BMW iX3 Review & Prices

The BMW iX3 is a good-looking, fun to drive electric SUV with decent range and generous levels of standard equipment, but it feels old-hat compared to newer SUVs and its lack of four-wheel drive is a bit annoying.

Think of it like streaming one of your favourite childhood films. It’s still enjoyable, but there’s a whole host of newer movies out there which are fresher to watch and technically superior.

While the BMW iX3 isn’t available to buy new anymore, it does make for an enticing used proposition. You can get a brand new Audi Q4 e-tron, Skoda Enyaq, Ford Mustang Mach-E or Tesla Model Y for roughly the same amount though, and they’re all more capable cars.

EV Range Test: Audi Q4 e-tron v BMW iX3 v Hyundai Ioniq 5 v Kia EV6 v Skoda Enyaq

If you’re not hot on an electric car that looks too futuristic, the iX3 might be up your street. Being based on the previous-generation of X3 means you get a handsome, upright front end with a smooth grille and less fussy features than BMW’s latest models - plus a swish set of aero-optimised 20-inch alloys.

Flashes of blue on the exterior trim further mark the iX3 out against the petrol or diesel versions, and that extends to the interior too. The dashboard and cabin are much the same as any other X3, but with a posher digital display, and blue trims on the starter button, steering wheel and gear lever.

There’s plenty of cabin storage and space all round, with enough space for five adults to sit in comfort on long drives - though the middle seat in the back is a bit tighter for headroom. You get plenty of boot space at 510 litres; 100 litres more than a Ford Mustang Mach-E but 75 litres down on a Skoda Enyaq.

BMW iX3: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 286 - 290 miles
Efficiency: 3.4-3.5 miles per kWh
Battery size: 74kWh
Max charge speed: 150kW / 250kW
Charge time AC: 7hrs 30mins, 0-100%, 11kW
Charge time DC: 34mins, 0-80%, 150kW
Charge port location: Right rear
Power outputs: 282hp

The iX3 comes equipped with a 74kWh battery, the only option available, which provides up to 285 miles or range. Expect to see less in the real world, but even then it’s on par with mid-range Audi Q4 e-tron and Skoda Enyaq models.

Around town there’s enough regenerative braking for one-pedal driving, while the light steering makes it easy to chuck around tight bends. The iX3 absorbs bumps well, but it’s not quite as refined over broken road surfaces as a Tesla Model 3 or Skoda Enyaq.

Motorways are comparable, in that it’s mostly comfortable but there’s a little bit too much wind and road noise when compared to its alternatives. The iX3 is quick enough to easily get up to motorway speeds, while on a country lane it’s fun to carve through corners in. Don’t bother with sport mode though, as the suspension becomes so firm you get thrown about on a bumpy lane.

As a used buy the electric BMW is certainly enticing, and you can check out used BMW iX3 deals here on Carwow. There are other used BMWs for sale if an EV doesn’t quite suit your lifestyle, or new BMWs for sale - as well as new BMW lease deals. We can even help you sell your car when the time comes to make a change.

While the BMW iX3 started from around £65,000 new, you can pick up a used one from anywhere between £22,000 to £45,000 on Carwow - depending on spec and mileage, of course.

That’s a big difference in price, but it’s worth paying a bit more for a newer car with less miles on the clock for peace of mind when it comes to warranty. That price range means you could pay the same for an high-mileage iX3 as you could a Citroen e-C3, which is nowhere near as posh or well-equipped.

A low-mileage iX3 will cost roughly the same as a base-level Audi Q4 e-tron or a top-of-the-range Skoda Elroq (the Enyaq’s smaller sibling), which offers far more range.

Super-refined, and actually good fun to drive, but despite the SUV looks it’s rear-drive only

In town

Around town and at lower speeds, the iX3 is very, very relaxing and easy to drive. As with most electric cars, noise levels are kept well under control. By knocking the gear selector to the left, you can put the iX3 into ‘B’ mode which ramps up the regenerative braking, slowing you down without using the physical brakes, which is handy in city driving. In fact, B mode will actually bring the car to a complete stop without touching the brake pedal if you have enough space — proper ‘one-pedal’ driving. The turning circle is OK, nothing special but it’s fine, and the steering is nicely light so it’s pretty easy to manoeuvre. The suspension, with the adaptive dampers, rides bumps nicely but it’s a touch firm compared to the likes of the Mercedes EQC. It’s about the same as the Jag I-Pace, though. One annoying thing — the brakes often make an irritating squeaky-groan noise, like someone’s reclining in an old rocking chair.

On the motorway

The refinement continues when you take the iX3 up onto the motorway; although you’ll start to notice a bit more tyre roar and wind noise, but it never gets really out of hand. The sheer grunt of the iX3’s single rear-wheel drive electric motor helps when you’re joining a fast-moving motorway as it rockets from 40mph up to 70mph, and the well-tuned suspension means it’ll cling on firmly on a long, curving on-ramp. The EQC and Audi e-tron are, again, a little bit quieter than the BMW, but there’s not a massive gap.

On a twisty road

The iX3 is really, properly quick. Other EVs with two-motor, four-wheel drive systems might be able to scamper to 62mph faster, but the BMW lives up to its on-paper 6.8secs time — in fact, it might even beat that as we were able to get to 60mph in just under 6.0secs.

Speed is one thing, control is another, but the iX3 is all over that. The battery pack is mounted low down in the car’s floor, so its centre of gravity is actually lower than that of a standard diesel or petrol X3, meaning you can chuck it around with plenty of confidence. The steering has pretty good weight and feel, and that firms up if you put it in Sport mode, but the trouble is so too does the suspension, and then things just get a bit too bumpy.

Better to leave it in Comfort mode, to be honest. It’s still engaging to drive even then, although it doesn’t quite have the hooligan tendencies of the Ford Mustang Mach-E. It also won’t slide and skid about, in spite of being rear-wheel drive — try to do that and it just kind of understeers like a big electric lump. Even so, it does get BMW’s new-ish traction control system, where the control module is mounted directly to the electric motor so that it can react faster and more accurately any time you start to lose traction. That said, you’re not going to be getting very far off-road with just rear-wheel drive and a ride-height that loses 2cm compared to the standard X3.

Lots of space for people but the boot is slightly smaller than that of the regular X3

Practicality

The iX3’s cabin is basically the same as that of the standard X3, so practicality levels are pretty good. In front of the gear selector, you’ll find two big cup holders, and a storage tray that also has the wireless phone charger. There’s another decently-sized storage area under the armrest between the front seats, and the door bins are pretty big too. The glovebox isn’t the biggest, but it’ll do. Space for people is fine too, although subjectively it doesn’t feel as roomy inside as EV SUV Audis, but it’s about on a par with the Merc EQC. If you want proper stretch-out space in your EV crossover, maybe think Hyundai Ioniq 5…

Space in the back seats

The combination of a slim battery pack and scooped-out front seatbacks means that there’s plenty of space for knees, feet, and heads in the back seats. The seats in the back are also well-designed so you’re not sitting awkwardly with your knees perched up, so you’ll get fewer backaches on a long journey in the back of the iX3. The back seats recline too, so it’s easy to get very comfy. The centre rear seat is a little bit raised up compared to the others, but it’s not too bad and you should be able to get three people sitting comfortably across the back (especially if they’re teenagers).

Boot space

Behind the electric tailgate, the iX3 has a nice square boot with a flat floor, so there’s no load lip between the edge of the bumper and the boot floor. That makes loading heavy boxes and bags so much easier. You get handy storage areas at each side with nets for holding delicate items, and there’s a 12-volt socket for anything that needs to be charged. There are useful tie-down points in the floor, and a handle just inside the edge of the boot that allows you to fold the back seats down.

When they’re folded, the boot expands from a standard 510 litres (up to the luggage cover) to 1,560 litres (if you load it to the roof). That is 40 litres less than what you get in a standard X3 though, and you lose the useful under-floor storage area too. There is a small under-floor storage space, which will generally be full of charging cables, but the space that would normally allow you to slot in the retractable luggage cover and so on has been taken up by the rear-mounted electric motor. Annoyingly, even though the motor is at the back and there’s now no engine up front, BMW hasn’t added a front-boot (froot?) to the iX3, so there’s no handy storage space under the bonnet.

High quality, good comfort, but the infotainment isn’t as good as some others

You know how we’ve been saying that the iX3 has a lot of the same bits and pieces as the standard petrol-and-diesel BMW X3? Yeah, well get ready for more of the same because… the iX3’s cabin is basically the same as that of the standard X3. Well, what did you expect?

The only real differences are that the iX3 gets some little bits of metallic blue trim, which to be honest actually look a little bit cheap, but they do remind you that you’re driving an EV rather than a smelly old diesel. It’s a very comfortable cabin though, and we love the slim-rimmed steering wheel which is so much nicer to hold than the over-stuffed, over-padded wheel of some sportier BMW models.

The infotainment system in the iX3 is the iDrive version 7.0, not the ritzier version 8.0 that you’ll find in the bigger iX electric SUV and the low-slung i4 electric four-door coupe. 8.0 gets a dramatic curved touchscreen that runs from in front of the driver half way across the dash. The iX3 makes do with the older system, which has separate 12.3-inch screens for the instruments and the infotainment. To be fair, both work fine — the instrument panel can be configured with different displays between the rev counter and speedo, and there’s an optional, and very useful, heads-up display which shines your speed and sat nav directions onto the windscreen.

The central infotainment display is a touchscreen, but you can also use the old-school BMW iDrive click-wheel down on the centre console, which is possibly a bit safer to use when you’re on the move. The menu layout is fairly simple, and the fact that BMW has kept proper physical controls for the air conditioning makes things a bit easier and simpler. You do get wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connections, although these can be a bit hit-and-miss when it comes to connecting, so you might be better off just using a physical cable most of the time.

There’s a clever feature in the sat nav in that it knows when you’re coming up to an area with the lower speed limit, and it can automatically start to slow the car down using the regenerative braking, topping up the battery a little and making sure you arrive at the new speed zone at the correct limit. It does feel a bit weird at first — as if the car has developed a mind of its own — but you can turn it off if you don’t like it.

In general, it’s a good system but BWM’s own newer version 8.0 setup is better still, and we prefer — if only just — Mercedes’ MBUX infotainment system.

You don’t get any options when it comes to the iX3’s battery and motor — there’s a single choice of a 74kWh battery and a single rear-mounted electric motor developing 286hp.

BMW claims the iX3 has up to 282 miles of range, which is competitive with the likes of Jaguar’s I-Pace and the Mercedes EQC, but slightly behind what you’ll get from a Tesla Model Y, or indeed the likes of the Kia EV6 or Hyundai Ioniq 5.

During our testing, we managed a respectable 3.6 miles per kWh and got 281 miles from the battery. That's 91% of its claimed range, the joint-highest percentage in the test, tied with the Kia EV6. Its efficiency figure was decent but still behind the best-in-class on the day of 3.7 miles per kWh, achieved by the EV6 and Ford Mustang Mach-e.

If you can find a public charger putting out 150kW, then the iX3 can add 237 miles of range in as little as 30 minutes, which is good. Plus, BMW is part of the IONITY high-speed charger consortium, so you’ll get access to those chargers at cheaper rates than pay-as-you-go customers. For slower AC charging, the iX3 can take in an 11kW charge which is handy when you’re using kerb-side or shopping centre chargers.

You’ll pay the luxury car supplement on any iX3s which are less than five years old as they all cost over £40,000 when new. They’re great options for company car drivers though - the lowest band of Benefit in Kind tax - if you can get a new-old stock model from a dealer, or if used cars are part of your company car scheme.

Euro NCAP, the nice helpful people who slam new cars into walls so that you don’t have to, hasn’t tested the iX3 itself, but the standard X3 got a full five-star safety rating when it was tested back in 2017. That included a 93% score for adult occupant protection, and 84% for child occupants, both of which are impressive.

As standard, the iX3 comes with active radar guided cruise control which can slow you down to a stop in heavy traffic, steering that keeps you in your lane on a motorway, a speed limit assistant that reads road signs and gives you a warning to slow down if you need to and an active side collision protection system that stops you pulling out into the path of another car when you’re changing lanes.

The iX3 comes as standard with LED headlights, but these can be optionally upgraded to BMW’s Laser Lights, which can throw a main-beam 600 metres up the road, and which have active elements to stop you dazzling other road users. M-Sport Pro models also come with the Parking Assistant Plus which not only has a surround-view camera system, but which can also back you into a parking space, taking care of the braking and all.

The M-Sport Pro also uses the windscreen mounted camera that scans the road ahead for potential collisions as a traffic camera, recording video in the event of a crash.

BMW came eighth in the 2025 Driver Power survey for owner satisfaction, which is a confidence inspiring result. Generally speaking, the X3 is one of BMW’s better cars when it comes to quality and longevity, and the fact that the iX3 has fewer moving parts (electric motors are way, way simpler than petrol or diesel engines) should make for fewer faults going forward.

All BMW i-badged electric models come with a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty and an extra eight-year 100,000-mile warranty for the battery.