Rival: 2026 BMW iX3 reviews are impressive... R2 has its work cut out

[savethemanual]

Has Rivian said anything about V2H for the R2?

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...-vehicle-to-home-specification-article.52396/

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[Zorg]

Lots of exciting new options coming this year. One thing is for sure: these new options are going to seriously erode model Y sales going forward, especially with the removal of autopilot.

 

[BanditTA]

I absolutely hate the front grill on the iX3 to the point I couldn’t buy it.

But our 2025 I4 xdrive40 has been fantastic in its first year. Zero issues and the build quality just feels much better than the other EV manufacturers. The software updates have been pretty smooth too.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the I4 grill either but some colors make it look a little less funky.

I don’t know why BMW seems so lost with their grill designs. They have to understand it turns off a lot of potential buyers of what otherwise are excellent cars.

 

[Eric9610]

I absolutely hate the front grill on the iX3 to the point I couldn’t buy it.

But our 2025 I4 xdrive40 has been fantastic in its first year. Zero issues and the build quality just feels much better than the other EV manufacturers. The software updates have been pretty smooth too.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the I4 grill either but some colors make it look a little less funky.

I don’t know why BMW seems so lost with their grill designs. They have to understand it turns off a lot of potential buyers of what otherwise are excellent cars.

What are you talking about… the iX3 is a modern throback to the OG 2002 models, go look it up. The iX3 is much better looking the the i4 and M3. I have seen he iX3 in person and it is very good looking.

 

[savethemanual]

What are you talking about… the iX3 is a modern throback to the OG 2002 models, go look it up. The iX3 is much better looking the the i4 and M3. I have sent he iX3 in person and it is very good looking.

I agree, the iX3 looks great but we all know...styling is completely subjective. For the record, there are many who will not buy a Rivian because of the front end design (head lights). Definitely see the front end from the 1960's with this Neue Klasse design language.

 

[DuoRivian]

I absolutely hate the front grill on the iX3 to the point I couldn’t buy it.

But our 2025 I4 xdrive40 has been fantastic in its first year. Zero issues and the build quality just feels much better than the other EV manufacturers. The software updates have been pretty smooth too.

I wasn’t a huge fan of the I4 grill either but some colors make it look a little less funky.

I don’t know why BMW seems so lost with their grill designs. They have to understand it turns off a lot of potential buyers of what otherwise are excellent cars.

I am glad they made the grill smaller compared to the terrible looking 4 series. Hood to have options with the Volvo and Lucid options later this year.

 

[macb00kemdanno]

I am glad they made the grill smaller compared to the terrible looking 4 series. Hood to have options with the Volvo and Lucid options later this year.

Agreed, the 4 Series grille is an abomination. With that said, the iX3 is looking more appealing to me every day. Longer range plus faster charging is hard to beat.

 

[Just Passing By]

It seems likely most commenters are not contemplating the supply side when considering competition for the R2 in threads like this.

The challenge for the iX3, along with the R2 and the Volvo Ex60 is how fast can they ramp production for the US market. I suspect there is going to be demand in aggregate for these cars that is well in excess of 2026 production. I am also wondering what 2027 will look like for production versus demand.

Just to put some sanity check numbers around this. Assume they each produce 50k cars for the US market in 2026, which seems an unlikely number. So 150k total units versus a US EV market that according to Cox was ~1.2M+ units per year for 2023, 2024 and 2025. Contained in this number, Tesla sold ~600k cars per year, or almost half the total units in 2024 and 2025 per Cox.

The market may contract for this price tier of EVs, due to the removal of incentives and/or other economic factors. However, an additional impact on demand for R2, iX3 and EX60 may be from current Tesla owners who want to get out of the brand, for whatever reasons, including just wanting something different.

Not good news for me as a late reservation holder on R2 and someone that really needs to replace my current vehicle.

 

[DuoRivian]

It seems likely most commenters are not contemplating the supply side when considering competition for the R2 in threads like this.

The challenge for the iX3, along with the R2 and the Volvo Ex60 is how fast can they ramp production for the US market. I suspect there is going to be demand in aggregate for these cars that is well in excess of 2026 production. I am also wondering what 2027 will look like for production versus demand.

Just to put some sanity check numbers around this. Assume they each produce 50k cars for the US market in 2026, which seems an unlikely number. So 150k total units versus a US EV market that according to Cox was ~1.2M+ units per year for 2023, 2024 and 2025. Contained in this number, Tesla sold ~600k cars per year, or almost half the total units in 2024 and 2025 per Cox.

The market may contract for this price tier of EVs, due to the removal of incentives and/or other economic factors. However, an additional impact on demand for R2, iX3 and EX60 may be from current Tesla owners who want to get out of the brand, for whatever reasons, including just wanting something different.

Not good news for me as a late reservation holder on R2 and someone that really needs to replace my current vehicle.

Good analysis. BMW and Rivian are stating with their more expensive model first and in BMWs case moving production from Hungary to Mexico in 2027. Production will be greater in 2027 and includes the smaller battery RWD model. Rivian is also planning on their RWD model in 2027.

 

[savethemanual]

Europe just announced EV sales were more than ICE for the first time in December, demand is certainly there in other parts of the world!

https://insideevs.com/news/785541/ev-sales-surpass-gas-cars-europe-first-time/

 

[Zorg]

I think I read that Europe demand was already equal to the 2026 production capacity of the iX IIRC.

 

[RivianRocks25]

To those that don't think 400 mile range is an important thing, please stop extrapolating your warm weather use case to those of us in the midwest with cold long routes w/o a reliable DCFC network build out. I can't buy now for what the network might be in 3 years. Look at any map with chargers in The U. P. of Michigan. Michigan is doing a crappy job with the NEVI money. Hard to go across from Green Bay to The Bridge in 0 deg weather. No chargers on US 2 by Lake Michigan and none planned!

Plus, the real range hit in the cold is brutal. Our '23 R1S Quad beats it's EPA of 321 miles in summer as our many trips to The UP don't include roads over 55 MPH. Get actual 350 to 390 miles regularly with Conserve mode. Throw on Winter tires (factory 21s are great for summer range, SUCK hard and are really dangerous on snow) and can't use Conserve Mode because regen is so high, front wheels lock up all the time on snowy roads, so have to use Snow Mode and take the range hit of all motors engaged. Throw in a couple weeks in -15 deg F weather like now and range goes from summer 2.9mi/kwh (2.9x130=377 summer miles) to 1.76 mi/kwh (1.76x130=228 winter miles). EV Chargers that do exist aren't like Kwik Trip gas stations and aren't available every 20 miles. So use 80% of that 228 miles for battery longevity and the fact that there aren't chargers every 20-40 or even 50 miles and our 321 EPA rated R1S has a real range for us of 188 miles right now until it warms up. This is a fact.

A great DCFC network doesn't exist here. And it gets cold here for weeks on end (2+weeks right now). Saying Range Anziety Isn't A Thing minimizes my real current experice and does nothing to help EV adoption. We early adopters need to be self sufficient and that means having larger batteries and more range for areas that don't have great charging networks. Those areas still exist in 2026.

So, yeah, '400 EPA summer Best You Gonna Get' range is Very appealing to some of us. I really want the R2 to succeed but Damn, that iX3 looks competitive and will probably blow the R2 out of the water on charge speed for all of you that do have a great charging network.

 

[Budman]

Echoing what @RivianRocks25 said. A 300 mile range EV (especially with LFP batteries) is a non-starter if you need to venture off the freeways in the upper midwest. -15F as I write this at 7:00 am!

 

[JasonK]

I would also point out that the range loss when towing also has a huge drop in range. This also makes 400 miles so much more appealing. I think the R2 is going to be more affordable than either the IX3 or the Volvo. so depending on specs that may be the deciding factor for me. People who can afford the BMW and Volvo should also consider the Porsche Macan and Audi Eq6. For me the R2 is the front runner, But I still have not seen the specs or what the 2027 price will be. If they jack the price too much for 2027 I will look at other options.

 

[DuoRivian]

I would also point out that the range loss when towing also has a huge drop in range. This also makes 400 miles so much more appealing. I think the R2 is going to be more affordable than either the IX3 or the Volvo. so depending on specs that may be the deciding factor for me. People who can afford the BMW and Volvo should also consider the Porsche Macan and Audi Eq6. For me the R2 is the front runner, But I still have not seen the specs or what the 2027 price will be. If they jack the price too much for 2027 I will look at other options.

A lot will depend on price and specs as you say. The appealing thing with the BMW and Volvo is 400 miles for $60k whereas the Porsche is $80k and with a shorter range. So the BMW and Volvo are much closer to Rivian’s pricing and competitors.

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