Take your best selling model , add a sophisticated electric drivetrain, a new grille and some flashy blue highlights. Make it as close to the petrol car in every other sense, so anyone can jump in and feel at home, and keep the premium as low as possible by having just one electric motor and two-wheel drive.
The other issue is that as, a converted petrol car, the iX3 doesn’t reap the packaging advantages available when an EV is planned from scratch. The BMW that does – a clean-sheet design with the confusing name of iX – is now also on sale, with a loungeroom-style interior and excellent, if not class-leading, cargo space for its segment.The iX is almost 5 metres long, 22 cm more than the iX3 and its pricing starts from about $136K. And you’re also going to have to like its blingy oversized grille.
The battery pack is heavy but low down, so in sport mode, particularly, there’s still some fun to be had. Adaptive suspension is included in that long, long list of inclusions, as is the full range of driver aids, cameras, sensors and parking aids. That makes it safe, as well as relaxing to drive when you simply want to take it easy.It’s also comfortable and practical, with excellent telematics via a big central screen.
Built in China, like most of our fully electric cars , it demonstrates quality at least as good as the regular X3s, which come here from BMW’s US plant in South Carolina. The silence of an EV will expose any creaks and rattles, yet there were almost none here, though the 2.26 tonne mass does mean you can hear the suspension working hard on rough roads.In normal cruising though, it’s pretty close to silent, all the better to enjoy the 16 speakers of the Harman/Kardon sound system .
Is Akida in Mercedes