What’s the EV battery equivalent of “No replacement for displacement?” Maybe something like “No power like a kilowatt hour?” I’m still workshopping it. Anyway, whatever that saying ends up being, it can be applied to the BMW iX3. Bavaria’s new midsize electric crossover beats all of its rivals when it comes to range, and it does so the old-fashioned way: size. Its battery pack is simply bigger than everyone else’s, which gives it a far superior range, especially on the highway. Such range superiority was on full display in Out of Spec Testing’s latest 70 mph highway test video.
In this new video, the Out of Spec team took four cars from 100-0 percent state-of-charge (SoC) while driving almost entirely on the highway at 70 mph. Along with the BMW iX3 were the Rivian R2, Tesla Model Y, and the Lexus RZ. While the latter really isn’t in the same segment as the others, being considerably smaller with a smaller battery, it’s priced similarly. So it’s something customers will be able to crossshop.
Of the four cars, the BMW’s battery is by far the biggest, at 112.3 kWh. Rivian’s was the next biggest, at 87.9 kWh, with Tesla’s 83 kWh battery being a close second. The Lexus’ 75 kWh battery pack was a distant fourth. BMW’s EPA-rated range for the iX3, with the 21″ wheels that this test car had, is 398 miles. The Rivian R2’s range with all-terrain tires should be 307 miles, while Tesla’s should be around 328 miles. The Lexus is far behind, with just 260 miles from the dual-motor model. So the BMW has by far the most mileage on paper, but will that translate to the road?
After driving each car to zero, forcing them go flat on the side of the highway, the Lexus was dead last, doing just 189 miles before its night ended. The Rivian R2 got 213 miles before its battery went flat, but it’s worth mentioning that it was on its least efficient wheel/tire setup. Tesla was in second place, with 286 miles on one battery charge. That crushes the Rivian, but it’s not enough to beat the Bimmer. The BMW iX3 was far ahead of even the Tesla, with 340 miles.
The iX3 doesn’t get its range from any sort of super impressive efficiency, either. At around three miles per kilowatt-hour, the iX3 has good efficiency on the highway, but it isn’t mind-blowing. The iX3 simply has a bigger battery, combined with good efficiency, so it’s able to make great use of every kWh in the pack. And while the iX3 was the most expensive car of the test, there’s probably good reason for that. I guess there really is no other prize like batter size. Dammit, that isn’t good, either.
