BMW iX3 in the driving test: How good is the e-car compared to the conventional X3?

Created: 01/13/2022, 08:42 AM

From: Rudolf Bögel

Stromer twilight. With the iX3, BMW has electrified a classic SUV that has it all. © BMW

Diesel and gasoline out, electric motor in. BMW turned the SUV X3 into the Stromer iX3 in a hurry. Can that go well - the everyday test.

• With the electrified SUV, the Munich hunt for Tesla.

• How good is the e-car compared to the conventional X3?

• The big disadvantage of the Stromer: the iX3 is only of limited use as a draft horse.

What was not there in advance of criticism. The

was purely a compromise vehicle and was therefore of little use, said those who still mourned the times when Bayerische Motorenwerke made the competition sit up and take notice with their first i3 electric vehicle. 2011 at the IAA in Frankfurt - and from 2013 the funny, somewhat idiosyncratic-looking Stromer will actually roll onto the road. What a head start does

have! A sustainably built small car,

e.

At a time when Tesla is just testing the German market with the Model S, BMW is showing its muscles.

On the one hand with the perfect city car i3, on the other hand with the i8, a hybrid roadster that looks like it has fallen straight out of science fiction.

Unfortunately, as we know today, the story doesn't end too well.

The further development of the electric fleet, which BMW has repeatedly announced, is stalling.

The temptation to make margins with ever stronger and larger burners is simply too great.

& Co are not only catching up, they are also starting to overtake.

Read more current driving reports here *.

Bold snout.

The radiator grille is closed on this BMW because there is no combustion engine behind it that needs a lot of air.

© BMW

CHN BEV - the screen poses a puzzle

It will take seven long years before BMW brings a thoroughbred Stromer onto the market again. Initially in China (beginning of 2020), because the

also be produced there. Which is why the letters CHN BEV still appear on the display when it starts up. The abbreviation for China and Battery Electric Vehicle. And for a year, BMW will also be driving the iX3 in Germany. However, a conventional model serves as the technical basis. The X3 is already an extremely successful representative of the compact SUVs, which BWM also like to call

(Sport Activity Vehicle). Instead of diesel and gasoline, however, there is now an

the driving force.

It delivers its 286 hp to the rear wheels - presumably for production reasons, but maybe also because it is somehow part of Bavaria's DNA.

fans

appreciate a real rear-wheel drive .

Also read

As a BMW driver, you traditionally have a lot of space and a good sense of space.

The dashboard is more of a modern cockpit.

© BMW

Electric BMW iX3: The difference to the X3 is the color blue

Otherwise, the iX3 is a real X3 from the outside, if you forget the blue applications that apparently always have to be on a Stromer, and the radiator grille, which is largely closed because the electric motor just doesn't have to take in as much air as compared to the combustion engine . And of course the tailpipes are missing at the rear, here covers cover what is missing. Because we're at the rear: Both the i3 and iX3 now have the eye-catching

that would have been exhibited as light sculptures in the local art gallery five years ago. The internal combustion engine and electric car are also constructed in the same way. At the

you don't see any difference, except that there are of course electro-specific submenus in the on-board computer for charging, energy flow or consumption.

And then the bluish start / stop button and the light signature on the gearshift lever (in blue, of course) indicate that you are sitting in an electric car.

Read here:

The start button is blue and the drive switch is blue.

Not only at BMW you can tell immediately that it is a Stromer.

© BMW

Disadvantage of the Stromer: Less space, less traction

As far as space is concerned, compromises have to be made because the

, no matter how flat it is in the sub-floor, simply needs space.

But it is still not particularly significant, after all, 510 liters remain - 40 liters less than in the combustion engine.

But when things get tight: simply fold down the seat and over 1,500 liters are available.

However, the Stromer has a serious disadvantage as a draft horse.

Even with braked loads, the iX3 only packs 750 kilos, which is only a third of what the combustion engine can pull (2,400 kg).

There's plenty of luggage space in the BMW X3 and also in the iX3, even if around 50 liters are missing due to the battery installation.

© BMW

BMW lets the 2.2 tons dance like a young deer

However, the few disadvantages are easily offset by the many advantages that such a Stromer has. There is, for example, the

. The iX3 takes a smooth second longer from 0 to 100 than the comparable diesel and has to stop at 180 km / h. On the other hand, the center of gravity, which has been lowered by 7.5 centimeters, is a lot more fun. No combustion buddy is as light-footed as the IX3. And that although the Stromer is a quarter of a ton heavier. In addition, the

with its

of 18 kW is now significantly cheaper in terms of operating costs.

Even if in real life one has to assume more like 21 kW (which was also the test consumption).

Which is due to the weather (too cold, too hot) nine months of the year.

On the other hand, the fact that it is just too much fun to max out the 400 Newton meters (Nm) of torque again and again to watch the 2.2-ton bull jump like a young deer.

The electric torque just knows no turbo lag and does not have to laboriously build up first.

It's instant and pretty powerful.

Also read

Light object at the stern.

The full LED lights look like sculptures.

It is now also available on the X3.

© BMW

Electric BMW iX3: 330 kilometers of charge - nothing more is possible

Of course, this fully affects the

. Normally, this should even be up to 460 kilometers. Even with a full charge, we never had more than 352 on the speedometer during the test, mostly just 330. That may have been due to the cold November, but the temperatures mostly only fluctuated around 0 degrees. We don't want to know how the range melts when there is frost for days. Now, a range of 330 or 350 kilometers is no big deal and therefore no problem if you don't have a long distance to cover and you can recharge again and again. At home, however, it takes a relatively long time. The iX3 hangs on the leash for around eight hours until it is full again - provided you can fill up with three-phase electricity. In our case we looked for a fast charger with a capacity of 50 kW. But here, too, the weather was probably the spoilsport.Almost four hours - only then did he have

back to full capacity.

Also read:

Blue panels instead of thick tailpipes.

If you are not sure whether it is a Stromer - always look at the rear!

© BMW

Cobalt and rare earths are rarer in the BMW iX3

A combustion engine from the outside, an electric vehicle from the heart.

The

born in two worlds and of course it is not an all-round electric car.

However, the criticism that this car is a half-silk compromise car does not apply either.

On the one hand, it drives really well, and on the other hand, the operating costs are lower than with a combustion engine.

And the iX3 also has a lot to offer in terms of sustainability.

The latest generation of the drive train completely dispenses with rare earths in the motor and the cobalt, which is controversial mainly because of its extraction, has also been reduced by two thirds in the battery.

And that doesn't just deserve a mention, it deserves recognition.

Also interesting

Technical data BMW iX3

• E-motor: synchronous machine

• Peak power: 210 kW (286 PS)

• Continuous output: 80 kW (109 PS)

• Maximum torque: 400 (Nm

• Drive: 1-speed gearbox, rear

• 0-100 km / h: 6.8 seconds

• Top: 180 km / h

• Battery: 80 kWh (74 kWh net)

• Charging time: 7 hours

  30 min. (AC up to 11 kW three-phase; 0 - 100 percent)

•                   32 min. (DC up to 150 kW; 10 - 80 percent)

• Standard consumption (WLTP): 18.5 - 18.9 kWh / 100 km

• Range: up to 460 km

• Length / width / height: 4.73 / 1.89 / 1.67 m

• Empty weight / perm.

  2.185 / 540 kg 

• Trailer load used

  750 kg

• Trunk 510 - 1560 l

• Price: from 67,300 euros

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