The all-new BMW iX3 is extra than simply the model’s newest electrical SUV. It’s the primary manufacturing Neue Klasse mannequin, which implies it carries the load of being each a design assertion and a know-how showcase. After driving it a number of months in the past and seeing in particular person twice now, I discovered lots 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 right center floor between a Head-Up Show and the central iDrive display. As an alternative of trying down and away from the highway, key data 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 data with out considering twice. It nearly made me overlook the Head-Up Show was even there. And the flexibleness is spot-on: for those who don’t like muddle, you may 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 manner round.
2. Inside Area 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 an extended 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 implies 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 Useful
Seventeen liters doesn’t sound like a lot on paper, however in follow the iX3’s entrance trunk is genuinely helpful. It’s simply the suitable measurement for a big backpack, a few grocery baggage, or your charging cables. It additionally provides you flexibility: you may hold on a regular basis objects separate from the rear cargo space, or stash one thing you need fast entry to with out digging by means of the trunk. When you begin utilizing it, you understand how helpful that further little bit of storage actually is.
4. Retractable Door Handles: Clear Seems With a Enjoyable Issue
At first, I believed the retractable door handles is perhaps extra fashion than substance. However seeing them in motion modified my thoughts. They provide the facet profile of the iX3 a modern, 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 specifically 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 Stunning
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 at the moment. In contrast to the generally laggy launches of iDrive 8.5 and 9, this technique is easy and responsive proper out of the gate.
The structure is a large enchancment. Menus are grouped extra logically, with each vertical and horizontal navigation that feels immediately acquainted for those who’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 the complete display is one big set of shortcuts.
QuickSelect is one other spotlight: you may create your individual row of widgets for the features you employ most frequently. Add within the beautiful graphics, and also you get a system that’s not simply highly effective however fulfilling to make use of daily.
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 every day driving simpler.
From the Panoramic Show that makes data simpler to comply with, 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 comply with the identical method, on a regular basis driving may begin to really feel very completely different in one of the best ways.
