GoKawiilBMW provided flights from Washington, DC, to Malaga, Spain, and accommodation so Ars could drive the iX3 and be briefed on the i3. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.
MALAGA, Spain—Late last year, we got our first chance to drive the new BMW iX3. An all-electric version of one of BMW’s best-sellers, the electric SUV is arguably the new head of the class in the competitive premium SUV EV segment, with good driving dynamics and an extremely efficient electric powertrain. The next new BMW EVs to use the company’s Neue Klasse platform is the one we find more interesting here at Ars, even if it won’t sell as well. It’s the 2027 i3, or BMW’s first 3 series EV, and it goes into production in Munich this August.
A proper sedan
It has been a few years since we first saw the Neue Klasse sedan concept, and it has mostly remained faithful to that design as it made the transition from concept to production model. Light has replaced chrome for BMW’s traditional kidney grille, which here contains kidneys within kidneys. Like the iX3, there’s a valley down the hood, but here the kidneys are long and wide, unlike the bucktooth look of BMW’s new SUVs.
The biggest change is at the rear. Sadly, the i3 has little of the elegance or charm of the concept aft of the rear axle, but the demands of real-life practicality meant BMW needed to raise the rear deck a few inches in order to give the car proper cargo-carrying capacity. And yes, the rear window does have the traditional “Hofmeister kink.” At launch, the i3 will be just a sedan, but BMW showed us a silhouette of a wagon variant—Touring in BMW-speak—that we very much hope crosses the Atlantic at some point.
BMW Expect more BMW sedans to adopt this style of kidney grille. Expect more BMW sedans to adopt this style of kidney grille. BMW BMW The i3 is 187.4 inches (4,760 mm) long, 73.4 inches (1,864 mm) wide, 58.3 inches (1,481 mm) tall, with a 114.1 inch (2,898 mm) wheelbase. The i3 is 187.4 inches (4,760 mm) long, 73.4 inches (1,864 mm) wide, 58.3 inches (1,481 mm) tall, with a 114.1 inch (2,898 mm) wheelbase. BMW BMW The i3 from behind. The i3 from behind. BMW The i3 is 187.4 inches (4,760 mm) long, 73.4 inches (1,864 mm) wide, 58.3 inches (1,481 mm) tall, with a 114.1 inch (2,898 mm) wheelbase. BMW The i3 from behind. BMW
The interior looks much like the iX3, only with less headroom, which means there are physical buttons on the center console and a trapezoidal touchscreen infotainment system, plus a rather ugly new multifunction steering wheel. There’s also the Panoramic Vision display and an onboard AI personal assistant with speech recognition powered by Alexa. The rear seat has plenty of room thanks to the inherent packaging advantages of an EV, although the rear occupants sit a little higher up than those in the front.