BMW iX3 range, battery & charging

The BMW iX3 not only matches its rivals when it comes to range and charging speed – in many cases it beats them. With a range of up to 279 miles, it beats the Mercedes EQC and Audi e-tron in official tests, and is only outdone by the Jaguar I-Pace. However, in our experience the BMW is the more efficient model in the real world.

When it comes to charging, the iX3 is among the fastest, too, thanks to its 150kW on-board DC charger. Not only this, if you have the facilities, it’ll accept three-phase AC charging at up to 11kW, allowing for speedy home top-ups. Most owners will use a 7kW home wallbox, however, for which the BMW is competitive alongside its rivals.

There's no word on smaller (or bigger) batteries being available for the car in the future. Audi offers two battery sizes for its e-tron SUV, allowing owners a cheaper entry point if they don’t need the flagship model’s long range.

BMW iX3 range

BMW claims a range of 279 miles for all iX3 models – beating rivals like the Mercedes EQC and Audi e-tron, but falling just shy of the Jaguar I-Pace. On a full charge, our iX3 test car showed a range of just 180 miles – but that was on a cold, wet, winter’s day; 220-230 miles is realistic in milder weather. If you make the most of the car’s regenerative brakes and spend a lot of time in town, it could be better still.

More importantly, however, is the car’s efficiency – normally measured in miles per kilowatt hour (mi/kWh). In our experience, the iX3 trumps its rivals in this regard; on our cold, damp test route we managed a fairly impressive 2.6-2.7mi/kWh – even with several full-throttle launches and quick motorway runs. For comparison, while a Mercedes EQC will officially do between 3.0 and 3.2mi/kWh, a figure of between 2.0 and 2.2mi/kWh is more easily attainable.

Charge time

Charging is bang up-to-date for a modern electric car, with support for 150kW charging. That means the iX3 can top up from 0-80% in just 34 minutes if you find one of the ultra-rapid public chargers that are becoming increasingly common in the UK.

Use a home wallbox and the iX3 can charge at a maximum of 11kW. A time estimate isn't given by BMW yet, but something in the region of eight hours is likely using this type of power source. On a more conventional 7.4kW wallbox feed, that time is expected to increase to around 11 hours and 45 minutes; achievable if you can plug in and charge at home overnight.