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 expertise showcase. After driving it a number of months in the past and seeing in particular person twice now, I discovered loads 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 automotive.
1. Panoramic Show: Info Proper The place You Want It
BMW calls it the Panoramic Show, however to me it appears like the proper center floor between a Head-Up Show and the central iDrive display. As an alternative of wanting down and away from the highway, key info 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 data with out considering twice. It virtually made me neglect the Head-Up Show was even there. And the flexibleness is spot-on: when you don’t like muddle, you possibly can strip it down to only the fundamentals. Need extra? Add widgets like media or route steering. It’s a system that adapts to you, not the opposite approach 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. And not using a transmission tunnel and with an extended 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 — 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 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 Significantly Helpful
Seventeen liters doesn’t sound like a lot on paper, however in observe the iX3’s entrance trunk is genuinely helpful. It’s simply the fitting 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 the trunk. When you begin utilizing it, you understand how invaluable that further little bit of storage actually is.
4. Retractable Door Handles: Clear Seems With a Enjoyable Issue
At first, I assumed the retractable door handles is perhaps extra type than substance. However seeing them in motion modified my thoughts. They offer the facet profile of the iX3 a glossy, 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 component. Children specifically will love watching them pop out and in. It’s a type of particulars that makes the automotive 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 appears like the primary time it actually clicks with how we use tech at the moment. Not like the typically laggy launches of iDrive 8.5 and 9, this method is clean and responsive proper out of the gate.
The format is a big enchancment. Menus are grouped extra logically, with each vertical and horizontal navigation that feels immediately acquainted when you’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 all the display is one big set of shortcuts.
QuickSelect is one other spotlight: you possibly can create your personal row of widgets for the features you employ most frequently. Add within the attractive graphics, and also you get a system that’s not simply highly effective however fulfilling to make use of on daily basis.
The New iX3 is a Large Step Ahead for BMW
The brand new BMW iX3 appears 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 info simpler to comply with, to the roomy cabin and helpful storage touches, to the clear design and improved iDrive X — these are the main points that made the most important impression on me. If the remainder of BMW’s Neue Klasse fashions comply with the identical strategy, on a regular basis driving might begin to really feel very completely different in one of the simplest ways.
