BMW has brought electric power to the 3 Series for the first time, giving the popular saloon a radical new look and the longest range of any EV currently on sale.
The second model of the Neue Klasse era, the i3 has been revealed six months after the larger iX3 SUV, with which it shares most of its technical make-up, including the EV-first 800V Gen6 platform.
The i3 inherits its name from the seminal electric hatchback that went out of production in 2022 and is the smallest EV in the BMW line-up.
Notably, BMW has beaten rival Mercedes-Benz in bringing the i3 to market ahead of the C-Class EQ, which is due in the coming months. The pair will be joined later in the decade by an electric Audi A4 E-tron.
Despite offering the similarly sized and shaped i4 since 2021, BMW delayed introducing an electric 3 Series until technology could match the performance of its combustion-engined equivalent.
Alongside the i3, BMW will continue to sell the current CLAR-based ICE 3 Series. It will soon be heavily updated to bring it in line with the eighth-generation car both in terms of design and technologies, meaning it "is basically a new car”, BMW engineers told Autocar.
Although it will initially be sold in saloon form, the i3 will also spawn a Touring estate variant.
A hot M3 EV, previewed by the M HP BEV test mule, is due in 2028 and promised to “set new standards" for electric performance.
The i3 will be offered exclusively in 50 xDrive form at launch, but other variants are planned.
At its centre is a 108kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) battery that helps achieve a range of 559 miles – the most offered on any EV in Europe, notably beating the Mercedes-Benz EQS (although the 511-mile variant of that car isn’t sold in the UK).
Despite using the same battery as the iX3, the i3’s range is 59 miles longer. Engineers said this jump in performance is primarily down to the more rakish profile of a saloon.
The Gen6 platform allows for a car's front seats to be bolted directly onto the battery pack, meaning the roofline can be kept as low as possible, improving aerodynamics. Another key attribute of the saloon is that it has a completely closed, smooth underbody that aids airflow.
When that range is depleted, the i3 can complete a 249 mile top-up in just 10 minutes when charging at its 400kW maximum DC speed. AC charging is rated at a maximum of 22kW.
Join the debate
Add your comment
I suppose the single motor version might reach 600 miles official range of BMW keeps the same battery size.
The only negative, to me, is that the front-end is a bit too busy. The lights resambling the kidneys, while I get why they are there, are a bit too much.
It looks better than many recent BMWs, but better than the current 3 series? Unfortunately the 'new design language' is still let down by jarring details and cheap tricks, like the plastic blanking plate resembling some sort of Hofmeister kink.
It also shows how much SUV bluff shapes hurt range, albeit the real world difference will be narrower unless you are a sales rep pounding the motorways every day.
That cockpit looks... challenging. I don't like Peugeot's set up and remain to be convinced here. From the peerless ergonomics of something like an E39, to this... hmm.
And, of course, it's a shame it's so heavy.
Nailed it and put another nail in the Model 3 coffin.
I await a smaller than 108kwh battery version which surely must be coming.