Bucket Seat: BMW iX3

My first introduction to the media world of motoring was at an event held by BMW on electric mobility. They were launching their range or hybrid vehicles into the country but also showcasing two, pure electric cars as well. I got to drive the pre-production versions of the Mini E and the 1 Series Electric which both were still in R&D format with the company doing tests on the cars to see if they would be viable. Not long after that, BMW launched their ‘I’ division, which would be for their own electric range of cars. The i3 and i8 both took the motoring industry by surprise with both production cars being very similar to the concepts that were showcased at the Motor shows. Both models did reasonably well, given that they were something that people were not used to. This was the change needed to test the waters in the market and to acclimatize the consumer on what was yet to come. You see, as years go by, and new legislations are signed in, more and more manufacturers are committing to a future without the internal combustion engine. So while other technologies are still being investigated, the electric revolution has begun. With manufacturers like Tesla taking the US market by storm, many other manufacturers have followed suit, hoping to be not left behind but while there was a vast difference in driving those pre-production cars during that launch, I was intrigued to see how much has changed since, so towards the end of last year I was given the opportunity to spend a week with the BMW iX3, a full EV model of the much loved mid sized SUV, here I my thoughts on the car. 

DESIGN

With BMW, their ‘I’ cars were always different, more futuristic in design, greener materials used to make the car and even the factories that were producing them were green rated. Most people did find the look a bit odd and said they would consider an electric car if it looked “normal”, so that’s what they did. They took a normal iX3 chassis and put an electric motor in it. There are some notable design differences between the iX3 and the normal X3, not having a radiator there isn't a need for a grille but BMW have still incorporated the famous kidney grille in its design but have it blanked off by a plastic cover with a neat design pattern on it. Another key design element is no exhaust tail pipes at the back, the diffuser, while having the detail for the pipes, is blanked off. BMW also have a set of unique rims for the electric cars, which are lighter in weight to aid drawing less power from the battery. There are also some nice blue accents around the car that you can spot on closer inspection to make it known this car is an EV. Moving on the inside, everything looks exactly the same as a normal X3, the only difference is the additional info on the infotainment screen to show you the EV performance of the car. Other than that, you won't know you're sitting in an electric car as everything is exactly the same. 

PERFORMANCE

How does one measure performance on an EV? There is no cylinders, no gearbox, let a lone turbo's, giving stats on the kW ratings and torque ratings are helpful but to me, some of these figures had to be restrained to make the car drivable. The iX3 delivers 210kW and 400Nm of torque on paper but if you are a first time EV driver, you will feel a noticeable difference but not as much as when I first drove the pre-production cars. They've managed to reduce the feel tremendously to make the EV more "normal", there isn't a harsh acceleration with the torque controlled and because there is no gearbox, the speed built up is also managed dependent on what driver mode you have it on. Even the regeneration isn't as harsh as the previous models, where by the car does slow down once you leave the accelerator but not in a manner in which the occupants physically feel the inertia of the car slowing for regeneration. The thing that will feel the most weird to most, is the silence of the car, even while having your music playing, there is that eerie silence that will make you wonder if the car is even switched on or not.  BMW have a claimed range of 460km on a full charge, I managed to get about 440km before having to top up, my driving was mixed but I did do a lot of freeway driving, which as you know isn't the best for EV's as the stop/ start of urban cruising is more effective to prolonging its range. What I must add that the battery tech has been improved a lot since I drove the i3, with zero range anxiety experienced during my time with the iX3.  Handling is sublime with the car, even with the heavy battery bar sitting on the floor of the car, it still maintains great stability and has good weight distribution on corners. 

COMFORT

What's to say? It's a BMW and they are well known for having great spec'd interiors with luxurious seats and all the bells and whistles to keep all occupants happy. The car is well equipped even at base specifications with three zone climate control for driver, front passenger and rear occupants, leather seating's, BMWs Connected Drive, a great sound system and host of safety features. Being a test model, this one came packed with most of the optional extras that you'd find in a normal X3, such as panoramic sunroof, Harman Kardon sound system, electric adjustable seats with memory, seat heating, expanded screen display, wireless mobile app connectivity, wireless charging tray, surround view camera, PDC's, lane keep assist, collision assist, adaptive cruise control and high beam adaptive LED lights. Other nice features specifically for the iX3 included the addition of the mobile app which can load a digital key to your phone, that means you wont need a physical key to unlock and start you car, you can just use your smart phone. Connected Charging on digital services, the car will give you an indication if it has enough range for your journey and notify you of charging stations en-route. 

CHARGING

The big question when it comes to EV's, how much will charging cost me? Well, a study done in 2012 said that at the time it would cost you around R60 to fully charge an i3, but with the bigger battery size of the iX3 and increase in electricity price, I'd say that figure is probably doubled now, so effectively costing you R120 to fully charge this car at your house using a conventional 3-Pin socket outlet, bear un mind this would take close to 9 hours to fully charge the car. It would be advisable to install a wall box charger at your home to regulate the power flow as with our energy crisis the country is experiencing, they can be disruptions to your charge which will result in issues when charging straight from the socket outlet. I must admit, charging the car did prove to be frustrating at time, with most BMW dealerships only have AC chargers which cut the charging time down to almost half but still is a long time, the DC chargers which take about 20 minutes to fully charge the car are few and far to find with me only having found one at Gateway Shopping Mall, that too, there is two bays for EV cars, but only one DC charger with the other being AC. So if someone has already beaten you to it, you better hope they not spending the entire day at the mall. These charging stations are operating via a billing system that is linked to a card you will receive with the car. The DC charging will cost you in the region of between R350 to R400, which for 460km of range is a steal when compared to the price of fuel these days. 

VERDICT

While the technology is ever improving, one feels there is still a lot of work to be done in getting EV's right but what BMW have done in the iX3 is showing the potential that EV's can have in our market. The car itself performs beautifully on the roads and other than the charging infrastructure locally there is nothing I can fault about the car itself. As mentioned at the start of the article, manufactures are pushing to go completely emission free so EV's are here to stay, so things like the charging infrastructure will improve over time and hopefully that means a lot more places for one to charge their electric cars. We already seeing massive development in the European and American markets with Asia not that far behind so its only time that Africa starts playing catch up. Also with the market being more and more open to EV's, there will be more of a drive to get the infrastructure in place. To prove my point, BMW released details on its best selling M car for 2022, and to everyone's surprise, it was in face their i4 M50! So it just goes to show that the future is very much electric!

SPECIFICATIONS

Engine	Single electric motor
Gear Box	Single speed automatic
Torque	400Nm
Power	210kW
0-100km/h	6.8 seconds
Price	R1,306,400*

*base price

 

BMW X3 xPlore Tour - Exploring

The main purpose of the BMW X3 xPlore tour was to give us more insight into the final product consumers purchase from BMW. We got a glimpse of the X Lifestyle Park which opens in November, and got to play in a few of the obstacles the course has to offer, we toured Plant Rosslyn to view the upgrades made and to see first hand, the production line of the new X3. We were given a tour of the brand new training facility and lastly, toured the Bio2Watt plant to find out how they generate renewable energy and in turn feeds 30% of Plant Rosslyn. All that was left to do was drive the locally made product and see how it compared to the ones we drove on the launch, which were fully imported. 

BMW had planned a brilliant 2 day road trip which would see us travel through three provinces, on multiple types of surfaces, traversing through some of the best driving roads the country has to offer and not to mention the brilliant scenery along the way. For the trip, we had a choice between 3.0L Diesel or 2.0L Diesel engines to choose from, with the long journey ahead with some days consisting of 600km drives, diesel was the obvious choice for this tour. I'm a massive fan of BMW's diesel engines, light on fuel, plenty of torque, minimal lag and once they get going, there's no stopping them. First up it was a chance to get behind the wheel of the 3.0L, each car was also specc'd differently to the other, displaying some of the differences in styling options for both the interior and exterior of the car.  The car came fitting with BMW's 21" multispoke rims which would made things interesting for the gravel roads. 

One thing I have to say from the get go, the quality of the product was faultless, in fact if you had to take the locally made X3 and one assembled from another plant, it would be very very difficult to find a difference. So much has gone on behind the scenes to ensure the quality of product being delivered by BMW Group SA is top notch as these cars are to not only supplied to our country but also to most of Europe! The route for the journey encapsulated everything that is to love about our country as we meandered through breathtaking mountain passes and villages, but at the same time making us fall in love with the BMW X3 as it proved to be a match for every terrain, every obstacle that came in its way. 

Day two saw us tour through Mpumalanga stopping at some of the popular tourists hotspots, one of them being the Three Rondavels and Blythe River Canyon, place I last visited as a kid a good 20 years ago, so visiting it again brought back some fond memories of my family vacations which harked back to the car. The X3 is the perfect vehicle for family vacations, it's a brilliant drive, very spacious, loads of luggage space and with the wide range of options available to suit anyone's budget and preference. While the price would put some off, you have to realise what you getting for your money is worth every cent, yes there are cheaper options available on the market but with these you getting inferior quality finishes and materials. On the way back we got a pretty basic base model 2.0L diesel and even in this, you cannot distinguished any comprise in quality. While it didn't have any fancy finishes, nor lots of options, it still gave you that premium feel and more importantly, that terrific drive. 

Reflecting under the night skies of the Kruger,( where its so clear that you can actually see star belts with your naked eye!) of the past few days on tour, really gives you a sense at how far BMW SA have come, not only as a brand but as a company. Showing faith in our country, investing in it and it's people, and with that return of investment being this quality product. It still amazed me that Plant Rosslyn was BMW's first plant outside of Germany and that's a good heritage to hold, with over a million 3 Series being produced at the plant, I can only look forward to a million X3's running off the line in the near future. 

BMW X3 xPlore - Plant Rosslyn

Continuing from where I left off last week with the BMW X3 xPlore tour, after putting the locally made SUV's to the test at the X Lifestyle Park it was time to take a trip to see where these cars were put together, at Plant Rosslyn. Many don't know this but the BMW assembly plant at Rosslyn was the first BMW plant outside of Germany to produce cars for the brand. That alone shows you how much faith they had in South Africa from the get go. It was my second time at Rosslyn, the first was when we attended the media launch for the revised F30 3 Series range a few years ago and I can report that a lot has changed in that time! With BMW investing R6.2 Billion in the plant for upgrades and expansion to accommodate the X3 build, it was time for us to take a first hand look at what was done to the plant.

We started the tour at the brand new state of the art training center, built to give workers the skills and knowledge on the operations of the plant. From learning about robotics, to the electrical systems and a general understanding of how the plan operates, everything is taught here in this world class facility. The training center is also open to other manufacturers to get their staff skills brushed up. 

Next up it was time to go into the heart of the beast, now Plant Rosslyn is massive, and while you could walk to where you want to get to, it's much faster for you to take a golf cart and in doing so we went to have a look at an area in the assembly plant where the frame of the new X3 is put together. It was like something out of a Sci-Fi movie with a maze of robots, pick up, turning and tossing these massive parts like they're toys. The various components which form the frame of the car, made with aluminium and steel are fixed together by welds and traditional nuts and bolts. While most of the hard work is done by the robots, there is a human element to this process, which makes sure everything is done perfectly. 

We then skipped on over to the paint shop, where we got a briefing on what changes we made and the addition of a 6 story stacker which stores up to 120 cars at a time. There are various processes to BMW's paint techniques, obviously the finer details were not divulged but we can all agree that their paint work is truly extraordinary and some of the colours offered challenge even the most vast colour palettes. from then on we made our way to part of the plant which has its only extraordinary tale to tell. In this main assembly area where the cars are fitting with their interiors and mechanical components, the roof of the building had to be raised but what made this fascinating is that it was done while the plant was still functioning! By using modern engineering techniques like incremental launching, the contractors tasked with this job successfully managed to complete this feat while BMW were still building the 3 Series sedan. In this area, the cars drive train and engine are also married and lifted into the X3, it is quite an awesome sight to witness. 

We were then taken to the Lego room, and that room means exactly what it reads. It's a room where a full scale model of the plant resides and it built completely from Lego! There is a reason for this, BMW felt that by using these popular children's toy, they could manipulate scenarios if they had to change things in the plant and they could gauge first hand how thing would pan out with this Lego model. It was very cool to see how everything was built to scale and the accuracy of it all. Lastly we were given the opportunity to walk down memory lane at Plant Rosslyn, with a corridor dedicated to the Plants and BMW's achievements over the years both locally and Internationally, including that amazing JD Power award which was handed to them in 2015 for Platinum Plant Quality. 

A rather interesting stat that was given to us on our tour at Rosslyn was that in BMW's aim to make their premises more eco-friendly and adding to their already impressive green credentials of their Head Office in Midrand being 5 star green rated by the GBSA, 30% of the power supplied to Plant Rosslyn is generated from the Bio2Watt plant outside Bronkhorstpruit. The plant which lies on the premises of one of South Africa's larger feedlots, run by Beefcor and provides the facility with proximity to key fuel supplies, sufficient water and access to the grid. Power is generated at the plant with a mixture of cattle manure, mixed organic waste which is then left to sit in two anaerobic digesters in which biogas is produced. This gas then gets fed to a gas engine and electricity is produced and fed straight back into Eskom's grid.  By the end of 2018, 100% of BMW Group Plant Rosslyn's electricity supply will be obtained from renewable sources - in line with the BMW Group's 2020 deadline for all group production locations to transition to fully renewable electricity supplies.