2026 BMW iX3 Reviews & Specs are impressive. 400+ mile range, 463 hp / 475 lb-ft torque

[mslam02]

I'm also interested to see where they go with the more drivers oriented specs of the ix3, namely the iX3M or X3M (Its rumored they will drop the 'i' nomenclature for the X3M moving forward since the will be no ICE model option).

MacanEV seems like an OK option but Porsche pricing is getting out of hand when taking EV depreciation into account - I really wanted to spec a Taycan 4S cross turismo but pricing is crazy

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[Awaz]

I really wanted to spec a Taycan 4S cross turismo but pricing is crazy

People get very good deals on the used ones - even a few months old.

 

[mslam02]

People get very good deals on the used ones - even a few months old.

Yes but "spec" was the keyword there, I'm terribly picky with that Porsche configurator and its hard to find a vehicle with all the required options. I do keep my eye's peeled though.

 

[FirstEV]

I'm also interested to see where they go with the more drivers oriented specs of the ix3, namely the iX3M or X3M (Its rumored they will drop the 'i' nomenclature for the X3M moving forward since the will be no ICE model option).

MacanEV seems like an OK option but Porsche pricing is getting out of hand when taking EV depreciation into account - I really wanted to spec a Taycan 4S cross turismo but pricing is crazy

Just out of curiosity, what do you mean with ”the pricing is getting out of hand”? In reference to what? Porsche has always been the more expensive choice, doesn’t matter if its EV or ICE.

 

[Awaz]

Not a fan of an iPad in the car, but importantly, will Porsche catch up to such tech?

 

[W1NGE]

Not a fan of an iPad in the car, but importantly, will Porsche catch up to such tech?

Watched other reviews and a bargain price to be honest (£7K less than the car it replaces!). Whilst not a Porsche or a Macan for that matter for most mortals this car is the EV one to beat IMHO - Porsche need to respond and at the very least knock £10K of their pricing stucture as the Macan EV is really overpriced.

 

[SergeyIndy]

Modern and cool stuff, no question. They will sell a ton of these.
For me, not round wheel and stick up angled screen are not going to work as BMW continues this trend that I cannot overcome. Do not get me started on the exterior angles, front camera in the nose, etc. Anyone knows when we start seeing them around here in the US.

 

[pschloes]

Modern and cool stuff, no question. They will sell a ton of these.
For me, not round wheel and stick up angled screen are not going to work as BMW continues this trend that I cannot overcome. Do not get me started on the exterior angles, front camera in the nose, etc. Anyone knows when we start seeing them around here in the US.

Agreed... tech is cool and love the range but having trouble with the design choices. IMO, the screen that so many have adopted (courtesy elon) looks to me like an iPad super glued to the dash.

 

[Overton Park]

Modern and cool stuff, no question. They will sell a ton of these.
For me, not round wheel and stick up angled screen are not going to work as BMW continues this trend that I cannot overcome. Do not get me started on the exterior angles, front camera in the nose, etc. Anyone knows when we start seeing them around here in the US.

I agree with you on the styling. To me, the interior has all the class and subtlety of a shopping mall in Dubai and the iPad screen as a design element is past its sell by date. At least it doesn’t have the beaver teeth grill. Very glad I went with the Macan EV!

 

[SergeyIndy]

I agree with you on the styling. To me, the interior has all the class and subtlety of a shopping mall in Dubai and the iPad screen as a design element is past its sell by date. At least it doesn’t have the beaver teeth grill. Very glad I went with the Macan EV!

Glad someone is with me on the absolute cannot stand stick up pad trend that is way overdone and needs to go away. They had an opportunity to get rid of it once and for all, but instead they have doubled down on it, and had to make it a shape of who knows what -- so now that will be everywhere of what appears to be 40 upcoming models. I do not doubt BMW fans just love this stuff. At least the whatever iDrive such an innovative name dial is gone, who even used that non-sense like ever if you are say new and renting a BMW to drive.

And wait, when are we going to see those holographic screens that project into the air and you interact with them - that would be an innovation.

Also, did you notice how thick this sucker is and we are in a 2026, anyone has a measuring stick for this CRT tube of a thing.

ing

 

[PastaSource]

Test drove one today for around an hour (new iX3)... thought I'd post some thought - must say I was pretty disappointed overall.
Main pros and gripes (and I'm comparing to my current 2022 Tesla MY, and my preference to replace it with a new Macan GTS, which I've also driven):

Pros:

• Range, obviously.
• Super light steering, even in the absence of RWS, and with a large turning circle, was really easy to manoeuvre.
• HUD was nice.
• Space (this will be a daily/family car).
• Autosteer, etc was nice, better than Tesla basic Autopilot (not interrupted by braking, etc). Was even impressed by auto-park.
• Felt reasonably sporty, and less lean, settling than the Tesla.

Gripes:

• I disliked the drivetrain in both D and B mode, D mode was trying to be intelligent, so in a short drive I wasn't able to get used to it and it just felt unpredictable - sometimes lifting off would cause no slowdown, other times, depending on what the car guessed was the appropriate thing to do it slowed down heavily, was a big turn-off. B mode just felt very severe on lift-off... The Tesla had a much more predictable drivetrain (even with the issue of differing behaviour depending on battery level, i.e. not as much/no region when over 90% SOC)
• Terrible ride quality. Car was on 22" wheels, and honestly it did not feel much better than the Tesla on 20's. Was really surprised by this given everything I've read/seen. Perhaps the tyres were over-inflated.
• Car felt really big, can't put my finger on why, but felt like driving a large box in terms of how the car felt around you.
• Very laggy UI - swiping on the map, and spinning the car in surround view especially. I'd noticed this when looking at the car a few months ago, assured it was because the car was in demo mode/pre-production, etc... but it was no better. Tesla way more responsive.
• Not very interesting drive compared to GTS Macan/Macan EV on air suspension.
• Personally do not like the look of the car in person.
• Panoramic vision + HUD + screen just feels a little like display overkill.

So after my due diligence, main issues were the poor ride and drivetrain, things I wasn't really expecting given all the positivity. The latter I'm sure I could get used to, but the former is a dealbreaker, which while I think smaller wheels would help, would not elevate enough for my liking. Perhaps adaptive suspension coming down the line would also help enough.

Macan just felt like a much nicer drive, sportier, but still more comfortable (on air), and totally predictable. I might have time to see/drive a Merc GLC400 and Volvo EX60 before I decide, but Macan is edging it at the moment.

 

[W1NGE]

Test drove one today for around an hour (new iX3)... thought I'd post some thought - must say I was pretty disappointed overall.
Main pros and gripes (and I'm comparing to my current 2022 Tesla MY, and my preference to replace it with a new Macan GTS, which I've also driven):

Pros:

• Range, obviously.
• Super light steering, even in the absence of RWS, and with a large turning circle, was really easy to manoeuvre.
• HUD was nice.
• Space (this will be a daily/family car).
• Autosteer, etc was nice, better than Tesla basic Autopilot (not interrupted by braking, etc). Was even impressed by auto-park.
• Felt reasonably sporty, and less lean, settling than the Tesla.

Gripes:

• I disliked the drivetrain in both D and B mode, D mode was trying to be intelligent, so in a short drive I wasn't able to get used to it and it just felt unpredictable - sometimes lifting off would cause no slowdown, other times, depending on what the car guessed was the appropriate thing to do it slowed down heavily, was a big turn-off. B mode just felt very severe on lift-off... The Tesla had a much more predictable drivetrain (even with the issue of differing behaviour depending on battery level, i.e. not as much/no region when over 90% SOC)
• Terrible ride quality. Car was on 22" wheels, and honestly it did not feel much better than the Tesla on 20's. Was really surprised by this given everything I've read/seen. Perhaps the tyres were over-inflated.
• Car felt really big, can't put my finger on why, but felt like driving a large box in terms of how the car felt around you.
• Very laggy UI - swiping on the map, and spinning the car in surround view especially. I'd noticed this when looking at the car a few months ago, assured it was because the car was in demo mode/pre-production, etc... but it was no better. Tesla way more responsive.
• Not very interesting drive compared to GTS Macan/Macan EV on air suspension.
• Personally do not like the look of the car in person.
• Panoramic vision + HUD + screen just feels a little like display overkill.

So after my due diligence, main issues were the poor ride and drivetrain, things I wasn't really expecting given all the positivity. The latter I'm sure I could get used to, but the former is a dealbreaker, which while I think smaller wheels would help, would not elevate enough for my liking. Perhaps adaptive suspension coming down the line would also help enough.

Macan just felt like a much nicer drive, sportier, but still more comfortable (on air), and totally predictable. I might have time to see/drive a Merc GLC400 and Volvo EX60 before I decide, but Macan is edging it at the moment.

Interestingly, BMW don't currently pitch it against the Macan (pricing primarily) and most definitely not something quite as driver focused as the GTS variant. Base Macan and 4 without PASM or air suspension would perhaps be in their sights..

Press reviews are gushingly positive but perhaps blinkered by the theoretical range headline number.

50,000 orders apparently so far meaning that it is a runaway success for an EU EV car....as was the Taycan.

The looks are an issue for sure.

Ignoring the budget and range shortfall it would be the Macan all day long for me.

Enjoy your selection process!

 

[Greybeard72]

Well.. that's disappointing.. I guess it's not really a class competitor. I have a 4S and I'm very happy with it so far. Yes, it has a few quirks on occasion but man what a great car to drive! I wish Porsche would get their computing/software act together and start pricing their cars to compete (ha ha). I'm surprised that so many people got the initial impressions so wrong on the BMW. I kind of figured they wouldn't get the drive dynamics correct .. especially initially but it sounds like they really blew it. Given they can actually update over the air, I expect they'll be doing a lot of that it seems. In any case, let's see what others have to say as well.

I've been looking seriously at the R2 in the US. Given it's at least a 3rd gen car and has an exceedingly loyal customer base (Consumer Reports has Rivian on top of almost every category in customer sat), I'd say it's going to make the BMW squirm once people get a real comparison between the two. Yes, it's not the same but still the R2 tops off where the BMW prices barely start. Maybe Volvo will beat them both out. We'll see.

 

[craz8]

I've been looking seriously at the R2 in the US

In photos, the Rivian R2 looks quite large, but the dimensions are very similar to the Macan EV - except the height and ground clearance. Similar towing capacities too - something that seems to have disappointed several Rivian fans with larger towing needs.

Price is good too, but do you wait for the update with the better automation hardware?

I'm mostly happy with my 4S, but the potential battery SOC issue some are having (including me) may push me towards a change at the end of lease. (Rivian recently had a LFP battery software problem with SOC that they have identified and might have already fixed, so they have problems too, but do faster fixes than Porsche)

 

[PastaSource]

Interestingly, BMW don't currently pitch it against the Macan (pricing primarily) and most definitely not something quite as driver focused as the GTS variant. Base Macan and 4 without PASM or air suspension would perhaps be in their sights..

Press reviews are gushingly positive but perhaps blinkered by the theoretical range headline number.

50,000 orders apparently so far meaning that it is a runaway success for an EU EV car....as was the Taycan.

The looks are an issue for sure.

Ignoring the budget and range shortfall it would be the Macan all day long for me.

Enjoy your selection process!

Thanks... I was hoping/expecting to be much more impressed, I went in really wanting to like it, on paper it has everything bar a crappy turning circle and steel springs... but feel like I'm in an emperor's new clothes skit.

Folks I really respect have also been gushing about it, and I'm feeling awkward, almost ashamed, like I must've missed something or didn't do something right - the salesperson was certainly looking at me like I had some brain cells missing. Still feel like I must be wrong for throwing criticism at it - it must've been tyre pressures, or traffic/roads on the test drive didn't help, or whatever, or not trying all the drive modes... Getting back in the model Y, and the things I noticed were the better view, similar comfort, much more responsive screen/tech, weightier steering... I'm not a luddite, but feel I missed the memo, and this morning was thinking I should find another one to drive, on smaller wheels, but perhaps I let my gut chalk this one up and just move on... maybe they'll fix all the things I disliked in a year (software), or with adaptive suspension, or an M version (both of which will likely improve looks too) ... on looks... well I have been driving a Model Y for three years after all !

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