FiestaST
Honorary Master
MotorMatters review of the new X3 M50
-
Join the MyBroadband community
South Africa’s biggest forum. Discuss, discover, and connect with thousands of members.
-
Question of the Day: Google Maps vs Waze vs Apple Maps vs physical paper maps?
The BMW X3 Thread
- Thread starter FiestaST
- Start date
FiestaST
Honorary Master
FiestaST
Honorary Master
FiestaST
Honorary Master
BMW X3: Not your average SUV review
On Tuesday, I had the rare opportunity to test drive a fancy new 2025 BMW X3, and the experience—as someone who is definitely not a petrolhead—was one to remember.
Since I normally write about every sport except motorsport, it was a refreshing change of pace as I was granted the opportunity to test drive the luxury SUV as part of the Win a BMW X3 competition, which you can enter here.
The first thing that struck me about this car was its sheer size, and I was instantly a little intimidated by the fact that I would be taking this tank out on the road, where I would likely encounter some tight corners and many potholes in Midrand.
As the X3 base model starts at over R1m, I was clearly not part of its target market, but that thought disappeared as soon as I got into the driver’s seat.
On Tuesday, I had the rare opportunity to test drive a fancy new 2025 BMW X3, and the experience—as someone who is definitely not a petrolhead—was one to remember.
Since I normally write about every sport except motorsport, it was a refreshing change of pace as I was granted the opportunity to test drive the luxury SUV as part of the Win a BMW X3 competition, which you can enter here.
The first thing that struck me about this car was its sheer size, and I was instantly a little intimidated by the fact that I would be taking this tank out on the road, where I would likely encounter some tight corners and many potholes in Midrand.
As the X3 base model starts at over R1m, I was clearly not part of its target market, but that thought disappeared as soon as I got into the driver’s seat.
FiestaST
Honorary Master
What Car? review of the new iX3
FiestaST
Honorary Master
CAR Magazine (UK) review of the new iX3
FiestaST
Honorary Master
Drive.com.au review of the new iX3
FiestaST
Honorary Master
Electrifying review of the new iX3
FiestaST
Honorary Master
Autogefuhl review of the new iX3
FiestaST
Honorary Master
FiestaST
Honorary Master
BMW iX3 (2025) International Launch Review
Summary
In my 25 years of driving new cars, I don’t think I’ve piloted a car that so comprehensively rewrites the existing rulebook. The new iX3 is not only a pivotal car for BMW, but for the evolution of the EV in general.
With its usable range, fast-charging capability, stunningly fresh interior design and sensible, intuitive tech, the iX3 answers every possible argument you attempt to make against EVs with laughable ease, and will force the rest of the industry to react quickly.
For South Africans, of course, the EV situation is not as straightforward. The roll-out of 800 V chargers, necessary to make use of the iX3’s rapid charging talents, has started, but they’re not exactly ubiquitous yet. Ironically, it looks like Chinese rival BYD might help South Africa out a fair bit in that regard.
And then you may want to make the price argument… But the latter is becoming a difficult one to win against the iX3, too. BMW South Africa says it doesn’t want price to be the deciding factor for buyers choosing between an X3 and iX3, and so will aim for price parity between the models when the iX3 lands locally.
Overall, then, the new BMW iX3 is a massively promising start to the Neue Klasse generation and, given its dynamic excellence, bodes well for high-performance BMW sedans and coupes, too. It sets a very heady new standard.
Summary
In my 25 years of driving new cars, I don’t think I’ve piloted a car that so comprehensively rewrites the existing rulebook. The new iX3 is not only a pivotal car for BMW, but for the evolution of the EV in general.
With its usable range, fast-charging capability, stunningly fresh interior design and sensible, intuitive tech, the iX3 answers every possible argument you attempt to make against EVs with laughable ease, and will force the rest of the industry to react quickly.
For South Africans, of course, the EV situation is not as straightforward. The roll-out of 800 V chargers, necessary to make use of the iX3’s rapid charging talents, has started, but they’re not exactly ubiquitous yet. Ironically, it looks like Chinese rival BYD might help South Africa out a fair bit in that regard.
And then you may want to make the price argument… But the latter is becoming a difficult one to win against the iX3, too. BMW South Africa says it doesn’t want price to be the deciding factor for buyers choosing between an X3 and iX3, and so will aim for price parity between the models when the iX3 lands locally.
Overall, then, the new BMW iX3 is a massively promising start to the Neue Klasse generation and, given its dynamic excellence, bodes well for high-performance BMW sedans and coupes, too. It sets a very heady new standard.
FiestaST
Honorary Master
FiestaST
Honorary Master
FiestaST
Honorary Master
First Drive: 2026 BMW iX3
Verdict
There’s alacrity here, levity, and a nimbleness that I’ve missed in these punchy SUV-types. There’s a sense of wheel placement, playfulness, and even optimism as I begin to wonder what Neue Klasse will look and feel like when BMW uses it as a base for other forthcoming products, including its performance saloons.
BMW iX3 50 xDrive specifications
Price: TBC
Powertrain: synchronous electric motors, front + rear
Transmission: single-speed automatic
Driven wheels: all
Power: 345 kW
Torque: 645 N.m
0-100 km/h: 4.9 seconds (claimed)
Top speed: 210 km/h (claimed)
Fuel consumption: 15.1 kWh/100 km (claimed)
Range: >800 km
www.carmag.co.za
Verdict
There’s alacrity here, levity, and a nimbleness that I’ve missed in these punchy SUV-types. There’s a sense of wheel placement, playfulness, and even optimism as I begin to wonder what Neue Klasse will look and feel like when BMW uses it as a base for other forthcoming products, including its performance saloons.
BMW iX3 50 xDrive specifications
Price: TBC
Powertrain: synchronous electric motors, front + rear
Transmission: single-speed automatic
Driven wheels: all
Power: 345 kW
Torque: 645 N.m
0-100 km/h: 4.9 seconds (claimed)
Top speed: 210 km/h (claimed)
Fuel consumption: 15.1 kWh/100 km (claimed)
Range: >800 km
First Drive: 2026 BMW iX3
Scheduled to arrive in SA in the third quarter of 2026, we sample the new iX3 at its in Spain. First impressions here...
www.carmag.co.za
FiestaST
Honorary Master
BMW iX3 50 xDrive Neue Klasse shows tremendous results in a highway range test
In an extensive YouTube review by popular YouTuber @CarManiac_Chris of the new BMW iX3 50 Neue Klasse we see the car pull an impressive performance in the real world. We should be posting our own review of the iX3 in the near future, but for now we’ll have to rely on others’ impressions to get a more complete picture of the Neue Klasse.
A common concern for EVs is range. The new iX3 addresses that with a huge battery, but also excellent efficiency.
His first test is for city efficiency. That is a broad statement and cannot be replicated easily as there are many variables like speed, stops, acceleration, driver input, topographic characteristics, road condition and many more. In that segment the iX3 50 used 20.2 kWh/100km, which isn’t particularly impressive.
We see that this value is based on a 28-minute drive for a distance of 9.9 km at 15°C ambient temperature. This means that the average speed was just over 21 km/h. The values are all not uncommon for urban driving, especially with a lot of stop-and-go traffic.
Interestingly, almost 31% of the overall consumption for this period was from the A/C unit. Given the outside temperature of 15°C and the interior being set to 21°C, this means that either the air conditioner is highly inefficient or the car was stationary for a long time before setting off.
The highway test is more scientific as it was done in a similar way to our own testing. Chris set the cruise control to 130 km/h and drove for almost 30 km. We do the same thing but in both directions to eliminate variation caused by elevation change and wind.
The average consumption was 21.5 kWh/100km and the average speed he drove was 123 km/h with an ambient temperature of 18°C.
www.arenaev.com
In an extensive YouTube review by popular YouTuber @CarManiac_Chris of the new BMW iX3 50 Neue Klasse we see the car pull an impressive performance in the real world. We should be posting our own review of the iX3 in the near future, but for now we’ll have to rely on others’ impressions to get a more complete picture of the Neue Klasse.
A common concern for EVs is range. The new iX3 addresses that with a huge battery, but also excellent efficiency.
His first test is for city efficiency. That is a broad statement and cannot be replicated easily as there are many variables like speed, stops, acceleration, driver input, topographic characteristics, road condition and many more. In that segment the iX3 50 used 20.2 kWh/100km, which isn’t particularly impressive.
We see that this value is based on a 28-minute drive for a distance of 9.9 km at 15°C ambient temperature. This means that the average speed was just over 21 km/h. The values are all not uncommon for urban driving, especially with a lot of stop-and-go traffic.
Interestingly, almost 31% of the overall consumption for this period was from the A/C unit. Given the outside temperature of 15°C and the interior being set to 21°C, this means that either the air conditioner is highly inefficient or the car was stationary for a long time before setting off.
The highway test is more scientific as it was done in a similar way to our own testing. Chris set the cruise control to 130 km/h and drove for almost 30 km. We do the same thing but in both directions to eliminate variation caused by elevation change and wind.
The average consumption was 21.5 kWh/100km and the average speed he drove was 123 km/h with an ambient temperature of 18°C.
BMW iX3 50 xDrive Neue Klasse shows tremendous results in a highway range test
The new BMW iX3 50 xDrive Neue Klasse gets driven in the real world and the range on a single charge is impressive.
www.arenaev.com
FiestaST
Honorary Master
FiestaST
Honorary Master
BMW launches three new M apps, enhances the My BMW app too
BMW has announced new in-car apps today as well as some improvements to the My BMW app. The new apps are M Cockpit, M Drag Meter, and M Channel, and they're now available worldwide as part of the BMW Digital Premium Package for the new iX3 with M Sport Package and M Sport Package Pro.
In the future, they will also become available to owners of other BMW M models which have the BMW Operating System X.
M Cockpit gives you real-time insights into your car, visualizing "a variety of values" related to driving dynamics, chassis, powertrain, and geodata, while offering a high degree of customization. You can configure up to five dashboards for the central display, each showing the real-time data you want.
M Drag Meter is, as the name implies, designed to be used on drag strips. It gamifies your drag races, displays specific acceleration and deceleration values, and your reaction time when sprinting from standstill, thanks to GPS-supported speed and distance measurements. You can view up to four measurement criteria and their results simultaneously on the central display.
www.arenaev.com
BMW has announced new in-car apps today as well as some improvements to the My BMW app. The new apps are M Cockpit, M Drag Meter, and M Channel, and they're now available worldwide as part of the BMW Digital Premium Package for the new iX3 with M Sport Package and M Sport Package Pro.
In the future, they will also become available to owners of other BMW M models which have the BMW Operating System X.
M Cockpit gives you real-time insights into your car, visualizing "a variety of values" related to driving dynamics, chassis, powertrain, and geodata, while offering a high degree of customization. You can configure up to five dashboards for the central display, each showing the real-time data you want.
M Drag Meter is, as the name implies, designed to be used on drag strips. It gamifies your drag races, displays specific acceleration and deceleration values, and your reaction time when sprinting from standstill, thanks to GPS-supported speed and distance measurements. You can view up to four measurement criteria and their results simultaneously on the central display.
BMW launches three new M apps, enhances the My BMW app too
M Cockpit, M Drag Meter, and M Channel are here.
www.arenaev.com
FiestaST
Honorary Master
FiestaST
Honorary Master