Article Summary
- The iX4’s 490-liter trunk is 30 liters smaller than the iX3’s but 20 liters bigger than the i4 eDrive40’s.
- Standard M Sport and a full-length glass roof shrink the gap to about $700 against a similarly equipped iX3.
- The iX4 50 xDrive starts at $66,200 before destination and reaches US dealers in March 2027.
For three years, our BMW i4 eDrive40 has been a great family car. Its only dealer visits were two quick fixes to the AC system, and nobody babied it: it’s been a daily driver through winters, snow and potholes. Now it’s almost time to replace it, and the car I expected to order is no longer my first choice. The new favorite is the BMW iX4, even though it costs $4,700 more than the iX3 before destination.
How The iX4 Went From Dark Horse To Front-Runner
The shortlist started with one name: the iX3 (NA5), the first Neue Klasse model. Then I drove the i3 (NA0). I love it for its driving dynamics, range and charging, but back seat space ruled it out for a family with one child in a car seat and another in a high-back booster.
The dark horse showed up in Aix-en-Provence, where I spent some time with the iX4 (NA7). I’ve always liked BMW’s coupe SUVs from a distance but never owned one, because I assumed the rear seat and trunk gave up too much. After seeing all three cars last week, it’s down to the iX3 and the iX4, and the iX4 is ahead. Below the beltline, the two are the same car, down to the 2,897-mm (114.1-inch) wheelbase, but the iX4’s roof sits 40 mm (1.6 inches) lower. It replaces the G02 X4, which ended production in 2025 without a gas-powered successor.
Why The Neue Klasse Design Works Better As A Coupe
To my eye, the Neue Klasse look works better on the iX4, and the rear end is why. There’s no roof spoiler hanging over the rear window. The standard full-length glass roof flows cleanly into the rear windshield, and the only spoiler is a lip on the tailgate. The iX3’s upright tailgate is the more practical shape, and it looks it. The coupe is also slipperier, with a 0.23 drag coefficient against the iX3’s 0.24, and that pays off in the European range figures.
How Much Rear Seat Space Do You Give Up In The iX4?
Less than I expected. Legroom shouldn’t change, since the wheelbase is shared. BMW hasn’t published the iX4’s rear headroom, but the iX3 has 979 mm (38.5 inches). Even if the iX4 lost the full 40 mm over the back seat, which BMW says it doesn’t, it would land at 939 mm, within 5 mm of the 944 mm (37.2 inches) my kids have in the i4 today. For a car seat and a booster, headroom is the wrong number to worry about anyway. What I care about is leaning in to buckle a car seat, and the iX4 still stands 147 mm (5.8 inches) taller than the i4.
The iX4’s Trunk Is Smaller Than The iX3’s, But Bigger Than Our i4’s
The iX4 has 490 liters (17.3 cubic feet) behind the rear seats, 30 liters less than the iX3. Fold the seats and the gap grows to 150 liters. The front end is carried over, so both get the same 58-liter (2.0-cubic-foot) frunk, which is where the charging cable lives. The last column tells me the most: the iX4’s trunk is 20 liters bigger than the i4’s, and it adds a frunk the i4 never had. With few road trips planned, the iX3’s extra space would mostly ride around empty. If you fold the seats every weekend, though, that 150-liter gap is the best reason to pick the iX3.
| iX3 50 xDrive | iX4 50 xDrive | i4 eDrive40 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trunk, seats up | 520 liters (18.4 cu ft) | 490 liters (17.3 cu ft) | 470 liters (16.6 cu ft) |
| Trunk, seats folded | 1,750 liters (61.8 cu ft) | 1,600 liters (56.5 cu ft) | 1,290 liters (45.6 cu ft) |
| Frunk | 58 liters (2.0 cu ft) | 58 liters (2.0 cu ft) | None |
| Rear headroom | 979 mm (38.5 in) | 975 mm (38.4 in) | 944 mm (37.2 in) |
| Height (European spec) | 1,635 mm (64.4 in) | 1,595 mm (62.8 in) | 1,448 mm (57.0 in) |
Great Range For Both SUVs
Both cars use the same battery pack, listed at 108.7 kWh usable in Europe and 112.2 kWh in the US because of different rating rules, not different hardware. In Europe, the iX4 50 xDrive is rated at up to 828 km (514 miles) WLTP, 23 km more than the iX3. In the US, the iX3 50 xDrive is EPA-rated at up to 434 miles on 20-inch summer tires and 383 miles on the standard all-seasons, while BMW’s preliminary estimate for the iX4 is 384 to 428 miles. On all-season tires, which our i4 has worn through three winters, that’s a one-mile difference.
Both charge at up to 400 kW and go from 10 to 80 percent in about 21 minutes. That peak rate is roughly double our i4’s 205 kW, and both add the front motor and xDrive that the rear-drive i4 lacks. Since road trips are rare for us, range was never going to decide this one.
How Much More Does The iX4 Cost Than The iX3?
In the US, the iX4 50 xDrive starts at $66,200 before destination, $4,700 more than the iX3 50 xDrive’s $61,500. With destination ($1,495 for the iX4, $1,350 for the iX3 at its launch), it’s $67,695 against $62,850. The gap shrinks once you equip the iX3 like an iX4. The M Sport Package that’s standard on every iX4 is a $2,500 option on the iX3, and the iX3’s panoramic roof comes in the $1,500 Comfort Package. That adds up to $65,500, $700 short of the iX4, which adds blue-caliper M Sport brakes on top.
M Sport doesn’t make the iX4 an M car. It’s a design and equipment package: 20-inch M wheels, M Sport exterior and interior elements, a sport steering wheel and those blue brakes. But if you’d have put M Sport and the glass roof on an iX3 anyway, the coupe shape costs about $700, not $4,700.
Why I’m Leaning iX4, And What Could Still Change My Mind
For my family, the iX3’s advantages are mostly space we wouldn’t use. The iX4 still gives us a bigger trunk than the i4, a frunk, a taller roof, all-wheel drive and double the charging speed, in the version of the Neue Klasse design I’d rather see in the driveway.
Two things could still flip it. The first is the back seat: until I’ve clipped our own car seat into an iX4 and buckled a kid in, the rear door opening under that roofline is the one compromise I haven’t tested. The second is timing. The iX3 is in showrooms now, while the iX4 50 xDrive doesn’t reach US dealers until March 2027. The i4 has to leave before spring, the iX3 could win by default but maybe timing will work out in the end.
For years, I wouldn’t have put a coupe SUV on a family shortlist. This time, one is at the top of mine.
