Used BMW iX3 2021-2025 review

The spaceship look – what do you make of it? Many electric SUVs embrace it as a means of standing out and emphasising the futuristic nature of the vehicle. It's not for everyone, though, and the BMW iX3 understands this.

We wouldn't blame you for confusing it with the conventionally powered BMW X3. They look almost identical, bar some badges and different front grilles. This isn't a coincidence, either. Unlike the imposing BMW iX and the quirky BMW i3 2013-2022, the iX3 wasn't built from the ground up to be electric – it's just a variant of the X3.

Motors and batteries: The iX3 is powered by a single, rear-mounted electric motor (making it rear-wheel drive) that produces 282bhp. While a Tesla Model Y Performance will eat it for breakfast in a drag race, the iX3's 0-62mph time of 6.8sec isn't bad at all. What's more, performance is instantaneous, punchy and unsurprisingly quiet. On the other hand, M Sport Pro cars get an eerie electronic soundtrack dreamed up by German film score composer Hans Zimmer to accompany acceleration (in Sport mode).

Thanks to a 74.3kWh (usable) capacity battery, you can go up to 288 miles on a charge officially. That's similar to the Model Y RWD and Volvo XC40 Recharge Twin, but those cars are available with bigger battery options that boost the range even farther. The iX3 has only one version available.

Ride and handling: For a car as heavy and tall as the iX3, it has remarkable agility and composure in the bends, as well as a surprising lack of body lean. The well-weighted steering also aids confidence and the end result is one of the best, most polished driving experiences of any car in its class. It's in a different league to the harsh-riding Model Y.

You can adjust the stiffness of the suspension, tightening things up for country road driving or softening them for long motorway jaunts. It’s firmer than the wafty Audi E-Tron, but it deals with bumps more than well enough, both around town and on faster roads. In fact, anyone who suffers from car sickness might prefer the iX3’s well-tied-down feel.

Interior and practicality: You certainly won't get sick of the iX3's interior. True, it perhaps isn’t quite as glamorous as what you'll find inside the E-tron or Mercedes EQC, but it feels really well put together and has lots of dense, squishy materials in most of the important places. Only a couple of patches of hard, scratchy plastic – around the starter button, for example – let it down a little.

BMW is known for leading the pack when it comes to infotainment and the iX3 is another example of that, with the latest version of the brilliant iDrive system. The 10.25in touchscreen display can be operated using a rotary controller between the front seats, which is much less distracting than rival systems. You can also use touch, a series of set gestures or the natural speech voice control function, which works surprisingly well (most of the time).

On top of built-in sat-nav, bluetooth and DAB radio, all versions of the iX3 come with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, and wireless phone-charging, while top-tier M Sport Pro versions also get an upgraded Harman Kardon sound system.

Take a seat in the front of the iX3 and you’ll be treated to plenty of head and leg room, even if you're over six feet tall. The interior is also wide enough that you won’t find your shoulders rubbing those of your passenger.

It’s good news in the rear too, because despite the fact that a big battery has, in effect, been shoehorned under the floor, there’s as much space in the iX3 as in the regular X3. That means two tall people can sit quite comfortably in the back of the car, with leg and head room to spare.

You can recline the outer rear seats to give a more laid-back seating position, a feature that isn’t available in the iX3’s direct rivals.

The main boot area is identical to the X3’s, which means it’s slightly smaller than an E-Tron’s but bigger than the one in the EQC. The iX3 loses a bit of underfloor storage compared with the X3, but there’s still room for the charging cable. All iX3 models have 40/20/40 split-folding rear seats.

Trims and equipment: Upon the iX3's 2021 launch, the model was available in Premier Edition and Premier Edition Pro trims. These soon transitioned into (similarly specced) M Sport and M Sport Pro – these two have since become more common on the used market.

Entry-level M Sport gives you plenty of luxuries, including 19in alloy wheels, a powered tailgate, a panoramic sunroof, leather seats (heated in the front), a 12.3in digital driver display and parking sensors.

Range-topping M Sport Pro trim gets you 20in aerodynamic alloys, a head-up display (which projects current speed, the speed limit and sat-nav directions on to the windscreen), auto-dipping headlights and keyless entry. That’s alongside a fancier sound system, lumbar support and IconicSounds acceleration sound effects.

Facelift: In 2021, the iX3 was given a facelift. This was unusual, because the car had only just been launched. The reason for the update was to bring the car in-line with the regular X3, which had just been given a facelift. The main changes included a new grille design, updated front and rear lights and a larger infotainment screen.

"If you like buttons like I do, you'll get on very well with the iX3's interior. The infotainment system and climate controls are so much easier to use than the touchscreen-based set-up in the Tesla Model Y." – Mark Pearson, Used Cars Editor

If you're interested in finding a used BMW iX3 or any of the other cars mentioned here, head over to our Used Cars For Sale pages to find lots of cars listed at great prices.

A 2021 BMW iX3 should set you back around £17,000. Expect around 100,000 miles on the clock and a car in Premier Edition or Premier Edition Pro trim. Lower mileage examples cost upwards of £21,000, as do facelift models in M Sport trim. Prices for M Sport Pro models start from around £23,000.

If you up your budget to £28,000, you'll pick up a low mileage 2023 model. Later 2024 cars jump up to the £36,000 mark, while 2025 cars rise even further, with prices starting from around £40,000.

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Charging

The iX3 matches the 150kW maximum charging rate of Audi E-tron, meaning that a 0-80% charge can be completed in around 34 minutes. The only trouble is that there aren’t many public CCS charging points in the UK capable of delivering that much power. Any time you need to travel more than 200 miles, you’re likely to find yourself plugging in to a 50kW charger on a motorway, and that will take just over an hour for a 10-80% charge.

Road tax

In April 2025, electric cars lost their exemption to road tax, which means the iX3 is subject to the standard flat rate fee of £195 per year (after the initial £10 fee for the first year after registration). Cars costing more than £40,000 when new face an additional £425 luxury car tax from years two to six of the car's life, but only for cars registered on and after 1 April 2025. For the iX3, there aren't many cars registered after that date, so most will have the standard rate fee.

Insurance and servicing

Insurance groups range from 44 to 45 (out of a possible 50), depending on your chosen specification. When looking at a 2022 iX3 M Sport, we were quoted £540 for two services through BMW.

Warranty

From new, every iX3 comes with a three-year, unlimited mileage warranty, which is the same as Mercedes' cover but better than Audi's three-year, 60,000-mile cover. A separate warranty covers the battery for up to eight years or 100,000 miles.

Safety

The regular X3 was tested for safety by Euro NCAP in 2017, awarding it five stars out of five, a rating that also covers the iX3 after it was validated in 2021. These ratings are now expired, though, so it's difficult to compare to direct rivals.

Even so, the iX3 should keep you safe in an accident, because every car comes with plenty of safety kit, with automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keep assist, active side-collision protection and automatic speed-limit assist offered as standard.

Reliability

The BMW iX3 shows solid reliability according to real-world owner reviews from our latest What Car? Reliability Survey.

Most owners reported a smooth, fault-free experience, with only a handful mentioning minor software niggles like infotainment bugs or unexplained warning lights—usually fixed with a reset or update.

Feedback on dealer service was more mixed. While some praised helpful, responsive support, others noted slow appointment times and patchy communication. One owner needed several visits to resolve a warning light issue.

Find out more about used BMW iX3 reliability on our dedicated reliability page.

Motor and battery

There's just one battery and electric motor available with the BMW iX3. For now, it's a 80kWh (74kWh of which is useable) battery and and a single electric motor (driving the rear wheels) or nothing. That's not to say we're unimpressed, because this set-up is very good.

Specification

Trim-wise, it's a toss up between Premier Edition Pro and M Sport Pro – we're discounting Premier Edition and M Sport, because you can get their Pro counterparts for similar money.

A strong argument can be made for Premier Edition Pro being the better choice, with it being cheaper by quite margin. However, M Sport Pro means a newer car (by at least a year) and there are a lot more of them to choose from on the used market.

Our favourite BMW iX3: M Sport Pro

The BMW iX3's main pair of rivals are the Audi E-Tron and Mercedes EQC. Having arrived in 2019, both cars have been around for longer than the iX3 has, hence you'll see used examples go for less money than iX3s tend to.

The E-tron, especially, is somewhat of a bargain, being spacious, comfortable and quiet to drive. That said, it has suffered from poor reliability in the past.

Another rival worth considering is the Jaguar I-Pace. It's almost as good to drive as the iX3 and it's generally cheaper, but like the E-tron, there are valid concerns surrounding its reliability.

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If you're interested in finding a used BMW iX3 or any of the other cars mentioned here, head over to our Used Cars For Sale pages to find lots of cars listed at great prices.