{"id":1838,"date":"2026-09-04T10:50:58","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T10:50:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in4ride.com\/?p=1838"},"modified":"2026-09-04T10:50:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T10:50:58","slug":"bmw-launches-high-achieving-ix3-in-mzansi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in4ride.com\/?p=1838","title":{"rendered":"BMW LAUNCHES HIGH-ACHIEVING IX3 IN MZANSI"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Finally<\/strong> walking up to the all-new BMW iX3<\/strong> in the metal, and the first thought is not \u201celectric X3<\/strong>\u201d, unlike the previous-generation car. This thing is handsome<\/strong>. Properly good-looking. The new body is clean, the grille is a graphic<\/strong> rather than a fossil, the tail lights run almost full width, and the posture on 22-inch wheels<\/strong> stands right. BMW will be offering 20-inch<\/strong> and 21-inch<\/strong> options as well. Nine<\/strong> exterior colours<\/strong> are offered, the brightest<\/strong> being something called Vegas Red metallic<\/strong>. Whatever shade they parked in the Stellenbosch<\/strong> light, it worked. Of course I had already Tweeted a picture of one \u201csilently<\/strong>\u201d cruising down the R21<\/strong> last week, and reactions were largely positive. A few did not think it\u2019s a handsome car, and that\u2019s fine. We can\u2019t all be right<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    This is the first production<\/strong> \u201cNeue Klasse<\/strong>\u201d car, and BMW is not being shy about it. Clearly separated<\/strong> from the X3 from the front to the rear, to the interior. BMW built the new iX3 around its EV architecture<\/strong>, not the other way around. Unlike the previous-generation car. A completely new 800-volt architecture,<\/strong> sixth-generation battery pack using cylindrical cells<\/strong>. And the pack itself is the floor<\/strong> of the car, not an additional component sitting under the floor. BMW says such clever packaging<\/strong> enabled engineers to release more interior space and reduce weight. New body, new tech, four main \u201cbrains<\/strong>\u201d are running the show. This was my first time driving a car that falls under the new \u201csoftware-defined vehicles<\/strong>\u201d description. I think. It is certainly one of the most tech-forward<\/strong> BMWs I have sat in, yet it does not feel like a science project<\/strong>. It feels like a product someone has already thought through for real roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      BMW\u2019s first electric car, the i3<\/strong>, did feel like a science project. Looked it too actually, from every angle. At the time the company wanted to shock<\/strong> the world, so to speak, into noticing EVs. It worked, and the little i3 became a poster child<\/strong> for the brave new silent world<\/strong>. Later on they would merely reengineer<\/strong> bodies originally meant to carry petrol<\/strong> and diesel<\/strong> powertrains, to accommodate the EV demand. The all-new iX3 is an EV from the ground up<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Mzansi<\/strong> gets two derivatives at launch, namely the iX3 50 xDrive<\/strong> worth a maximum of 345kW<\/strong> of power and 645Nm<\/strong> of torque. xDrive AWD is standard in the flagship, though it is rear-wheel biased<\/strong>. Below that is the single-motor iX3 40<\/strong> (235kW, 500Nm)<\/strong> with rear-wheel-drive<\/strong> and a claimed range of around 650km<\/strong>. I did not get to pilot that model at the launch, so hopefully there is a unit available later for road testing<\/strong>. Official range<\/strong> on the 50 is quoted as high as 820km<\/strong>, which is the highest range ever quoted on an electric BMW. Charging peak is 400kW<\/strong>, and I cannot wait to test its speed at some of our fastest<\/strong> local public chargers. Vehicle-to-load<\/strong> is part of the package, albeit only with an adapter and for charging\/ running certain minor appliances like kettles, laptops<\/strong> etc. Those are the brochure<\/strong> numbers. The best part comes with the driving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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        I covered a little over 100km<\/strong> between Cape Town<\/strong> and Stellenbosch<\/strong> over two days. At the start of the loop the range readout said 520km<\/strong>. however, I could not tell, from the car or from the briefing, whether that pack had been sitting at 100% prior to the drive<\/strong>. So let\u2019s treat that 520km as a snapshot<\/strong>, not a final verdict<\/strong>. Also, that figure is already ahead of a real-life figure<\/strong> we saw reflected on an indirect Swedish rival recently. What I can say is that the car never felt anxious<\/strong>. Throttle response<\/strong> was expectedly swift<\/strong>, instant in the way a dual-motor EV<\/strong> should be, without the lurch some rivals still cannot quite kill. Steering was very precise<\/strong>. Cornering was crisp. The rear-biased all-wheel drive keeps a BMW flavour<\/strong>: you place the nose, the rear follows. And the mass of that floor-mounted battery<\/strong> keeps the body settled instead of rolling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        BMW wants ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System)<\/strong> to become more of a talking point, realising that the brand<\/strong> has never really been associated with safety<\/strong>, even though it does fit in some of the most advanced automotive safety systems in the business. The new iX3 is apparently the vehicle they will use to make that argument. Euro NCAP<\/strong> crash score by the way, was a highly impressive 95%<\/strong>. Door handles still work after a crash, and there is a manual override<\/strong>. That might seem like an arb<\/strong> mention, but it could become something more serious in years to come, because China<\/strong> \u2013 the world\u2019s biggest car market \u2013 is banning<\/strong> these electric retractable door handles<\/strong> soon. This would then force manufacturers to redesign<\/strong> their door handles going forward. I suppose those are some of the unglamorous<\/strong> details that matter when you are selling a R1.7 million<\/strong> family car. There is also a 58-litre frunk<\/strong>. Not huge, but enough for the charging cable and a small bag<\/strong> so the boot stays clean or swallows other luggage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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          The cabin is the other half of the innovation story. A Panoramic Vision<\/strong> display sits across where the windscreen<\/strong> meets the dashboard<\/strong>, the centre touch screen is large 46cm<\/strong> and uncluttered, and the steering wheel is a new haptic piece that is sure to divide opinion<\/strong>. Personally I enjoy the different steering wheel designs<\/strong>, and they don\u2019t affect how the hands and fingers steer<\/strong>. Four computers \u2013 as previously mentioned – coordinate driving, charging, safety and the interface<\/strong>. You feel that integration more than you notice it as the car just responds to various inputs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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            BMW has given itself a new poster child for the electric era<\/strong>. The all-new iX3 does not apologise<\/strong> for being an EV. It embraces it, even paving the way for others to follow. Judging from some of its accolades, including the current World Car of the Year cup and a waiting list<\/strong> as long as the claimed range, there will be strong market uptake<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            BMW iX3 prices<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            50 xDrive – R1 690 000<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

            40 – R1 498 000<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Finally walking up to the all-new BMW iX3 in the metal, and the first thought is not \u201celectric X3\u201d, unlike…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_regular_price":[],"currency_symbol":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,59,80],"tags":[18,98,179,99,100],"class_list":["post-1838","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bmw","category-launches","category-news","tag-bmw","tag-bmw-ix3","tag-bmw-neue-klasse","tag-ix3","tag-neue-klasse"],"post_slider_layout_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/in4ride.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IN4RIDE-BMW-iX3-4-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"post_slider_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/in4ride.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IN4RIDE-BMW-iX3-4-1200x800.jpg",1200,800,true],"post_slider_layout_portrait_large":["https:\/\/in4ride.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IN4RIDE-BMW-iX3-4-1200x1800.jpg",1200,1800,true],"post_slider_layout_square_large":["https:\/\/in4ride.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IN4RIDE-BMW-iX3-4-1200x1200.jpg",1200,1200,true],"post_slider_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/in4ride.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IN4RIDE-BMW-iX3-4-600x400.jpg",600,400,true],"post_slider_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/in4ride.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IN4RIDE-BMW-iX3-4-600x900.jpg",600,900,true],"post_slider_layout_square":["https:\/\/in4ride.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IN4RIDE-BMW-iX3-4-600x600.jpg",600,600,true],"full":["https:\/\/in4ride.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/IN4RIDE-BMW-iX3-4.jpg",1920,1920,false]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in4ride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in4ride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in4ride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in4ride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in4ride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1838"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/in4ride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1854,"href":"https:\/\/in4ride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1838\/revisions\/1854"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in4ride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in4ride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1838"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in4ride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1838"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in4ride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1838"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}