Our cars: BMW iX3

BRAKES

iX3’s brilliant onepedal driving sends power back to the battery – but more on that in a future report

BMW iX3

THIRD REPORT We fall for the relatively old-school charm of our electric SUV

Richard Ingram

Richard _ Ingram@autovia.co.uk @rsp_ ingram

AS a populace, we ’ re averse to change.

We like things the way they are, and often believe that upsetting the status quo can have disastrous consequences. As the old adage goes: if it ain ’t broke, don ’t fix it.

Nowhere is this quite as evident as it is with fast-changing technology. How many times have you bought a new phone, or updated your computer ’ s OS, only to find it less intuitive and more confusing than before? It can be infuriating.

But if there was one constant in the car world, it was the simplicity of BMW’ s iDrive infotainment systems. Dating back to 2001, the click wheel-controlled menus and logical user interface have been among the best in the business for over two decades. And yet apparently, the ‘if it ain ’t broke, don ’t fix it’ mantra doesn ’t apply here; every brand-new BMW for the foreseeable future will get an iteration of iDrive 8.

Little did I know, I’ m one of those people who doesn ’t much like change. It pleases me no end, therefore, that the iX3 I’ ve been running for the past few months is one of the very last cars to feature the company ’ s old-style infotainment set-up. Instead of the sleek-looking single curved display you ’ll find in the BMW i4, iX, and even the updated 3 Series, my car comes with two separate displays, plus tactile buttons for the climate control and other main functions.

The layout is bright and easy to operate. The graphics – to my eyes – are sharp, and there ’ s very little I think my car is lacking in the way of functionality. It’ s even got wireless phone connectivity, which despite an occasional issue with my iPhone ’ s battery overheating, has been a boon.

You see, I’ ve driven both the i4 and the iX, as well as BMW’ s new 7 Series (see Page 28) – all of which feature the newer iDrive 8. And while I’ m sure it’d be fine if you stuck at it, the set-up doesn ’t offer that jump-in-andgo sense of satisfaction you find in almost every new BMW since the early 2000s.

But that got me thinking; if we never embraced change, would we all still be using an abacus to tot up our monthly bills, or wood-burning stoves to heat our hot water? Would we be travelling to work on steam-powered trains, or tapping up stories like this on a typewriter?

What about BMW’ s recent design language? It may be polarising within my circles – friends, family and colleagues – but it doesn ’t seem to be putting off the people who are actually buying these cars. It’ s

Performance

0-62mph/top speed 6.8 secs/112mph

Practicality

Boot (seats up/down) 510/1,560 litres

something my iX3 is once again immune from, but I’ m seeing plenty of modern BMWs on the road. Whether that’ s the pig-nosed i7 or the beaver-toothed 4 Series, they ’ re certainly more distinctive than any of Mercedes or Audi’ s recent efforts.

Ultimately, I expect there were plenty of people who questioned why we needed screens at all when iDrive launched all those years ago, in the same way that some may lament the more recent demise of the diesel engine. Perhaps in 10 years I’ll wonder how I ever managed without a curved display, 64colour ambient lighting, or digital mirrors.

Yet right now, the iX3 is a really easy car to live with. The mild autumn weather means I’ m still seeing 230-240 miles on a charge, and being able to toggle the strength of the regenerative braking using only the gearlever is genius, too – it means I can use the more aggressive setting in traffic, and easily switch it off when the road clears ahead.

I’ ve had a couple of back-road drives where I’ ve genuinely enjoyed driving the

iX3 as well. It really is more agile than a car of this style and size has any right to be, at the same time as managing to be a quiet and comfortable companion on the motorway. Even on 20-inch wheels. So although I’ m sure I’ll miss the simplicity of the iX3’ s relatively old-style infotainment set-up and the car ’ s subtle good looks when they ’ re gone, I hereby promise to embrace change and look at how the bigger picture may benefit the many, not the few. In the meantime, I’ll return my daughter ’ s abacus to her toy box. “It pleases me that the iX3 is one of the last cars with BMW’s old-style infotainment”