The BMW iX3 Drives Better Because It’s Electric. Here’s Why

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The 463-hp BMW iX3 50 xDrive pairs a low-mounted battery with BMW’s Heart of Joy controller, and its rear slides on corner exit if you ask.

I don’t particularly enjoy driving SUVs. Raising a car and then trying to engineer out all the drawbacks feels like a rather elaborate way to avoid buying a wagon. Give me a good sedan or hatchback, and I’ll generally be happier behind the wheel. The BMW iX3 makes this position hard to defend. After driving it hard on Romania’s Transfăgărășan and through the Swiss Alps, I’ve concluded it puts BMW’s combustion X3 to shame for driving enjoyment and sheer handling competence. Being electric is what makes this happen. The low-placed battery and excellent chassis tuning do most of the work, but the motors and electronics also contribute something you can actually feel (and enjoy) through a sequence of corners.

My loaner, supplied by BMW Switzerland, was an iX3 50 xDrive. Its two motors produce 463 hp (345 kW), and BMW quotes 4.9 seconds to 100 km/h (62 mph). It feels quicker than the numbers suggest, though launching a powerful electric SUV hard isn’t really a new party trick these days. Making one enjoyable between those launches takes more work.

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As with most EVs, the battery’s location helps. Putting that mass, around 600 kg (1,320 pounds), low under the cabin lowers the center of gravity, reducing the top-heavy sensation that puts me off many combustion SUVs. The iX3 feels planted and hunkered down through corners, encouraging you to enjoy the road instead of constantly reminding you how much car you brought and how much mass and height you have to fight.

Adding weight obviously doesn’t improve handling, since it makes the tires’ job harder when you brake or change direction. The advantage comes from where the weight sits, combined with how effectively the car controls power delivery and distribution to the wheels. Driving the iX3, you feel how proper chassis engineering blends with computing power to create a unique driving experience. BMW specifies a double-joint strut front suspension, a five-link rear axle, and structural bracing connecting the front subframe, battery, and body. The published weight distribution is almost even, with a slight rearward bias.

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I’m not a fan of the name “Heart of Joy,” which sounds suspiciously like something sold alongside scented candles, but the central controller does its job really well. It coordinates propulsion, braking, energy recuperation, and steering, working with BMW’s in-house Dynamic Performance Control software.

Instead of managing acceleration and braking through separate computers and control algorithms, BMW brings them together in a single unit. The company says it processes information up to ten times faster than previous systems, cutting delays to milliseconds. Electric motors already adjust output extremely quickly, and coordinating that response with braking gives the car much finer control over how it accelerates, slows, and behaves through a corner.

BMW says this means fewer corrective interventions and a more consistent, precise line. Still, I could get the rear to slide when I applied too much power on corner exit, and it felt controllable and fun, as a BMW should. It gave me more confidence than the combustion X3, which surprised me.

Why Is The iX3 So Much Fun On A Mountain Road?

The iX3 feels unusually cohesive, with a genuinely entertaining chassis. The powertrain is punchy but beautifully smooth, and the car responds without the sense that several systems are negotiating your request. The electric drivetrain also changes how you enjoy a mountain road. There’s no waiting for a downshift or for boost to build: you ask for acceleration and get it immediately, with enough precision to make the accelerator a useful cornering tool.

A Loud Day At The Bernina Gran Turismo, Then A Silent Drive Home

In Switzerland, I took the iX3 from Zurich to St. Moritz for the Bernina Gran Turismo historic hillclimb. I saw some fantastic old racing cars, including ones driven by a young Enzo Ferrari, and got a passenger ride in the new Z4-based Bovensiepen Spider. It was loud and fume-filled, which was fantastic for a few hours. After a day like that, the silent drive back to Zurich felt refreshing, and the iX3 still made the twisty roads enjoyable.