One of the most important cars in the Bavarian pipeline is the BMW iX3. While it’s not as sexy as the upcoming M8 Gran Coupe or as exciting as the upcoming M3, the iX3 is without question one of the most important. That’s because it gives BMW another fully-electric car and one in a very popular segment at the moment. So when some new spy photos emerge, we take notice. (We don’t own the spy photos but you can see them here)
In these new spy photos, we can see that the BMW iX3 will look less like the Concept we saw a while back and more like a regular X3. That’s not a bad thing, as the new X3 is a handsome car, but it might be disappointing to some fans who wanted something more radical looking. Though, it’s likely a smart idea to keep it normal looking, as it will attract more traditional customers.
At the front, there’s a bunch of camouflage on this test mule but we can see that it will look pretty similar to a normal X3. The main differences will be with its new Kidney Grilles and its lower front fascia. The new grilles will either be closed plastic jobs, as they are on most new electric cars or only allow for minimal airflow. The latter might be there to help cool the batteries, as they are on the Audi e-tron and Jaguar I-Pace. It also seems as if the front air intakes at the lower front lip will be mostly gone, though there could be some from brake cooling.
We’re not sure if the BMW iX3 will share the same conjoined Kidney Grilles as the Concept, as we can’t tell in the spy photos. However, we don’t expect it to.
Powering the BMW iX3 will be a single electric motor powering the rear wheels, making between 260 and 270 hp. That will be powered by a 70 kWh battery, giving it about 249 miles of range on the WLTP cycle.
We’re excited to see what becomes of the BMW iX3. It’s going to be a very interesting car for the brand moving forward and could becoming a very big hit, depending on its pricing and real-world range.
