In late March of this year I wrote, “With Tesla easing out of the car-making business, the BMW iX3 looks appealing.” Excerpt:
For my next car, I’d like to either get a plug-in hybrid or an all-electric vehicle. Rumor has it that the 2027 Hyundai Tucson PHEV will have 62 miles of electric range, up from 33 miles in the current model. That would beat the RAV 4 PHEV. So I’m keeping my eyes open for news about the 2027 Tucson, which will feature a major redesign.
As long as I’m car window-shopping, the recently released (in Europe) BMW iX3 electric SUV tops my dream all-electric wish list. It looks like it will be highly competitive with a Tesla Model Y, given that the BWM has up to 400 miles of range, 463 hp, and as low as 21 minutes to charge from 10 to 80%. Plus, a 4.7 second 0-60 speed.
I was interested enough in the iX3 to contact BMW of Salem, asking to be kept informed of when it would be possible to learn the specs and cost of the United States version of this enticing vehicle. Deliveries here are not expected to start until September.
Yesterday I was told by James Richards, General Sales Manager at BMW of Salem, that this morning I’d be getting an email from BMW about how to reserve an iX3. Which, indeed, appeared in my inbox at about 8:30 am.
Since Richards had said “The exciting part is that once your reservation is secured, you’ll still have the flexibility to customize and edit your build exactly how you want it,” I didn’t obsess too much about the exact configuration of my iX3. The configurator is available to everyone to play around with. But to make an actual reservation requires $1,000 (refundable if an iX3 never is bought).
I chose the basic Sport trim in Space Silver Metallic. It’s a good looking car, though the overall appearance doesn’t wow me. The iX3 strikes me as an unduly conservative design, given how groundbreaking the car’s technology is.
As noted above, initially the estimated range for the iX3 sold in the United States was “up to 400 miles.” Now the EPA range is 434 miles with 20 inch wheels and summer tires. Somewhat surprisingly, the range is 384 miles, 50 miles less, with 20 inch wheels and all-season tires. Winter tires, which I always put on our two cars from mid-November to mid-March for increased snow/ice traction, must reduce the range even more.
So I’ve taken one $1,000 step toward owning an iX3. Since the base MSRP is $62,150 without any options, that’s a small step. This isn’t an inexpensive car. However, it offers a lot for the money. It will be good competition for the Tesla Model Y. As I said in my first post about the iX3:
While the Tesla Model Y is a great electric SUV, several things stand in the way of me getting one.
One is that I don’t like having to control almost everything via a big touchscreen. Consumer Reports gives the Model Y high marks, while criticizing its poor driver interface. Another is that Elon Musk has announced that Tesla is moving away from making the Model 3, Model Y, and horrible Cybertruck (the Model S and X have been discontinued) in favor of making robots and fully self-driving cars, no person involved.
This should give anyone thinking of buying a Tesla pause. I certainly am not wild about buying an electric car from a company that says it is going out of the electric car business — or at least severely downplaying its electric car business.
True, Tesla is ahead in terms of driver assistance features, including its Self-Driving Supervised feature, which is way cool. However, it appears that the BMW ix3, having been designed as an electric car from the ground up, will share Tesla’s commitment to regular software updates to the car’s hardware. So while Tesla leads now in driver assistance features, likely BMW will be rapidly catching up.
Anyway, even though Donald Trump and his Republican cronies are doing their best to hurt the electric car and renewable energy industries, they’re still the wave of the future. The Iran war has made that even more clear. Today I saw that our neighborhood gas station is charging $5.05 a gallon for regular. Yikes!
Update: driving home today, I saw that this gas station now is charging $5.55 a gallon for regular. Even more Yikes!
Discover more from Hinessight
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.