Noirer Klasse (Neue Klasse) is understood to mean BMW's monumental model. The BMW 1500, 1600, and 2000 bearing the Noirer Klasse pioneered the midsize sports sedan segment, and by continuing into the 3 and 5 Series, they formed the foundation that created today's BMW.
BMW attached the name Noirer Klasse to the new iX3. It means the model pursues a groundbreaking change, as the software and hardware across the board have been newly reconfigured. BMW said it resolved the heaviness and the braking unnaturalness that had been the biggest drawbacks of electric vehicles. On the 18th, we test drove on the track and public roads at and near the BMW Driving Center on Yeongjongdo, Incheon.
The first test-drive course that day was slalom driving. It means driving through obstacles set at regular intervals. It is a course that checks how much the vehicle leans when the steering wheel is turned sharply.
The test drive was conducted with 450 ml of washer fluid in a cup attached to the vehicle's roof. Even as the reporter passed the obstacles at about 35 kph, made a U-turn, and returned to the starting point, the washer fluid did not spill. For a vehicle 4,780 mm long and with a curb weight of 2,630 kg, it means it did not lean to one side even during quick direction changes. The steering wheel also turned lightly, and the vehicle followed as it was turned.
What kept it well balanced was the Heart of Joy system installed in the new iX3. In designing the iX3, BMW integrated individual control units that had been distributed throughout the vehicle into four supercomputers responsible for driving dynamics, driving assistance, infotainment, and base systems.
Heart of Joy is a high-performance computer in charge of driving dynamics. It integrates management of movements from torque control to steering, braking, and body stabilization. BMW said the speed at which it reads the road surface, detects changes in driving conditions, and processes them has become 10 times faster.
The advantages of the Heart of Joy system were felt more vividly on the track. The moment the accelerator pedal was pressed hard, the vehicle ramped up torque and shot forward like an arrow. When the distance to the car ahead closed and the foot was lifted off the pedal, it immediately switched to regenerative braking and reduced speed.
What matters is that this process flowed smoothly without any unnaturalness. The secret to the smoothness was that the moment the force on the accelerator pedal was eased, the vehicle adjusted brake pressure along with driving force. Thanks to that, the nose dive, cited as a problem with electric vehicles, was hardly felt.
Even when exiting a corner at 70 kph, the vehicle's stance did not break. When running over track curbs, it felt more soft than stiff. The new iX3 is equipped with a conventional coil-spring suspension, not an air suspension.
A BMW official said, "It's because the increased body rigidity and the Heart of Joy system's control prevent unnecessary movements."
Acceleration on the straight was excellent, as expected of an EV. The car has two electric motors, one on the front axle and one on the rear. It delivers a maximum output of 469 horsepower and peak torque of 65.8 kg·m, and it takes 4.9 seconds to accelerate from a standstill to 100 kph. Acceleration performance has improved over the previous model, which had 286 horsepower.
The driving sound felt somewhat lacking. In the iX3, the EV's characteristic synthetic driving sound was heard only in sport mode, and there was a lingering sense that if it had reproduced an engine sound as-is, it would have increased the joy of driving. However, as sound preferences vary by person, there can certainly be consumers who like this sound.
On public roads, the driving assistance system was tested. It was possible to feel the vehicle controlling itself so that there was no sense of unnaturalness when starting off and stopping. In particular, even when the reporter turned the steering wheel and lightly pressed the brake with the driving assistance system on, the function did not disengage.
BMW said, "It's because the vehicle accurately recognizes the surrounding environment and predicts the driving path, then makes decisions through verified algorithms." In other words, it recognizes that the driver did not press the brake to stop.
The feature that changes lanes based only on the driver's gaze was not experienced that day. That is because it has not been certified under domestic regulations. In countries such as the United States and China, the vehicle includes a feature that even decides steering to match the driver's gaze.
Acceleration and deceleration of the iX3 were impressive on public roads as well. When a traffic light changed from red to green while driving, the vehicle decelerated and then raised speed again quite smoothly, the result of handling about 98% of braking with regenerative braking alone.
The iX3 uses BMW's next-generation battery. It is a cylindrical-cell high-voltage battery. The 113.4 kWh battery forms the vehicle floor in a "pack to open body" layout. The driving range on a single charge is 611 km under Korea's certification standard.
With 800V fast charging, just 10 minutes of charging can secure a driving range of 250 km, and the time it takes to charge from 10% to 80% state of charge is 21 minutes. A BMW official said, "Even after driving 1,007.7 km from the Hungary plant to the German headquarters, the battery still had 2% remaining."
The new iX3 applies a vertically elongated kidney grille at the front. It is a modern reinterpretation of the 1960s Noirer Klasse such as the BMW 1500.
At the front, enlarged side mirrors, a squared-off bumper design, and fenders come together to deliver an overall sharp and futuristic feel. Preferences for the design can vary by person.
The interior was tidier than existing BMW vehicles. The center display, angled 17.5 degrees toward the driver, was easy to reach and convenient to operate.
Also impressive was a thin display called "Panorama iDrive" that runs across the entire lower edge of the windshield just above the dashboard. It uses a reflector, and it was easier to see while driving than the previous instrument cluster that had been obscured by the steering wheel. Even though various functions were integrated into the center display, operation was not complicated.
The hazard light button is on the center console next to the shift lever. There is no start button. Like Tesla and Polestar, the car starts when you change gears while pressing the brake pedal.
It was inconvenient that there was no separate drive mode setting button. The structure requires clicking the drive mode change icon on the center display and selecting it. It was quite cumbersome to operate while driving, and there was a wish that buttons had been placed on the steering wheel.
The second-row space was generous. That is thanks to the longer body than the internal-combustion X3 and the previous iX3. With the length extended by 120 mm over the previous model, the wheelbase is 2,900 mm. When the 172 cm-tall reporter sat in the rear seat, there was room for about two fists between the knees and the driver's seat.
In line with recent trends, the roof is a glass roof. Even though the test vehicle had been outside in over-30-degree weather since the morning that day, there was no feeling of heat on the head. The trunk capacity is 520 liters, enough for three golf bags. Folding the second row increases it to 1,750 liters.
The iX3 is divided into SE, M Sport, and M Sport Pro trims. The SE trim is 79.9 million won, the M Sport is 86.9 million to 87.1 million won, and the M Sport Pro is 91.9 million won. An electric vehicle national subsidy of 2.75 million won applies, and based on Seoul there is also a local government subsidy of 820,000 won. The new iX3 will be delivered to customers starting on the 6th of next month.