BMW reveals all-new iX3 with 500 miles of electric range

BMW has revealed the next generation of its iX3 electric SUV, and there’s one figure that matters more than any other – it has a range of 500 miles.

The new iX3 is the first car to come from BMW’s Neue Klasse, a new generation of vehicles that have been in development for the past few years. It represents the start of a whole new era of electric cars from BMW, with a new electrical architecture, new batteries, new motors, a new infotainment system and a new design language inside and out.

So, while the headline figure of 500 miles of range (using the WLTP test cycle) is impressive enough – not to mention 400 kW charging and the ability to add 231 miles of range in just 10 minutes – there’s much more to delve into.

Likely to get drivers talking just as much as the massive range is the iX3’s Panoramic iDrive system, which includes a new display that sits on top of the dashboard and spans the entire width of the windscreen. This was first shown off by BMW at the CES technology show at the start of 2025, and even after nine months it still feels like a piece of tech lifted straight from a concept car.

Although it looks like a screen, it’s actually a projection onto a black strip that runs the full width of the windscreen. The interface is split into sections, with driver information like speed, range and battery charge permanently behind the steering wheel, then secondary information like navigation instructions, media, weather and air quality spread across the customisable centre section and passenger side. A face icon representing the car’s voice assistant sits in the middle, but disappears when not in use.

Having tried the system in person, I think it’s a masterstroke by BMW. It keeps the dashboard uncluttered, while still giving the driver all of the information they need, where they need it – instead of asking them to look at the central screen for crucial information, like speed, as some other manufacturers now do. It also does this without making the windscreen feel shallower, or that some forward visibility has been lost.

A new 3D head-up display system is also available as an option, projecting speed and navigation instructions onto the windscreen. But this feels like overkill, since Panoramic iDrive does such a good job of putting information right where it’s needed.

The cabin also features a new flat-topped steering wheel, a new central touchscreen with a slanted, asymmetrical design, and a redesigned centre console with a pair of wireless phone chargers and USB-C ports. There are no physical climate controls, but at least they appear permanently at the foot of the main screen, so should be relatively easy to use while driving. Naturally, BMW suggests the voice assistant can be used to adjust cabin temperature.

Thankfully, there are physical controls for the indicators, wipers, mirrors, volume, parking brake, de-misting and hazard warning lights.

A new generation of electric motors and batteries

The new iX3, which starts at £58,755 in 50 xDrive spec, is the first car to use BMW’s new generation of electric motors and battery technology. It uses an 800-volt system architecture and promises a range of between 421 and 500 miles using the WLTP test cycle. Those figures are provisional for now, but are hopefully indicative of real-world performance.

The iX3 can be used at slower, 400-volt stations too – like the 100 to 200 kW chargers seen across the UK – and it fills at up to 11 kWh on a home charger.

Whatever type of charger you’re using, BMW says it’s developed a form of artificial intelligence that takes control of the charge port flap, opening and closing it according to your needs. The car can’t grab hold of the chunky charge cable and yank it into place just yet, but it’s a start.

The higher-voltage system (up from 400V in the previous iX3) means a much-improved charge rate of up to 400 kW. This makes the new iX3 one of the fastest-charging electric cars ever made, and BMW says up to 231 miles of range can be added to the 108.7 kWh battery in just ten minutes – providing you plug it into an ultra-rapid charger, of course.

The German company also says its sixth-generation eDrive platform sees energy losses reduced by 40 percent and weight cut by 10 percent, while manufacturing costs are down 20 percent and the lifetime carbon footprint is 30 percent less than the previous-generation iX3.

On that note, BMW claims how – when the iX3 is charged using energy sourced from the European electricity mix – it will have a smaller total carbon footprint (including the manufacturing, driving and recycling stages of its life) than a comparable combustion-engined car, after both vehicles have covered just 13,300 miles.

So, while it’s true that even the newest EV is responsible for more carbon during its creation than a petrol car, after less than 15,000 miles the total lifetime carbon footprint is equal, and after that it shifts increasingly in the EV’s favour.

Another stand-out stat is how BMW claims 98 percent of “braking manoeuvres” in the iX3 will be taken care of by regenerative braking alone, instead of using the conventional brake discs and pads.

Perhaps tellingly – and somewhat refreshingly – BMW isn’t focusing too heavily on straight-line performance for the iX3. It’s still a quick car in iX3 50 xDrive flavour, deploying 469 horsepower and 645 Nm of torque to reach 62 mph in 4.9 seconds. But that doesn’t feel like the important part. It’s plenty quick enough, and the top speed is 130 mph, but this isn’t a car trying to rival the Porsche Macan Turbo or new Tesla Model Y Performance.

BMW’s new ‘Heart of Joy’ super computer

That isn’t to say BMW has ignored its identity of a company that produces “the ultimate driving machine”. It has created a new computer, or “super brain” that it calls the “Heart of Joy” and is said to “elevate the entire driving experience, providing unparalleled handling, dynamism and precision."

This computer is responsible for the drive system, brakes, charging, energy recuperation and steering of the iX3, and works alongside a bespoke software stack to handle all driving functions. Previously – and more generally speaking – a car’s various systems would often be controlled by individual computers, each reporting to each other and back to a central control unit. By bundling more into one supercomputer, BMW says the car can compute driving functions up to 10 times faster.

A second supercomputer, called the "superbrain of automated driving” is responsible for the automated driving and parking functions, and is said to have 20 times the processing power of a traditional equivalent. This all sounds impressive on paper, but how the car drives in the real world – and how efficient it really is – will still dictate whether BMW’s “superbrain” approach is a qualitative success or not.

How much is it?

Priced from £58,755, the new BMW iX3 50 xDrive goes into production in the autumn, with the first UK deliveries due in March 2026. The iX3 50 xDrive M Sport is £61,255, and the M Sport Pro version is £62,755.

Further variants of iX3 will follow later, including a new entry-level model at a lower price point.

Once the iX3 has landed, BMW says the various Neue Klasse technologies and design cues on show here will be incorporated into 40 new models and model updates between now and 2027. In some cases, that’ll mean a minor facelift that tweaks the exterior styling in the direction of the iX3, plus the addition of the panoramic display, while for other cars, it’ll mean an all-new generation.