Seven years after the launch of the i3, BMW has finally brought out its second fully electric car, says Top Gear. The X3 is BMW’s biggest-selling model and this electric version, the iX3, is intended to meet the needs of the average driver. It is more efficient than rivals, has a smaller battery and can accept high charge power. That means you can start at full power after an overnight charge, stop after 220 real-world miles at a 150kW charger and add about 180 real-world miles in half an hour, then go on to complete a 400-mile trip. What’s more, it feels “ridiculously normal” to drive. The power “comes in with urgency… but is never brutal” and “keeps on going determinedly” up to its limited top speed of 112mph. The “top-spec” model even has an in-cabin sound generator that produces an “electronic hum that rises and falls in pitch as you change speed, and in volume as you press the pedal harder”, but otherwise the car is silent. It is “superbly easy” and relaxing to drive too.
The iX3 looks “normal” on purpose, says Jonathan Burn on AutoExpress. It is designed to “feel entirely conventional” and appeal to those delving into electric vehicles for the first time. It might not look all that special, but “it’s spacious, quiet, well built and packed with clever tech”. “This is simply an X3 that also happens to be electric.” One “neat piece of tech” is the car’s digital key, which allows owners with iPhones to share access to the car with others without them needing a key. Owners can set restrictions on speed, power, even music volume for each driver.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
-
Global equities that should weather the stockmarket's stormsOpinion Alex Illingworth of Goshawk Asset Management highlights three diverse opportunities in global equities despite a turbulent landscape
-
8 of the best houses for sale with dining terracesThe best houses for sale with dining terraces – from an Arts & Crafts property in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, to a duplex apartment in a garden square in Kensington with a decked roof terrace
-
Take a look under the bonnet of the classic car marketDearer money has taken the momentum out of the classic car market, says Chris Carter
-
Global car shares slide amid lower demand in China – what happens now?Has the car sector run into trouble? Britain’s Aston Martin and Germany’s Volkswagen are among the key automobile brands that have issued profit warnings.
-
Volkswagen mulls closure of German factoriesWhy is Volkswagen considering the closures and how is the carmaker performing?
-
Is China winning the electric car race?China now sells more electric cars than conventional ones within its territory. Western countries seem determined to stop them from crossing their borders. Why?
-
Val d’Isère is a valley of delightsMoneyWeek Travel Matthew Partridge reviews Airelles Val d’Isere and Hotel Mont-Blanc in the famous French ski resort
-
Review: The Ozen Collection – a dream stay in the MaldivesMoneyWeek Travel Ozen Life Maadhoo and Ozen Reserve Bolifushi, where luxury meets nature, are almost too good to be true, says Nicole García Mérida.
-
Review: An odyssey through Sri LankaMoneyWeek Travel Merryn Somerset Webb explores the South Asian country’s ruins, jungle and fabulous food.
-
Flexjet review: the only way to flyMoneyWeek Travel Chris Carter flies with Flexjet, a provider of fractional ownership of private jets, to St Moritz in Switzerland for the Snow Polo World Cup.
