The locally-built BMW X3 has been quite the success story for the Bavarian carmaker, but as European brands start transitioning to electrification, it was only a matter of time before mainstream electric models came to our shores. We’re not talking about uniquely styled anomalies like the i3 and i8, which have their place, of course, but rather your run-of-the-mill family SUVs that have swapped out a petrol/diesel motor for an electric powertrain.
What you see here looks like your normal BMW X3, but it’s actually the all-new and all-electric BMW iX3. Subtle styling touches like the closed grille, aerodynamic wheels and discrete iX3 badging let you know this is the electric version.
Inside, the cabin gets unique styling touches like a blue start/stop button and blue detailing on the gear selector.
Powering the 2022 BMW iX3 is an electric motor that’s packaged with the gearbox and electronics in one single housing. Outputs are rated at 210 kW and 400 Nm, and BMW says its updated iX3 is good for a 0-100 kph of just 6.8 seconds and a top speed of 180 kph.
Power consumption is said to be18.9–21.6kWh/100km and the vehicle has a range of 440-505 km based on the WLTP cycle, thanks to an 80 kWh battery.Fast-charging is available and a 10-minute charge from a 150 kW charger will give you around 100 km of range.
At this stage, specification details are not yet available, but we can see from the BMW SA price list that the model sold in our market will come with an M Sport kit. We’ll update our story when we receive the specs from BMW SA, but given its pricing, we expect it to come fully loaded with BMW Head-Up Display and Harman Kardon Surround Sound System to name but a few.
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