BMW iX3 range, battery & charging

The BMW iX3 not only matches rivals for range and charging speed, but in many cases, beats them. With a range of up to 286 miles, it exceeds the Mercedes EQC and Audi e-tron's official numbers and is only outdone by the Jaguar I-Pace. However, in our experience the BMW is more efficient in the real world.

The iX3's a maximum charging speed of 150kW is faster than its main rivals, too, with only the Tesla Model Y's 250kW speeds topping the BMW. If you have the necessary three-phase electrics, the iX3 can also charge at home at up to 11kW, though most owners will be limited to a 7.4kW home charging speed.

BMW iX3 range

BMW claims a range of up to 286 miles for the iX3 – beating rivals like the above-mentioned EQC and e-tron, but falling just shy of the I-Pace. On a full charge, our test car showed a range of just 180 miles – but that was on a cold, wet, winter’s day; we reckon 220 to 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 a 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 to 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 3.2 miles per kWh, a figure of between 2.0 and 2.2 is more easily attainable.

Charge time

The iX3 is bang up to date in this area, supporting charging speeds up to 150kW. That means if you plug an iX3 into a suitably fast ultra-rapid charger, it can be topped up from 0-80% in just under 30 minutes.

At home, using an 11kW wallbox (which requires three-phase electricity) the iX3 can be fully charged in around eight hours. However, most owners will limited to a 7.4kW unit or on-street charging-point, which will need just under 12 hours to do the same job.