The New BMW X3 is All Electric and It Will Blow You Away: 2026 BMW iX3 First Look
This EV version of the X3 is the first to feature the brand's Neue Klasse design, and it'll have fence-sitters thinking its time to go electric.
Let me explain my love for BMW. For years, I would review cars at home, or attend drive events, drive incredible new cars from across the industry, and then get back into my BMW 335i and … feel great.
And that’s the magic of BMW. The cars are precision-engineered, their designers taking just enough of a risk to mostly delight—and earn forgiveness when they don’t. Interiors maintain a minimum standard of luxury, and tech updates add to the luxury and delight factor. When it all comes together, it feels so good.
I’m telling you this because this is what sets up my expectation for the newest BMW, the iX3, an electric version of the BMW X3 SUV.
This story is 100% human-researched and written based on actual first-person knowledge, extensive experience, and expertise on the subject of cars and trucks. Additionally, I was BMW’s guest for this first look, but impressions and opinions are my own.
Neue Klasse Is Here … And It Comes Alive in the iX3
But the BMW iX3 is more than just an electric BMW; we have had those for a while, and it’s more than just the newest BMW X3, which has been on a very modern design journey in recent years.
The BMW iX3 also sets up the future of what BMW’s cars and SUVs will look and feel like across the board, gas, electric or hybrid. The company calls this new era “Neue Klasse,” or new class (say noya klassa), and it’s the company’s sweeping redesign of the entire lineup, starting with the X3 SUV.
BMW has been touting its shift to Neue Klasse for a while, and like most car makers, focusing on electric and in-car tech, as well as how these things will feed the luxury and performance that BMW is known for.
And while Neue Klasse seems so futuristic and perfect for EVs, it’s also the design that we’ll see in BMW’s gas-powered and hybrids, too. It starts with a sculpted, aerodynamic look, lighted front grilles, more modern wheel designs, and flush door handles. Inside, BMW’s panoramic display and open console designs are features we’ll see in all future models.
Watch: What We Love About the 2025 BMW X3
Neue Klasse Pulls Together BMW Design, Both Gas and ElectricW
BMW has rolled out some novel and innovative EV designs over the last decade. Think of the i3, a compact sedan with innovative interior details, outward-opening coach doors, and a zippy drive experience. The XM, a large SUV with a club-like interior, the iX, a novel yet more conventional SUV, and the i4, an EV version of the 4 Series sports sedan. Each had its own brand of innovation, standing apart from the others.
Neue Klasse ends the BMW’s era of experimentation with design and technology ideas and pulls together all the brand has learned about performance and efficiency. Neue Klasse will make its way into the entire lineup, allowing buyers to pick the powertrain they want in the model they love.
Read: Audi Q8 First Drive: This Flagship e-tron Electric SUV Refines the Definition of Luxury
2026 BMW iX3: Modern, Electric and Electrifying
That the BMW iX3 is the first model to bring Neue Klasse to buyers makes it a special treat. Though eventually there will be a gas-powered version and probably a hybrid X3 that will take on most of the same characteristics of the iX3.
What does that mean? Buyers will get details like the panoramic display, lighted grille and longer wheel base, and won’t miss out just because charging a car isn’t yet practical. And those who want an EV but don’t want to stand out won’t have to worry about that, either.
Read: Polestar 3 First Drive: Luxury Means Never Having to Apologize for Power
The BMW iX3: Sharper, Roomier and More Modern
The modern feel of the BMW iX3 starts with its front face, a light panel that animates as the car comes to life when you approach with the key fob. BMW has added lighting in all sorts of cool places, such as the door handles, puddle lights, and the animated digital front face.
On the rear, a taillight bar that plays across the liftgate, the iX3 badge on the right, followed by a “50” which tells us this is the more powerful model, and xDrive on the left, indicating it’s all-wheel drive thanks to the dual motor setup. This makes me think, and BMW did indicate, that there’ll be a single motor 2-wheel drive version with less power at some point, too.
With the iX3’s battery pack riding under the passenger cabin, the iX3 is roomier than the current X3, offering more legroom and cargo space, about the same interior space as the X5, even though the overall length doesn’t change much, so it should be as easy to drive and park as the current X3.
Read: BMW Neue Klasse X First Look: Peering Into The Future of BMW
We Have to Talk About These Screens
The first thing you’ll see when you get into the BMW iX3 is the screens, and they are pretty stunning: a projection display spans the entire dashboard set just against and just below the windshield. There, you’ll see the driver display details like speed, driving range, drive mode, and speed limit.
You’ll also see at the center an animated voice assistant icon—either the space-alien-esque avatar we saw on the prototype or a BMW roundel, though the company may add more icons to the mix in the future. This little guy lights up and moves around when you say “Hey BMW,” a voice-activation cue that the company has had on its systems for a while now. When you ask for help, the assistant is there to answer questions, set navigation, adjust the climate control, or tune the radio for you.
The panoramic projection screen can be customized via the main screen, a slanted 18” screen that adds a feeling of velocity to the cabin. That’s where you’ll find most controls and functions. In fact, so many controls have been added to the screen that the cabin is left with a more minimalist feel, a departure for modern BMWs.
The Promise of Quick, Quiet Power
What will be different in the BMW iX3 from the gas-powered X3 is quicker acceleration and more power. The prototype that BMW revealed at Munich’s IAA and that we got to see in New York City promises 463 HP; that’s a 70 HP upgrade from the BMW M50 X3 and nearly double that of the entry-level X3 30 xDrive.
Add to that a range of 400+ miles on a single charge and fast charging, which can replenish up to 80% in 21 minutes at a DC fast charger via BMW’s 800V architecture, NACS charging at Tesla Superchargers, plug-and-charge capability via the phone app, and BMW promises a world-class EV experience in its most popular SUV model.
And then, there’s this: BMW has fine-tuned its regenerative braking system, which is already one of the best. I can attest to that; one day, I got stuck in afternoon rush hour in downtown LA and was able to crawl the entire length along the 110 freeway, about 5 miles, and use exactly 0 miles of range. All that time on the brakes replenished what I’d used to speed up as needed.
BMW says that when braking from 60 MPH to 0, the new system will add enough energy to the battery to power 60 iPhones. Now I know who to call when I need to charge my phone.
Making the BMW iX3’s EV Sounds Part of the Experience
Part of BMW’s innovative experimentation in its earlier EVs was a ‘soundtrack’ from composer Hans Zimmer. The idea was to give the car a cinematic sound experience, to let you feel the soaring thrust of the car in your ears as well as under your seat. It was brilliant and novel, and an idea that other car makers copied.
They’ll have to copy this idea too. The BMW Neue Klasse sound signature draws out and amplifies the sounds EVs evoke, with even more emotion at its heart. The system will add or temper sound for all the stages of driving, from startup to different drive modes to welcome and exit sounds.
What I Look Forward to Most In the BMW iX3
Probably one of the most promising bits of information that BMW shared is that the iX3 will be priced from about $60,000 when it makes its on-sale debut in the Spring of 2026. That puts it squarely in range with the current BMW X3 M50 and, depending on how you look at it, might just be the better deal: The first of the new design language, all BMW lights and magic we’ve been waiting for, and incredible power and range for any EV, or any BMW.
And there’ll be options, as BMW likes to offer: the prototype was shown with black leatherette upholstery, but there are several options; buyers can choose from leatherette or leather, and there are several color choices, including the creamy Oyster leather interior that is a fan favorite.
The power, the tech, and the features in the iX3 will have fans thinking deeply that it might just be time to go electric.
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