Is the Neue Klasse iX3 ‘more BMW than ever’?

BMW launched the first of its Neue Klasse models in Cape Town this week.

The new iX3 is a fully electric SUV that gained a fair amount of mixed reactions following its global launch in late 2025 due to its distinct design language and overly futuristic interior.

However, it was also named 2026 World Car of the Year. In fact, it took home a double victory, also winning the 2026 World Electric Vehicle title against fierce competition.

The main theme around the media launch was "More BMW than ever", a statement that was echoed by BMW Group South Africa CEO Peter van Binsbergen.

He assured the media that once we drove the car, we would understand why that bold statement was true.

But it's more than just driving that makes the statement true, it's also travelling through the brand's heritage, both locally and globally.

Historically, BMW has never been afraid to ruffle feathers. Whenever they introduce a generational leap in design, it sparks debate.

The iX3 Neue Klasse is no different. It is a radical departure from the familiar, trading aggressive, muscular lines for a hyper-minimalist, almost clinical aesthetic.

While it has drawn mixed reactions globally, I actually like the design. It isn't just different for the sake of being different. It shows BMW's willingness to evolve rather than just playing it safe and relying on their heritage.

The iconic kidney grilles have been reimagined into a flush, digital front stage and it proves that the brand is looking forward, not backward.

To truly grasp the weight of Van Binsbergen's statement, we have to look at what BMW means in a uniquely South African context.

Locally, the brand's heritage was forged in the fires of raw, unapologetic combustion.

For decades, BMW in South Africa has been synonymous with noise. It is the mechanical scream of a naturally aspirated inline-six, the violent pops of an M-Performance exhaust and most famously, the legendary E30 325i — the revered Gusheshe.

The brand birthed our unique motorsport of spinning, where the soundtrack of a rev-limiter bouncing over screaming rear tyres became a cultural anthem.

In South Africa, a BMW is supposed to be loud. It is supposed to offer a raw, mechanical driving experience.

So, how does a completely silent electric SUV fit into this noisy heritage?

Well, even in silence, it still leads in performance.

BMW has re-engineered driver engagement for the digital age. Instead of trying to artificially replicate the mechanical roar of a Gusheshe with cheesy fake engine noises, BMW embraced the electric silence and replaced mechanical drama with clinical, devastating speed.

Put your foot down and the instant surge of 345kW and 645Nm of torque isn't accompanied by a screaming rev-limiter but by an exclusive, futuristic soundscape composed by Hans Zimmer. It is a completely different kind of theatre.

BMW is proving that the soul of the brand isn't strictly tied to an exhaust pipe. It is tied to how the car makes you feel when you step on the throttle and throw it into a bend.

It is important to note that this isn't a comprehensive road test. Our time with the car was limited to the official launch route, taking us from the winelands of Stellenbosch to the coastal town of Hermanus.

But even on a short launch drive, the interior of the iX3 leaves an immediate, lasting impression.

The cabin is the biggest departure from traditional BMW ergonomics we have ever seen.

The centrepiece is the new BMW Panoramic iDrive and Vision system. It completely removes the traditional instrument binnacle, projecting all your essential driving information across the entire base of the windscreen from pillar to pillar.

Visually, it looks absolutely amazing. It feels like you are piloting a concept car.

However, my first impression is that this system is going to take a significant amount of time to get used to in daily driving. Hunting for specific functions on the massive central touchscreen while on the move requires you to take your eyes off the road. Even adjusting the direction of the air vents is now a menu task on the screen rather than a physical adjustment.

The same applies to the new steering wheel. It features a unique, almost squared-off shape and operates on a 'shy-tech' principle, where the buttons remain hidden under a sleek surface until they light up.

It looks sensational but retraining your muscle memory to use it intuitively will definitely require more than just a two-hour coastal drive.

The iX3 marks the debut of BMW's sixth-generation (Gen6) eDrive technology.

For years, BMW relied on traditional, bulky prismatic battery cells. Now, they have transitioned to advanced cylindrical lithium-ion cells.

But the genius isn't just in the shape of the cell, it is in how the car is built around them.

BMW employs a "pack-to-open-body" concept. In layman's terms, the battery pack isn't just bolted onto the bottom of the car, which means that it fundamentally is the structural floor of the vehicle. By using the battery as a stressed component, BMW has managed to make the vehicle lighter while significantly increasing energy density.

What it also means is that while the Neue Klasse iX3 is shorter than its predecessor, it provides much more space from head to toe for passengers.

Furthermore, thanks to an entirely new 800-volt electrical architecture, the iX3 can charge at a peak rate of 400kW but charging infrastructure in South Africa is not yet as advanced as the vehicle, so that charging capacity might not make a difference here yet.

While the interior might require a learning curve, the driving dynamics felt instantly familiar.

The route to Hermanus took us along Clarence Drive, a relentless ribbon of coastal tarmac defined by sweeping, cambered corners and tight switchbacks. Usually, throwing an electric SUV at this road results in a battle with physics, characterised by heavy body roll.

But the iX3 completely hides its weight. Because the battery pack serves as the structural floor, the centre of gravity is incredibly low. When diving into the corners at Kogel Bay, I braced myself for the body roll but it simply never arrived.

This is largely thanks to what BMW calls the "Heart of Joy".

This new high-performance control unit consolidates the drivetrain, steering and braking into a single "superbrain".

While that sounds like a marketing gimmick, the real-world result is a car that darts exactly where it is aimed.

One final, crucial takeaway from the launch is how BMW is positioning this car in the market.

Let's look at the numbers. The new-generation standard X3 20d starts from around the R1.1 million mark, while the X3 30e plug-in hybrid (PHEV) sits even higher.

However, those are base prices. If you want your combustion or hybrid X3 to look and feel premium, you have to tick a lot of option boxes. Once you fully spec a 20d or a 30e PHEV with the M Sport package, upgraded wheels, the panoramic roof and the advanced tech suites, the price tag inflates dramatically, easily pushing the PHEV toward the R1.5 million mark and beyond.

By contrast, the potent, dual-motor iX3 xDrive 50 we sampled on the launch starts from R1 690 000 but crucially, it is brought into South Africa standard as an M Sport.

It comes out of the box with the aggressive styling, the premium finishes and the high-end tech already included.

When you consider that you are getting an enormous 108.7 kWh battery pack, up to 820 km of claimed range and a dual-motor setup delivering 345 kW, the price gap between a fully-specced ICE model and the iX3 shrinks drastically.

Based on this initial launch drive, the iX3 is an incredibly competent electric vehicle that still manages to feel like a BMW.

Yes, the Panoramic Vision and the complete lack of physical buttons will alienate some traditionalists and it will take time to adapt to this new digital interface.

We will need a full road test to see how the battery efficiency holds up during the daily commute but for now, van Binsbergen's words may just be true.

It might be silent, it might look completely different and it might be dominated by screens, but at the end of the day, it aligns with BMW's slogan: "Sheer Driving Pleasure".