BMW iX3 2021 first drive

What the iX3 lacks in outright performance, though, it more than makes up in refinement. Even by electric car standards, its motor and associated power electronics truly are whisper quiet. At meaningful speeds, it is the persistent lick of wind around the exterior mirror housings and the roar of the tyres – our test car had 245/45-profile front and 275/40 rear Yokohama Advan tyres on optional 20in wheels – along the bitumen that you notice most. Should you want it, you can have a synthetic motor sound that rises and falls in volume in unison with throttle inputs in Balanced and Sport modes.

Another impressive aspect is the iX3’s advanced energy recuperation system, which offers the driver four modes: Low, Medium, High and Adaptive. In High mode, it allows one-pedal driving, in which your speed drops away quite dramatically as you step off the throttle, meaning you only really need to use the brake pedal to come to a complete stop, in the interests of harvesting the maximum amount of kinetic energy.

The Adaptive mode is the real breakthrough, though. It constantly monitors your driving either in combination with the route the driver has plugged into the navigation system or independently and then decides whether to actuate the brake energy recuperation system or a separate coasting function that lets the iX3 freewheel without any frictional losses for extended distances as you come off the throttle.

Despite all the technology packed into it, brake pedal feel is quite good. It’s firm, easy to modulate and, most importantly, consistent in its action. Electric energy for the motor – a BMW unit produced at its Dingolfing factory in Germany – comes by way of a 74.0kWh lithium ion battery consisting of 10 modules and 188 individual prismatic cells supplied by Chinese battery specialist CATL. Mounted beneath the rear seat and within the floor of the boot, it is claimed to provide the new SUV with a range of between 280 and 285 miles on the WLTP test cycle.

Charging, meanwhile, can be carried out on a standard 7.4kW or optional 11.0kW AC system. For speedy topping up, though, you’ll need the 350kW DC system, also optional, which is claimed to provide an 80% charge in 34 minutes.

The decision to forgo the dual-motor four-wheel-drive set-up of some rivals and mount the electric motor at the rear, along with the battery, provides the iX3 with a distinctly rear-biased weight distribution of 47:53. As a result, the iX3 boasts many of the handling traits of BMW’s more traditional combustion-engined models.

The steering, a fixed-ratio set-up, is typically weighty in feel, giving the driver instant confidence. Without any drive forces going through the front wheels, the electric set-up is very accurate and manages to relay a fair bit of detail.

Around town, the new BMW is quite wieldy, helped by the instant torque off the line, relatively tight turning circle and ability to change direction quickly.

However, it’s out on the open road, where its rear weight bias and rear wheel-drive character really shine through, that it is at its engaging best. There’s a general fluidity to the handling that marks out the iX3 as one of the more engaging electric SUVs you can buy today. Its overall dynamics are always going to be restricted by its substantial weight, but there’s enough here to satisfy enthusiast drivers.

The iX3’s 20mm reduction in ground clearance over the standard X3 helps to enhance its already low centre of gravity, which is claimed to be 70mm lower than that of the standard X3, and you can confidently carry speed into a tightening corner without lifting, at which BMW’s second dedicated electric model will oblige with oversteer. It’s quickly quelled by the DSC (Dynamic Stability Control) system, though, which brakes individual wheels to bring the vehicle back on line.

First revealed in lightly veiled concept form at the Beijing motor show in 2018, the iX3 adheres closely to the look of the latest X3. There are some subtle exterior styling changes, including a new-look front bumper, a blanked-off grille, optional blue highlights and, as standard, unique 19in wheels, which alone are said to improve its overall aerodynamic efficiency by up to 5% compared with the standard X3 wheels.

Inside, it’s all pretty familiar apart from the instrument graphics and switches for the various driving modes on the centre console. The packaging of its battery robs the boot of 40 litres compared with petrol and diesel X3s, but its 510 litres is 60 litres more than that offered by the X3 xDrive30e plug-in hybrid.