This is a test drive report about the BMW iX3, but the title before writing this article made me struggle for a long time, because most reviews of pure electric models either say that the battery life is good, or that the battery life is good. That is to say, mute, speed, etc., in my opinion, they are all too cookie-cutter. The iX3 I tested this time I think is the first mass-produced model of the BMW i brand in the true sense.
Appearance comments:
When I first came into contact with the BMW iX3, like most media people, I thought, isn’t this an X3 pure electric model? Just replace the battery and add a motor, that's all. However, looking at the actual car, I was really wrong. First of all, the front grille is different from the X3. The front grille of the ix3 adopts a semi-enclosed shape. The black windshield is covered with small diamond-shaped holes. In the lower part of the grille is a belt with active closing. wind deflector. This has two purposes, one is to control the temperature in the engine compartment, and the other is to reduce the drag coefficient when necessary.
Another distinctive feature is the design of the wheels. You will find that the wheels of the iX3 are very "electric vehicles". Careful netizens will find that for all pure electric models, regardless of brand, their wheels It must be solid. The solid wheel hub is also to reduce the wind resistance coefficient during driving.
In order to distinguish it from the fuel version of BMW, the i brand has added many exclusive design elements. For example, the BMW logo is blue, the chrome decorative parts of the body are blue, and the logo on the side of the car is also blue. blue.
Interior comments:
At first glance, the interior does not seem to be much different from the X3, but that is the case with BMW. Their official saying is: inheritance of design. There are only blue elements all over the car, such as: instruments, start button, shift lever, ambient lights, door sills, etc., but the interior materials are completely new and recyclable. If you know something about the BMW brand, you should know that the scariest thing about BMW is not building cars, but creating new materials.
For example, BMW has its own patent and production of forged carbon fiber in its own factory. BMW even has its own design patents for the alloy body, interior materials, and seat leather required to build a car. For example, the seat leather used in the mid-facelift 5 Series is a brand-new material, which has the softness of leather and the wear resistance of leather.
Space comments:
There is not much difference in this point, just refer to the space of X3.
Analysis of core technology highlights:
As BMW's i brand, ix3's electronic control system has developed to its fifth generation. Yes, that’s right! I thought it was incredible like everyone else at first. People will ask you, didn’t you say that ix3 is the first mass-produced pure electric model in the true sense? But the i brand is not a new one. Do you still remember the BMW i3 and BMW i8? But those models are not BMW's models for the public, they are just concept products. The ix3 is BMW's truly mature product for consumers.
We can compare Audi's E-tron and Mercedes-Benz's EQC. The BMW ix3 has a range of 500 kilometers, the Mercedes-Benz EQC has a range of 415 kilometers, and the Audi E-tron has a range of 470 kilometers. Then let’s look at the battery capacity. The BMW ix3 is 74KWH, the Mercedes-Benz EQC is 79.2KWH, and the Audi E-tron is 95KWH. This means that the battery capacity of the BMW ix3 is the smallest in its class, but its battery life is the highest in its class.
Why is BMW’s electronic control system so efficient? Let’s look at the motor again. The BMW ix3 has a single motor, while the Mercedes-Benz EQC and Audi E-tron both have dual motors. BMW's single motor type is permanent magnet/synchronous. Mercedes-Benz EQC and Audi E-tron are both AC/Asynchronous. The difference is that the asynchronous dual-motor structure of Mercedes-Benz and Audi is like a twin-turbocharged engine. The small turbine is responsible for providing torque at low speeds, and the large turbine is responsible for providing horsepower at high speeds. The permanent magnet/synchronous motor of the BMW ix3 can be understood as a single-turbo twin-scroll engine structure. One motor can solve the low-speed and high-speed energy consumption problems at the same time.
In addition, there is the electronic control system. The fifth-generation electronic control system of ix3 can rely on cameras and radar sensors throughout the vehicle body to analyze real-time road driving conditions and intelligently adjust the intensity of energy recovery to achieve refined management of energy recovery. To put it bluntly, from our experience, the actual cruising range is much longer. The road conditions of our test drive covered high-speed and urban conditions. The heating and air conditioning was turned on throughout the entire process. We ran 105 kilometers on 100 kilometers of battery. Compared with the current shortage of electric vehicles on the market, this electronic control system can be said to be quite outstanding. ?
Driving experience:
The ix3 is a rear-wheel-drive electric vehicle. It is relatively light in terms of control. The direction of the front of the vehicle is very good, and its acceleration is similar to that of the low-power X3. The difference is that the motor of this car can actually hear the sound, which is more similar to Porsche's Taycan. BMW seems to want to give the ix3 a different kind of excitement. The pedal of the switch feels hard at the beginning, but after getting used to it, it is generally easier to master the opening and closing angle. This adaptive energy recovery system is a bit frustrating at low speeds, just like driving a gasoline car. The driver can choose to turn it off completely, but it is recommended to turn it on for the sake of battery life. There is no such problem when driving at high speeds. The overall feeling of quietness is good, and the car is equipped with a Harman Kardon sound system. In addition, the entire vehicle is equipped with an L3-level adaptive driving system, which can realize automatic lane changing. The steering wheel is capacitive, which means that as long as you put your finger on the steering wheel, you can sense it, just like the screen of a mobile phone. This function is easier to use when driving automatically, eliminating the need for the driver to drag the steering wheel. ?
Final summary:
In recent years, new domestic car manufacturing forces have developed rapidly, especially high-end new energy brands, both in appearance, interior design and power configuration. It has a unique cost-effective advantage, and as the first mass-produced model of the BMW i brand, the ix3 seems to be a latecomer to the market. First of all, the appearance, interior, and control performance are very "BMW". In terms of vehicle engine and configuration, the new ID7 system has the core of Tmall Elf. There are fundamental changes in both voice recognition and cloud car networking, and it is also more Chinese. change. Secondly, in terms of price, the car price of less than 500,000 yuan seems to give consumers who want to buy new energy sources no excuse to reject it. Moreover, BMW's more complete after-sales system and excellent service quality have also given ix3 a certain brand premium. Next, we will let time verify its sales volume!
This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.