Testing the 2026 BMW iX3 50 xDrive: Australia’s New Range Champion

As BMW's first Neue Klasse EV lands in Australian showrooms, EV Central's first local drive of the 2026 iX3 50 xDrive puts real numbers behind the hype, and the figure that matters most for daily life is range: 805km claimed from a 108.7kWh battery, the longest of any EV currently on sale in Australia.

What the 50 xDrive actually delivers

The dual-motor setup pushes 345kW and 645Nm, trimming the 0-100km/h run to 4.9 seconds. On a compatible 800V charger it pulls up to 400kW; BMW claims a 10-80% top-up in about 21 minutes and roughly 350km of range added in 10 minutes. Plug into a more common 400V stall, though, and that drops to 200kW, so the hardware at your usual fast-charger matters more than the brochure figure. The shared 800V architecture is a BMW first, and the entry iX3 40 also gets it, capped at 300kW (150kW on 400V) with up to 300km added in 10 minutes.

Pricing and equipment reality

The lineup opens at $89,900 plus on-road costs for the iX3 40, deliberately positioned under the Luxury Car Tax threshold for fuel-efficient vehicles to keep the novated-lease FBT discount in play. The good news for buyers is that equipment is identical across both grades, so the 50 xDrive premium is purely about the second motor, the bigger pack, and the extra range, not a stripped-down base car versus a loaded flagship.

Standard kit includes an M Sport pack, 20-inch alloys, a panoramic glass sunroof rated to cut 90% of heat, Harman Kardon audio, heated front seats and steering wheel, electric seat adjustment with memory, Veganza faux-leather trim, a 17.9-inch infotainment screen in a slanted parallelogram shape, BMW's Panoramic Vision display spanning the base of the windscreen, a 3D head-up display, and Driving Assistant Plus with adaptive cruise and lane centring.

Where it fits in the segment

The original iX3 was rear-drive only, an awkward fit in a segment where roughly 70% of X3s sold locally are all-wheel drive. Adding xDrive fixes that gap. Styling is a deliberate break from recent BMWs, including a new take on the kidney grille and a refreshed logo, essentially a signal of where the brand's EV design language is heading next.

For anyone cross-shopping this size of SUV, Edmunds, Electrek, and ArenaEV have all recently reported the 2027 Audi Q6 e-tron beating its own EPA range estimate in independent real-world testing, a useful reminder that mid-size electric SUVs are finally delivering on the range promises buyers were burned on a few years ago.

If you're sizing up an iX3, the practical takeaway from EV Central's Australian test is that the 50 xDrive's headline range appears to hold up under local conditions, which is the single biggest lifestyle and financial lever at this price. The 40 is the sensible pick if a single motor and the smaller battery cover your weekly mileage; the 50 is the one that turns long drives into something you stop planning around.