BMW iX3 ‘Neue Klasse’ REVEALED with 500-mile range and prices from £58,755

The new BMW iX3 arrives as BMW’s first ‘Neue Klasse’ model, boasting a 500-mile range, 463bhp and prices from £58,755.

We got our first look at BMW’s Neue Klasse future – a reboot of the 1960s Neue Klasse – set to define BMW’s EV future with the reveal of the Vision Neue Klasse X concept early last year, with a look at its new Panoramic iDrive at the start of this year. Now we get the whole kit and caboodle with the reveal of the new BMW iX3.

Much of what we see in the looks of the iX3 is carried over from the Neue Klasse Concept we saw last year – minus fripperies like cameras for door mirrors – with a sensible size upright kidney grille, clean surfacing, and absence of butch cladding so beloved of SUVs, big tail lights, roof spoiler and a profile which still says ‘X3’.

Inside is also very familiar from the Panoramic iDrive photos we saw earlier this year, with its full-width digital display and HUD, with a bunch of haptic controls on the steering wheel, much of the functionality passed to the 18″ hexagonal infotainment screen, but there are actual buttons for stuff like Audio.

All that’s fine and dandy – and looks convincing – but what really matters is what’s going on under the skin. And it’s impressive.

BMW’s sixth-gen ED brings an 800v electrical architecture and charging speeds of up to 400kW, promising 231 miles of charge in just 10 minutes (in theory) and a 500-mile range, with its 108.7kWh battery using cylindrical cells which save weight, charge 30% quicker and are 20% more energy dense, with a pair of new electric motors, are smaller and lighter, delivers 463bhp. That’s in the only model available at launch – the iX3 50 xDrive – and enough to hit 62mph in 4.9 seconds.

BMW boss Oliver Zipse said:

Our whole product range will benefit from the innovations brought by the Neue Klasse – whichever drive system technology is employed. What started as a bold vision has now become reality: the BMW iX3 is the first Neue Klasse model to go into series production. We are not only bringing the next generation of one of our most successful fully electric vehicles onto the road, we are launching a new era for BMW.

The new iX3 is offered in three trim levels –  iX3, iX3 M Sport and iX3 M Sport Pro – with prices starting at £58,755 and first deliveries in March next year.