BMW iX3 50 first look: what I found inside the Neue Klasse SUV, and what I couldn't open
A full walkaround of the new BMW iX3 50 xDrive right after picking it up: exterior details, the red interior, rear-seat space, the Panoramic iDrive menus, drive modes and the charging port.
With an electric car, the first thing I usually care about is consumption. This time I did the opposite. I picked up the new BMW iX3 50 xDrive, drove it for about 20–30 minutes to a quiet spot, and pointed the camera at every detail, from the front grille to the button that closes the charging port. I wanted to see what you actually get in the first SUV of BMW's Neue Klasse generation before talking about any numbers. All of it, including my beginner fumbles, is in the video on the "Mașina Timpului" channel.
What BMW says about the car in the video
To set the baseline, I checked the official figures in the "BMW Group" press kit. The iX3 50 xDrive has two electric motors and all-wheel drive, with 345 kW (469 hp) and 645 Nm, and does 0–100 km/h in 4.9 seconds. The battery holds 108.7 kWh usable on an 800 V architecture, and the quoted WLTP range is 679–805 km. The body is 4,782 mm long with a drag coefficient of 0.24. The boot starts at 520 litres and grows to 1,750 litres with the rear backrests folded, plus another 58 litres under the bonnet. The car is built at BMW's new plant in Debrecen, Hungary.
Exterior: details you miss in photos
At the front there is a camera with its own washer, which makes a real difference in winter when mud and road salt cover everything. The grille has active shutters, and there is a slot on the side of the front bumper. In the video I guessed it helps aerodynamics or brake cooling, but that is only my guess, not official information.
My car had BMW Individual wheels and M badges front and rear, and the rear diffuser suggests an M package. With the red interior, the spec looks great. The door handles release electrically: a light pull and the door opens, no mechanical effort needed.
The red interior and the rear seats
The first thing that impressed me was the red upholstery. It looked and smelled like real leather to me, but I did not check the exact specification of this car. Rear legroom is very generous: with the front passenger seat pushed quite far back, I still had plenty of room at 1.80 m tall.
For parents, the Isofix points hide under flaps in the same material that fold away easily. On the back of the front seats I found a mount I could not identify, probably for a tablet. Rear passengers get their own climate controls at the bottom of the centre console: I raised the temperature to 22, then 25 degrees, and opened or closed the airflow right there.
Panoramic iDrive: screens and menus
The dashboard is dominated by the BMW Panoramic Vision display running along the base of the windscreen and by the free-cut central screen positioned next to the steering wheel. The menus go deep. In a few taps I found the system language, 30-minute stationary climate, instant charging up to 80% and a 32 A AC current limit.
The Home menu showed local weather, suggestions, the ConnectedDrive app store, the personal assistant, BMW Maps, passenger airbag deactivation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus radio, video and TV. I did not find YouTube. The air vents are adjusted on screen: you can shut them all or open them all with a single gesture.
I tried the navigation with a real address, my optical store: 9 minutes of driving and arrival with 75% battery. Adding a charging stop along the way was very quick, and the system responded without lag.
Drive modes and start-up settings
The Personal mode can be customised: interface colour, background image, ambient lighting. In Eco, propulsion is set to efficient and steering to comfort, while Individual lets you choose propulsion, steering and energy recovery separately, with high, moderate, low or adaptive regeneration.
One detail I liked: you can choose which mode the car starts in, Personal, Efficient or the last one used. Sport is excluded as a start-up mode, and the car explains this with legal reasons.
Small surprises, good and less good
- The panoramic glass roof has no sunshade, at least on this car.
- A camera above the windscreen watches the driver, which supports the assistance features.
- The quick gear selector has P, R, N, D and B, and there is a storage compartment under the armrest.
- The boot is roomy, with an underfloor compartment holding the kit.
- I could not open the tailgate from the driver's door button, nor the front trunk. I am sure that is my inexperience with the car, not a fault.
- The charging port has a separate DC flap and a button that stops charging and closes the port.
How it feels
The car already had 1,500 km of test drives, yet it feels solid and serious, with a presence I used to feel in the Porsche 911 I owned. The acceleration did not strike me as more brutal than a Tesla's, but the car pulls progressively and strongly. My full driving impressions and the consumption I measured are in my cold-weather efficiency and fast-charging test of the iX3 50.
What it means for drivers
- Give yourself time with the menus. Panoramic iDrive packs a lot of features; not finding everything in the first days is normal.
- Charging settings are easy to reach. The 80% limit and the AC current can be set right from the screen, handy if you charge at home.
- Families get real rear space, with hidden Isofix points and separate climate controls.
- Check the equipment on the exact car. Wheels, the M package and the interior vary a lot between configurations, and so does the price.
