The 2027 BMW iX3 is one of the most polished EVs out there, with really fast charging speeds, good efficiency, and plenty of technology inside. BMW threw everything it had at its first Neue Klasse model, and the results have been clear so far. To make things even clearer, the YouTube channel Out of Spec Roaming wanted to see how good a road-tripping car the new iX3 is by putting it through what it calls the 10% challenge.
The test is as straightforward as they get, and it bags several useful results, including charging performance, real-world range, and efficiency. The car gets plugged into a DC fast charger at 10% state of charge, with the battery fully preconditioned to get the most out of it. After just 15 minutes of charging, the session is stopped, and the car then sets off on the highway at a constant speed (74 miles per hour, in this case).
View Price on AmazonThe test stops when the EV’s battery level goes back to 10%, with the idea being to simulate a quick stop on a real-world road trip. In this particular case, the iX3 xDrive50 delivered 148 miles and an average energy efficiency of 2.56 miles/kilowatt-hour. That’s a decent result, but it also shows that if iX3 owners are willing to spend a little more time at the charger, they would drive even further between pit stops.
Considering the iX3 50’s battery capacity is a solid 108 kilowatt-hours, an 80% charge would result in a real-world range of 203 miles. According to BMW, charging from 10% to 80% takes 21 minutes. Meanwhile, a full charge should deliver 291 miles on the highway, which is really not bad for a big family SUV. By comparison, the iX3’s EPA-estimated range is 434 miles, but that comes from both high- and low-speed driving.
When it comes to charging, the iX3’s performance was impressive, with the maximum input shooting up to 407 kilowatts right from the beginning, and staying above 400 kilowatts until about 20% state of charge. It then started to dip below the 400 kilowatt mark, reaching 360 kilowatts at 30%, 250 kilowatts at 40%, and 200 kilowatts at 50%. After 15 minutes of charging, the car had gone from 10% to 65% state of charge, averaging 257 kilowatts during the session.
Source: insideevs.com
