The German company’s latest electric car is also capable of receiving a 371km charging boost in 10 minutes
The mid-sized SUV, the first of the brand’s Neue Klasse platform, has an 108kw battery which can charge up to 371km in range in 10 minutes if the maximum 400kw speed is available.
The version to be launched in Ireland in March, the iX3 50 xDrive, is an all-wheel drive vehicle that accelerates from zero to 100kph in 4.9 seconds with 469 horsepower under the hood and peak torque of 645Nm.
BMW says that it will cost from €73,925 on the road, has a top speed of 209kph and has a WLTP range of between 677km and 805km on a single charge.
Part of the reason for its extended range, BMW says, is a claimed 40pc reduction in “energy losses” and a 10pc reduction in the car’s weight. A new cylindrical cell design in the batteries also means 20pc higher energy density and 30pc faster charging speeds, the company claims.
At home, it charges at 11kw or 22kw if an “AC Charging Professional” package is added.
The new ‘Panoramic iDrive’ system ditches traditional dash gauges in favour of futuristic 3D heads-up displays that go right across the base of the entire windshield.
There’s also a central, lower-placed console screen and a new steering wheel.
The iDrive twirling control dial, which has been in place for two decades, is being retired.
BMW’s ‘Panoramic iDrive’ consists, the company says, of four key components: the BMW Panoramic Vision display, which spans the entire windscreen, the optional BMW 3D Head-Up Display, featuring integrated navigation and automated driving information with spatial depth, the driver-oriented newly designed ‘Central Display’ and the new multi-function steering wheel, which serves as the primary physical control point.
The ‘Panoramic Vision’ bit of its new ‘Panoramic iDrive’ system is, BMW says, designed so that you’re looking a lot more in the direction of the road than at controls, knobs, screens and dials lower down the front of the car.
BMW’s Neue Klasse platform aims to reset the company’s driving ecosystem for the next few years, especially on the user-interface and technology front.
It will also allow the cockpit area to be customisable with multiple profiles, which may be used in different cars.
“The Neue Klasse is our biggest future-focused project and marks a huge leap forward in terms of technologies, driving experience and design,” said Oliver Zipse, chairman of BMW’s board of management at the car’s launch in Munich.
“Practically everything about it is new, yet it is also more BMW than ever. Our whole product range will benefit from the innovations brought by the Neue Klasse, whichever drive system technology is employed. The BMW iX3 is the first Neue Klasse model to go into series production. We are not only bringing the next generation of one of our most successful fully electric vehicles onto the road, we are launching a new era.”