BMW iX3 2021 electric car owner review

Andrew P drives a BMW iX3 80kWh 2021 electric car.

This is Andrew’s third electric car, he’s owned the BMW iX3 from new and drives 5,000-10,000 miles annually. The current mileage of the car is between 5,000-10,000 miles and he achieves 200 miles range from a full charge.

Why did you choose the BMW iX3?

The BMW iX3 was the car that most closely matched our family’s needs. Range had to be over 200 miles with a big boot for all our junk; our previous cars were Mitsubishi Outlanders. Would have preferred a 4×4 like an Audi e-tron but this impacted the range. Didn’t like the brown interior of the ID.4 & the KIA Niro EV was too small.

Positives

Acceleration – oh my!
interior mood lighting
adaptive cruise control.

Negatives

Tyres – great on dry roads but really terrible in the winter.

Have you experienced any faults with the car? If so, what have they been?

Once had a power train failure. Remote assistance helped me reboot the car and it was OK.

What are the standout technological features of the car?

The adaptive cruise control is amazing. On a well-marked road, e.g. a motorway, the car will pretty much drive itself.

Tell us something people wouldn’t readily know about your BMW iX3

I love the transparent roof, driving at night under a full moon is magical.

What electric car(s) are you interested in next and why?

Don’t know, only had mine a year and haven’t really been looking.

Home charging unit

It’s a basic Rolec WALLPOD. No fancy features at all but it’s been reliable. It’s only a 16A unit so might upgrade to a 32A but it’s not really an issue as I don’t do a large daily mileage. Usually charge once or twice a week.

Electricity supplier & tariff

Aaargh…my current problem is that I’ve been waiting for over six months for a day/night meter so I can move to a cost-effective tariff.

Do you use public charging networks?

Please itemise where you’re saving money (or not) owning & running a BMW iX3

I don’t have the figures since the whole cost of living/war in Ukraine business but when I did the original sums, motoring was 50% cheaper using electricity compared with petrol.