The all-new BMW iX3 is extra than simply the model’s newest electrical SUV. It’s the primary manufacturing Neue Klasse mannequin, which suggests it carries the load of being each a design assertion and a know-how showcase. After driving it just a few months in the past and seeing in particular person twice now, I discovered a lot 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: Data Proper The place You Want It
BMW calls it the Panoramic Show, however to me it looks like the right center floor between a Head-Up Show and the central iDrive display screen. As an alternative of trying down and away from the highway, key data is projected throughout the decrease fringe of the windshield.
What I like is how pure it feels. Inside minutes, I used to be glancing at navigation prompts or driver-assist information with out pondering twice. It virtually made me neglect the Head-Up Show was even there. And the flexibleness is spot-on: for those who don’t like muddle, you possibly can strip it down to simply the fundamentals. Need extra? Add widgets like media or route steering. It’s a system that adapts to you, not the opposite method round.
2. Inside Area That Punches Above Its Class
This is among the clearest indicators that the iX3 is constructed on an EV-first platform. With out a transmission tunnel and with a protracted wheelbase, the inside feels extremely open. Up entrance, the lateral house and legroom are beneficiant, giving an actual sense of width. Within the again, the shock is how a lot room you get — practically 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 suggests taller passengers gained’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 Critically Helpful
Seventeen liters doesn’t sound like a lot on paper, however in apply the iX3’s entrance trunk is genuinely helpful. It’s simply the correct dimension for a big backpack, a few grocery baggage, or your charging cables. It additionally provides you flexibility: you possibly can hold on a regular basis gadgets separate from the rear cargo space, or stash one thing you need fast entry to with out digging by way of the trunk. When you begin utilizing it, you notice how precious that additional little bit of storage actually is.
4. Retractable Door Handles: Clear Seems to be With a Enjoyable Issue
At first, I assumed the retractable door handles could be 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 ingredient. 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 Lovely
BMW’s iDrive has all the time been forward of the curve, however the brand new iDrive X looks like the primary time it actually clicks with how we use tech at present. In contrast to the generally laggy launches of iDrive 8.5 and 9, this method is clean 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 whole display screen is one big set of shortcuts.
QuickSelect is one other spotlight: you possibly can create your personal row of widgets for the features you utilize 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 every single day.
The New iX3 is a Enormous Step Ahead for BMW
The brand new BMW iX3 looks 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 day by day driving simpler.
From the Panoramic Show that makes data simpler to observe, 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 observe the identical method, on a regular basis driving might begin to really feel very totally different in one of the best ways.
