Yesterday I participated in the BMW iX3 test drive event, and I would like to give special thanks to @FeiLeShi-MoGuomin and @JiaxingJunBaoXing-BMW 4S Store Manager Xia for giving me the opportunity to test drive the BMW pure electric SUV – iX3 for a long period of time. Here are my impressions and personal record.
Exterior and Interior:
The appearance of the BMW iX3 is almost identical to the traditional X3, except for some small details. This may be a good thing for consumers with traditional mindsets, but for those who are willing to purchase an electric car, they are more likely to want a more distinctive appearance or a design style with more sense of technology.
Power and Suspension:
This car is equipped with a rear-wheel drive with a power of 210 kilowatts and a torque of 400 Nm, and is equipped with an 80-degree battery (usable 74 degrees). During the actual driving experience, I used the Sports mode for most of the time, and the acceleration feeling completely exceeded the traditional X3 with a 2.0T engine. It can even challenge the big brother X5. Traditional consumers can quickly adapt to the accelerator pedal feeling.
In terms of ride comfort, I feel that it is more comfortable than the traditional X3, and the confidence to change lanes is significantly stronger than that of the Ideal ONE. At this time, the car will tell you “I’m still a BMW”.
Infotainment System:
The overall system is the iDrive system of a traditional BMW gasoline vehicle, with a slight addition of electric vehicle control content. Friends who are familiar with BMW will find it easy to use. As for voice interaction, it is a disaster that cannot be expected too much.
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems:
The overall operating logic of the ADAS system leans towards the traditional method, but it is much easier to use than the system on the Lei car. When it is activated, it can be visually displayed on the dashboard, but not as well as Tesla and Weilipeng. Combined with the HUD, it is quite good.
I tried it in both the urban area and the suburbs, and found that the lane-keeping ability and following rhythm were very good. Hopefully, I will have the opportunity to try it on the expressway and make a conclusion.
Highlights
Dynamically displayed available rangeI don’t know why the new forces like NIO, Li Auto, and XPeng do not have dynamic range display, while traditional car manufacturers such as Volkswagen ID4 and BMW iX3 have it.
This is definitely more beneficial than harmful for car owners. They can intuitively know how much remaining range they have under current road conditions and driving habits. In fact, the technological complexity of this feature is low, and the only reason not to do it is the self-deception of making the range display look better.
The “B” gear of the BMW iX3 has the strongest kinetic energy recovery in the single pedal mode, and there are four modes available in the normal “D” gear, namely high, medium, low, and adaptive.
I am particularly interested in the adaptive kinetic energy recovery mode, which combines the ACC millimeter-wave radar ranging module with the kinetic energy recovery system.
When the distance to the front vehicle is far, releasing the throttle results in weak kinetic energy recovery, similar to a coasting mode.
When the distance to the front vehicle is close, releasing the throttle results in the intelligent judgment of the relative speed to the front vehicle. If the front vehicle is decelerating, the kinetic energy recovery becomes stronger. If the front vehicle does not slow down, the kinetic energy recovery is in medium gear. Basically, this achieves the function of a semi-automatic ACC. After getting used to it at intersections and traffic lights in the city, I feel it is very special and quite easy to use.
I haven’t experienced this on other electric cars yet, so I think NIO, Li Auto, and XPeng should consider catching up with the research and development of adaptive kinetic energy recovery. It should be able to optimize the overall experience even better.
After a brief test drive, I think the BMW iX3 is a highly-completed pure electric SUV based on the BMW X3 platform. It has its own ideas and innovations in some functional areas, and is a good choice for traditional consumers in restricted plate cities.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.