The BMW iX3 Looks So Much Better As A Base Model

Have you ever noticed that minimalism largely seems to be confined to the inside of cars rather than the outsides? As automakers take away physical controls in favor of touchscreen functions, styling departments across the world have often been adding more lines and creases and bigger grilles and taller slabs of trim. On first reaction, the BMW iX3 fell into this same trap, but it turns out there’s a way to make it less in-your-face.

When BMW officially revealed its big bet on the future, it looked busier than I’d hoped. From the disjointed angles and slabs of kidney-crowding trim of the contorted front valence to the million-spoke wheels to the excessively edgy rear bumper treatment, there’s so much going on here detracting from the overall look of the electric crossover.

However, the iX3 that BMW showed off was equipped with the M Sport package, a largely appearance-based kit that used to add a little more aggression to hallowed models like the E39 5 Series but now seems to mostly just add complexity. Thanks to the German-market configurator going live, we can now see what a base iX3 on the cheapest wheels looks like, and guess what? It’s a definite improvement.

Here’s what the M Sport model looks like from a front-three-quarter view, and right off the bat, there’s some weirdness going on. The tall, gloss black trim around the lower grilles swells around the reliefs for the kidney grille-style trim pieces, and combines with the glossy black air curtain trim to make the whole thing look a bit tall. Add in the absence of one consistent line for the lower edge of the bumper, and the result isn’t just busy, it looks a bit weak-chinned.

Now here’s what the base spec looks like from a similar angle. Much more restrained, especially since the valence doesn’t crowd out the kidney grilles. A focus on more horizontal elements and a broader lower grille really helps the standard car have a lower and wider look to its down-the-road graphic, although I do still wonder what it will look like with a U.S.-sized front licence plate installed.

It’s a similar story around back, with some fluted spikes in the valence, thick glossy plastic bezels surrounding the vertical retroreflectors, a whole lot of painted surface, and a big trapezoidal motif to both the licence plate recess and the valence that almost makes it look like someone’s taken a chunk out of the back of the iX3 M Sport.

There, much better. On the standard car, the fins on the rear valence have been toned down dramatically, there’s a splash of unpainted black trim to break up the body color, and most things are generally going horizontal. The softer transition to the licence plate recess is much appreciated, and the end result is doing more with less.

I get that luxury cars used to look quite conservative and occasionally need some livening up, but we’ve really reached a point where styling’s getting so fussy that a bit less of it is often preferable. While the base bumpers and wheels don’t change the way the tail lights of the iX3 look a bit big for it, they do make BMW’s latest electric crossover far more visually agreeable. As a bonus, I wouldn’t be surprised if most U.S.-spec examples eventually get delivered with these bumpers.

Top graphic image: BMW

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