heck, it’s weird that they haven’t written anything about the R2 even when Rivian released the full specs and pricing a few months ago.
Exactly. Reading this you think it would be directly competing against a Gravity or R1S, which it isn’t.
Also, I want them to embrace friggen lists/charts more. If you are going to start spouting a bunch of $/mile range, make a list.
Chevrolet Equinox EV = $116/mile
Rivian R2 Standard = $141/mile
Chevrolet Blazer EV = $144/mile
BMW iX3 = $144/mile
Rivian R2 Premium = $164/mile
Rivian R2 Performance = $176/mile
Cadillac Lyriq Luxury AWD = $199/mile
Plus, this is just a weird metric in general. I’d wager not many people would look at this and cross shop the Equinox EV to the iX3, but I’d wager a fair amount actually would cross shop the iX3 to the Lyriq.
This would make the used Lexus 450e I’m looking at ($26K for 210 miles) a pretty good deal.
And, I do not need more than that many miles per tank.
Your, Mileage needs May Vary.
It may be because the R2 that would surpass this (R2 standard) won’t be out for another year. The R2 performance does a little worse than the best iX3 config. Of course, it sure does drop off fast if you touch the tires.
There isn’t an R2 that would surpass this in miles or price.
The R2 standard is $48,490 / 345mi = $140/mi, edging out the $144/mi for the iX3
Oh, you’re using the indirect metric. I was using the metrics individually (price or miles). The R2 is cheaper across all levels, while also having less range across all levels.
Yeah, I was trying to match Brian’s ‘unique’ metric.
Stop making so much sense.
I mentioned this in my other comment-I really don’t think the difference between 300 miles of range and 400 miles of range is all that different in the real world, and the R2 is significantly cheaper and more attractive
Agreed. Especially considering how sensitive EVs can be to personal driving styles, arguing over the last 20% of range is moot when applied to a large audience.
Also, yeah, this iX3 face/side profile is a real woofer. The R2 is a lot better, especially with the sneaky hidden trailing edge of the roof line.
Just Marketing 101
I felt the same reading this. Also, doesn’t Lucid offer other Air with better range per dollar than the grand Touring?
The whole thing seemed wildly cherry picked for an independent news article.
Lucid Air Pure = $241/mile
Lucid Air Touring = $290/mile
Lucid Air Grand Touring = $284/mile
Lucid Air Sapphire = $587/mile
Thank you.
It’ll be interesting to see how well these compete. I think the BMW makes the R2 look a bit “last gen” on specs, and seems to be way better value.
But the “vibes” are good around the R2 and it’s arguably a much cooler product.
I wonder how much more range we’d get if they actually made longroofs with the same platform/specs.
The i3 could be an indirect comparison, although I think they will only make it in saloon guise.
The raised floor height from a skateboard battery architecture means that sedans and wagons are forced to get bloated heightwise and lose some of their aero advantage over crossovers as a result. It should still be an improvement, though.
*whine* But I don’t want another stupid crossover! Can we just have actual cars again?
Good range, for sure, though. Maybe they could just stick that in a package that doesn’t look like it has techno-pox and has a normal, comfortable, easy-to-use interior that isn’t full of pointless tech, and doesn’t have a giant, heat-maximizing glass roof? And mechanical door handles.
Both the 21″ all seasons and the presumably stickier 20″ summers having better range than the 20″ AS makes me think BMW just cheaped out on the base tires. And if they did that, where else did they cheap out?
Conversely, do we know how much those packages that come with those options cost?
The 20″ summer tires and 20″ all seasons are included in the base price as no-cost options for each other.
The 21″ options are $600. Pretty reasonable all things considered.
Comparing the AS options, it seems like there has to be additional variables not represented. Could the 20″ version of the tires be that much worse than the 21s?
That’s what doesn’t make any sense. On the configuration page the wheel options are the same for both AS and summer, so it’s not as if the 434 mi range requires some super secret wheel that only comes with summer tires. It looks from all accounts that the 20″ all season tires are just duds.
I’m not surprised they cheaped out on the base tires, but I am surprised they didn’t get super low rolling resistance tires on the cheap like seemingly so many other companies do to further boost range/efficiency numbers. The fact that they presumably upgraded both performance and range by going with the stickier tires seems….. silly.
Right. Typically I think of Summer tires as stickier and less efficient compared to a harder compound all season tire.
434 miles per charge behind the wheel of what looks like a puckered ass.
But the extra range means you’ll find yourself jamming a plug in that puckered ass less often?
I’ve been a defender of this design…but I just saw one in person in Berlin yesterday and it was like meeting someone from a dating app who had a picture that was at least 5 years old and not at all representative. The side profile is downright ungainly and very minivan-esque.
One of these has been on my shopping list for a while but I don’t think that’s the case anymore. I really don’t know why you’d buy this over an R2 unless the BMW badge really means something to you. I mean yeah, 100ish extra miles of range is pretty sweet…but I don’t think you’re going to feel the difference in real world applications.
The Rivian is significantly more attractive and significantly cheaper. I actually think $62,000 is very, very optimistic…
Well the sad thing is that it’s still miles better looking that iX or 7-series. Damn how far has BMW fallen since G30 generation 5-series.
I am a card carrying BMW apologist but after finally seeing this in person I really can’t overstate how underwhelmed I was. It legitimately looks like a cyber punk minivan. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you want a van but it’s a very bad thing if you’re shopping for a $60,000 luxury SUV…
Can we have a moment to note how the Tesla went from being compared against BMW when the Model3 was first dropped that it was a “luxury” car by the media to being called out as the “budget” EV next to the Chevy Bolt?
Teslas, even (maybe especially) the Model S, were never luxury cars. Just expensive cars.
The tech-forward nature of early Teslas made them feel futuristic and somewhat luxurious. But then we all saw what the build quality and materials were like and the estimation (rightly) dropped.
I don’t hate the current BMW grille treatment as much as some, but I’m still kind of amazed they managed to come up with something worse… Looks like it consumed something very sour.
They realised you can’t see the godawful front end from the driver’s seat, so they slapped that abomination of a steering wheel in there for ya.
That whole interior is a giant *don’t*.
Here’s a palette cleanser for you, from some actually good old days:
A proper place for DRIVING, not “infotainment”:
https://flic.kr/p/2sbys6b
I’m gonna go hug the dash in my mini
Here’s a palette cleanser
I see what you did there. And you’re 100 % correct.
I had to get the vomit taste out of my mouth somehow. 🙂
I don’t like the little bits of silver trim in my otherwise reasonably old-school 2011 e8x/e9x BMW interiors. This new bullshit I can’t even…
This is as much “screen” and bling as I need in a car:
https://flic.kr/p/2k8HC8J
BMW’s grill shape looking awfully close to the Edsel lately.
An automaker willing to make a GOOD LOOKING price-competitive EV continues to elude us.
I quite like the look of the Ford Mach-e if I gloss over the mustang logo.
The Mach-e has nowhere near this range, though.
It’s also a lower total price. But I suppose we could continue: it’s lighter, likely costs less in maintenance (as would anything non-BMW), and has a wider dealer network..
What metric do we want to be using to fulfill your request?
l o n g r a n g e
Has anyone slapped an Explorer badge on one yet?
None of the early adopters are willing to have theirs break down constantly, then roll over when the tire shreds itself.
I actually think the new Mercedes crossover this competes with is pretty attractive from the outside but the absolute aneurysm of an interior that’s basically 98% screens ruins it for me. I guess the Audi Q6 looks…alright? I mean it looks like every other Audi but at least it’s not weird for the sake of weird…