Riding on the wave of new energy vehicles

In response to the current wave of new energy vehicles, domestic new car makers have sprung up like mushrooms, while many domestic and foreign traditional car companies have also accelerated their research and development and production. Even top luxury brands that we know have begun to make efforts, relying on the advantage of hybrid models in the past few years to gain sales in restricted cities.

Sales “Little Mingzhu”

With increasingly stringent new energy vehicle registration regulations in recent years and rocket-like increases in oil prices, the three major German auto giants, BBA, have also begun to focus on pure electric vehicles, launching three models that I believe are representative pure electric benchmark competitors: “Audi e-tron, Mercedes-Benz EQC, and BMW iX3”. However, compared to Tesla and domestic new forces that break through ten thousand sales every month, it still seems a bit difficult to compete.

After I consulted the sales ranking on the garage official website, I gained a “brand-new” understanding: in the TOP20 SUV+MPV sales list from May to October 2021 nationwide, only the BMW iX3 remained, with a ranking fluctuating around 16-18. On the contrary, the other two competitors, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, did not even appear on the list? (Data source comes from the number of registered insurance policies. Compared with production, this data can more accurately describe the real market situation and does not include imported models.)

With this doubt, I went to Guizhou and participated in the two-day test drive event for the new BMW iX3. As soon as I arrived at the event venue, I was attracted by the title on the poster –

“Every journey is extraordinary”?

Is this “completely” new design?

The next morning, as soon as I finished breakfast and went downstairs, I saw dozens of brand-new 2022 iX3s parked below.

At first sight of the new iX3, I was immediately attracted by the new headlights. The headlights of the new model are flatter, and the internal details have been redesigned. The previous U-shaped daytime running lights have been changed to the twin L-shaped design of the new 5 series, with dual lenses inside. The whole front looks quite spiritual.The turn signals of the taillights have become C-shaped, and the redesigned taillight assembly now uses LED technology, resulting in a more delicate and refined display effect when lit. Additionally, a smoky black effect has been added.

This is the “brand-new” design of the 2022 iX3. As an annual minor facelift, there are no major changes to the exterior design, but the details have been meticulously polished and enhanced.

In terms of power, the new iX3 still uses the rear-wheel drive layout of the 2021 model. The motor has a maximum output power of 210 kW and a maximum torque of 400 N·m. This power level exceeds that of the current petrol version X3. Although this data cannot be called powerful, it is enough to allow a 2.2-ton pure electric SUV to complete flexible overtaking and lane-changing on urban roads.The exclusive M-Sport package logo on the front fenders, wheels, and welcome trim, as well as the ubiquitous blue decoration of the BMW “i,” remind me of the sporty pure electric SUV I’m driving at all times.

Mixed Reviews?

At this point, I recalled many community users’ reviews of BBA’s current pure electric car models. “They are just oil to electric conversion cars during the electrification transformation era,” “The cruising range claims to be 500 kilometers, but it may only be able to run over 300 kilometers,” “The car is so heavy after being converted to pure electric, the handling must be poor.”

The cruising range remains at the same level as the old model at 500 kilometers. The power battery pack still uses Ningde Times 811 ternary lithium battery, with a total capacity of 80 kWh, and an actual available capacity of 74 kWh. Due to the battery pack’s special nature, the iX3’s battery pack has also been specially taken care of during development, with multiple reinforcing beams inside the battery pack making the battery module itself an energy-absorbing structure, and a buffer space reserved between the battery module and the shell.

Truthful Battery Status

However, I was shocked when I saw the instrument panel showing almost fully charged, but only 355 kilometers of cruising range. I quickly sent a picture to the group and asked my friends, only to find out that it was the real-time estimation of the state of charge (SOC) calculated based on the driver’s driving habits, which is much more accurate than many manufacturers’ NEDC and CLTC cruising range claims.# Translation

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It’s admittedly honest that although it’s not like some domestic manufacturers that run three kilometers and lose three kilometers of electricity, but it’s really a bit too little!

In my thoughts, the instruction to prepare to set off came over the intercom. Wait a minute! I haven’t seen the interior yet!

In the era of electrification, has the definition of luxury changed?

Some people say that in the era of electrification, the definition of luxury has already changed. In the past, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, BMW 7-Series, and Audi A8 were almost the representative luxury car models engraved in everyone’s minds. So, in the era of electrification, at such a time when almost all major manufacturers are launching high-end brands, is the definition of luxury still the same as what we remember?

As I open the rear door to pack my bags, for an early imported BMW user, this interior has overturned my impression of BMW Brilliance. The elongated rear seat cushion supports the part of my thighs closest to the knee socket well, without feeling like sitting on a small bench. The seat cushion and backrest also form a corner that allows me to comfortably lie in the back seat. The headroom surprisingly has two and a half fists of space, and there is no sense of suppression as I had imagined, and it can ensure that I will not hit the roof on bumpy roads.

The seat filling is intentionally softer than the overseas version; the front and rear seatbacks adopt a square perforated design. The rear seats also thoughtfully come standard with two headrests with an exceptional suede-like texture; I wonder why they didn’t equip the front seats with them?“`markdown

I couldn’t wait to open the front door and adjust the driver’s seat to my most comfortable posture. When I came to the back row, I found that there was still a distance of two fists. Although I couldn’t cross my legs in the back seat (mainly because I couldn’t, and it was inconvenient to demonstrate), there is still a considerable amount of space to move back and forth and left and right.

I am not surprised to see the independent air conditioning and two Type-C charging interfaces in the back seat of this iX3. This luxury mid-size SUV should have this level of configuration.

“`Arriving at the trunk, thanks to its hatchback design, the depth and opening size of the trunk are practical enough. While ensuring sufficient cabin space, a large trunk space is also left empty. The originally horizontally placed long umbrella is intentionally placed vertically, and the trunk can still be opened and closed normally. An 18-inch suitcase takes up only a small amount of space. No matter up, down, front, or back, several boxes of the same size can still be placed to meet daily travel needs.

Can’t Have Both Control and Comfort?

During the rainy October in Guizhou, the continuous downpour made the already cold Guiyang even colder. 20 minutes before departure, I turned on the seat heating and warm air in second gear. With the departure command in the intercom, I followed the lead of the driving instructor and set off. A caravan of more than 20 iX3s on the road was eye-catching.

As we were about to leave the city area and encountered a high flow of traffic, with the instructor’s intercom prompting “follow closely,” in the moment before I could understand the meaning, the lead car had already passed a slow car. At this time, I flicked the paddle on the right side. Because I had previously set the paddle to switch driving modes (or kinetic recovery strength), I went directly into Sport mode. One foot on the accelerator, one hand on the steering wheel. In an instant, I suddenly realized that this was a slippery road surface and that this was a rear-wheel-drive model, as well as an SUV model with MacPherson suspension. I couldn’t help but feel a little afraid. But the next second, the scene I imagined of the rear wheels skidding and dynamic instability did not occur. Only the anti-slip warning light flashing by on the dashboard told me that I had just completed an extremely extreme overtaking maneuver without any hesitation, and I could clearly feel the rear of the car quickly recovering its posture. I breathed a sigh of relief~The front suspension of the iX3 utilizes a double-wishbone spring and damper strut independent suspension similar to that of the X3, while the rear suspension features a multi-link independent suspension, which is a common form of suspension used in BMW models. In essence, this is still a modified McPherson suspension, which is why it is referred to as a modified McPherson independent suspension (but I still don’t like McPherson), because it turns the single A-shaped lower control arm of the traditional McPherson suspension structure into two, resulting in two hinge points between the two lower control arms and the bearing housing, and the rear-rear-drive structure also allows the front axle to avoid the mutual interference of driving and steering forces (commonly known as understeer).

After getting on the highway, I did not see everyone turning on the cruise control as I had imagined. The lead car led us to fly at a speed fluctuating between the upper and lower limits of the speed limit sign. As the second car of the convoy, I was thrown off by the lead car several times. However, I gradually discovered that the car was unusually quiet inside, with the smallest tire and wind noise I have ever experienced in an electric car, thanks to its double-layer laminated glass and excellent NVH.

Since I was left behind by the live Bimmers, I decided to switch to Comfort mode, after all, safety comes first on wet and slippery roads. In Comfort mode, the iX3’s standard adaptive suspension can filter out most of the bumps and poor road feedback, but when I switch to “Sport” mode, the suspension immediately provides me with sufficient support to confidently maintain high speeds through some high-speed highway curves with large radii.>同时iX3那四条ADVAN Sport V107轮胎是宝马专门找优科豪马合作研发的，或许很多用户对这个牌子不太熟悉，毕竟现在许多厂商动不动就用上米其林的PS4或者倍耐力的P-ZERO轮胎，对于这个品牌的高性能轮胎大部分用户知之甚少，V107轮胎它的滚动阻力性能和湿地性能均获得欧洲标签系统中的「A」级最高水平，再配合降低风阻的轮毂设计，对于降低电耗和抑制 NVH 有着不错的效果。

我问了同车的媒体，得到的回复是「这或许就是大厂的细节」

模拟声浪到底有没有必要

突然想起了昨晚WorkShop时提到的模拟声浪，对于一位燃油性能车车主（M4，C63和RS3），之前在一些电动车上听过可以被称之为「噪音」的又难听又尴尬的模拟声浪，已经对这个功能提不起兴趣了，之前超车时紧张的状况也让我无暇顾及Sport模式下的模拟声浪，现在的车内又处于「夸张的安静」，据产品经理昨晚提到的，本次的模拟声浪是花了好几千万请了「007：无暇赴死」和「盗梦空间」的配音大师汉斯·季默（Hans Zimmer）调配的，随着电门踏板的踩下，声浪模拟系统将声调变得浑厚低沉又具有爆发力，甚至还模仿出了涡轮增压时的声音，放开踏板，又模仿出降档时的声浪，不愧是大师体验完M5 Competition后有感而发调教的声浪模拟。（奈何没体验过M5C下次有机会体验一下）

Although electric cars are indeed quieter than petrol cars while driving, they have lost some driving pleasure to some extent. Generating a (pleasant) sound wave artificially can indeed help the driver to regain the pleasure of driving a fuel-efficient car to a certain extent.

Final Words

With the cold and humid air and muddy roads in Guizhou, my test drive journey also came to an end.

To go back to the beginning, among the traditional BBA giants, BMW iX3’s sales are far ahead of Mercedes-Benz and Audi, which shows that BMW currently has a better product strength in electrification than its competitors in Mercedes-Benz and Audi. However, we also see that the sales of new forces far surpass traditional OEMs on the consumer side. In terms of intelligence, BMW’s deep integration with Carplay is currently lagging behind domestic new forces in AI voice, openness, customization, and other aspects.

At this point, I have a rough idea of ​​the iX3 user group, which is probably a group of people who want to buy a traditional fuel-efficient car for between 350,000 to 400,000 RMB, but are restricted by license plate issues. Therefore, compared to the same level of BBA models, they chose the iX3.

So, do you know anyone who owns an iX3? What are they like?

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.