Stefan drives a BMW iX3 80kWh 2022.
This is Stefan’s first electric car, he’s owned the BMW iX3 from new and drives 10,000-15,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 500-1,000 miles and he achieves 220 miles from a full charge.
Why did you choose the BMW iX3?
Most electric car manufacturers seem to feel the need to create this ‘futuristic’ spaceship-like vehicle. They tend to be full of gimmicks and eye-catching toys to entertain the child in us. They stand out like a representation of what an 80’s movie thought the future would look like. I didn’t want that.
They feel the need to follow the competition (Tesla) into the crazy acceleration battle. Thrusting you and your family into the back of the seat in an instant, just because they can. All this might make sense on performance variants, your AMG or M cars, but for your standard family car or SUV, it just feels unnecessary (and I’ve owned some seriously quick ICE cars so I enjoy that sort of thing).
The BMW iX3 is exactly what I wanted. The wheels don’t fold under as it lifts off to send you into the future, but it is a comfortable, high quality, well-equipped and good looking mid-size SUV. It just happens to have an electric powertrain.
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Positives – List 3 or more reasons why you love this electric car
- It’s not a gimmicky ‘futuristic’ car
- it’s got class-leading interior quality
- it’s well thought out and driver focused with a class-leading user interface.
Negatives – List 3 or more things that you really don’t like about this electric car
- Lack of exterior colour options
the ‘predicted’ mileage is a bit hit and miss. I’ve always found it to be overly conservative.
Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?
Minor issue where the tow hook cover on the front came loose. Fixed it myself with a small tab of silicone to keep it in place whilst making it easy to take off if needed (it’s a known persistent BMW issue).
What are the standout technological features of your BMW iX3?
- The adaptive cruise control with lane keeping assist is great (although an option on most cars these days)
- the wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, which also integrate with the heads up display, is a great feature. As is the ability to have two phones connected at the same time (personal and work).
- the heads up display – I hadn’t had one before but now I’m not sure I can go back.
Surprise us! Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about this electric car
I wouldn’t say there are any surprising features for me personally as I do a lot of research before buying.
What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?
The electric Porsche Macan could be an interesting option going forward, although I imagine it’ll be a touch expensive and lose some of that boot space due to the shape.
Home charging unit – outline both positive & negative elements
Hypervolt 2.0 – overall it’s a pretty solid offering. I’m not blown away by it and it has some niggling app issues but it does the job for what I need which is consistently charging the car. A lot of people have wi-fi connectivity issues with it so I’d avoid if your internet connection at the install location is weak. The online support, although initially appearing fairly responsive, is a bit lacklustre with ongoing issues. I suspect they have a fairly large backlog of unresolved tickets on the system because they don’t seem to follow them up.
Electricity supplier & tariff – outline both positive & negative elements
British Gas – I don’t have a smart meter installed so can’t get any special overnight tariffs. Apparently the backlog for a smart meter is EXTREMELY long at the moment.
Do you use public charging networks?
No
Please itemise where you’re saving money owning & running an electric car
At the moment, by charging only at home, I’m probably saving about 50-60% on ‘fuel’ compared to my petrol cars. This will continue to decrease though as electricity continues to rise at a sharp rate. The initial cost of electric over the equivalent ICE pretty much negates all savings in most situations. I’d avoid an EV if you are just looking to save money.
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