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

[savethemanual]

Exactly, their pricing will never translate to our market. The pricing is misleading to say the least. The reason Biden admin increased tariffs on Chinese vehicles to 100%, is due to how much China subsidizes their EV industry. They are also not fully transparent about the amount of subsidizes these brands have been receiving. Xpeng and Nio have already received massive bailouts to keep going.

The fact of the matter is, their tech is superior....for better or worse. Yes, their pricing would never translate to other countries, and yes, their leadership has subsidized the industry and yes there are a myriad of other issues going on over there. It is what it is, they have better technology and it sucks that BEV's here in the states have become a polarizing political litmus test. USA has plenty of issues as well...

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[Shoeshear]

I have to strongly disagree. There is no car like this in the US and its not because people don't want it. You don't think people in the US would convert to EV for a car that has ~500 mile range, with almost 1000 hp, and priced around 50k?! I couldn't find any official numbers on pricing but if this is close, damn.

I think EVs/auto transport are too politicized in the US for this to be that popular. I'm certain there would be "a" market for it, just not a huge one. $50k is still a lot of coin for many people, and as Mark_AZR1T said, it would probably end up being closer to $80-$100k USD by the time it reaches US shores (between tariffs and everything else). If the tariffs went away and BYD or whoever ends up selling their vehicles at sub $30k, I think that will be a boot on the neck of American auto makers . My guess is that the truly price-sensitive consumers who are also politically or statement sensitive will have a price at which they will buy an EV anyway, and I think we'll start to see that transition now that some Model 3s are hitting low to mid teens in used prices.

I'm not denying that I would love a crazy fast charging, 1000hp, 500 mile range EV for $50k, but I think the 50% of the voting US, it's a psychology/optics problem, not a rational problem.

The fact of the matter is, their tech is superior....for better or worse. Yes, their pricing would never translate to other countries, and yes, their leadership has subsidized the industry and yes there are a myriad of other issues going on over there. It is what it is, they have better technology and it sucks that BEV's here in the states have become a polarizing political litmus test. USA has plenty of issues as well...

I think the real interesting thing will be to see what happens if/when China gets off the gas on subsidizing these EVs. There will probably be a ton of attrition and consolidation, but the resulting EVs will probably be awesome.

Regardless, I think the iX3 seems like a competitive package for people buying out of pure rationale. I do think it's a touch too ugly and that miss will hurt them. At the $20-$30k, I'm getting a new car because I want a new car and I don't care how it looks. At $50-$60k, I would be bummed if it was ugly.

 

[mkhuffman]

I think EVs/auto transport are too politicized in the US for this to be that popular. I'm certain there would be "a" market for it, just not a huge one. $50k is still a lot of coin for many people, and as Mark_AZR1T said, it would probably end up being closer to $80-$100k USD by the time it reaches US shores (between tariffs and everything else). If the tariffs went away and BYD or whoever ends up selling their vehicles at sub $30k, I think that will be a boot on the neck of American auto makers . My guess is that the truly price-sensitive consumers who are also politically or statement sensitive will have a price at which they will buy an EV anyway, and I think we'll start to see that transition now that some Model 3s are hitting low to mid teens in used prices.

I'm not denying that I would love a crazy fast charging, 1000hp, 500 mile range EV for $50k, but I think the 50% of the voting US, it's a psychology/optics problem, not a rational problem.




I think the real interesting thing will be to see what happens if/when China gets off the gas on subsidizing these EVs. There will probably be a ton of attrition and consolidation, but the resulting EVs will probably be awesome.

Regardless, I think the iX3 seems like a competitive package for people buying out of pure rationale. I do think it's a touch too ugly and that miss will hurt them. At the $20-$30k, I'm getting a new car because I want a new car and I don't care how it looks. At $50-$60k, I would be bummed if it was ugly.

I think people who spend $20k on a car still care what it looks like.

I don't understand what voting has to do with buying a car. It's irrelevant.

I agree that it's going to be interesting to see how the availability of cheap BEVs impacts buying decisions. Until recently, entry price was one of the big barriers to BEV adoption.

 

[Shoeshear]

I think people who spend $20k on a car still care what it looks like.

I don't understand what voting has to do with buying a car. It's irrelevant.

I agree that it's going to be interesting to see how the availability of cheap BEVs impacts buying decisions. Until recently, entry price was one of the big barriers to BEV adoption.

Because the US conservative political rhetoric is currently pretty anti-EV, although that's obviously a broad brush and is not one-size fits all. I think it would take a bigger push to get that group of people into EVs and I think that bigger push is getting the price down enough that it makes such overwhelming sense that people can't help but buy them, regardless of political affiliation.

I'm hoping the iX3 and R2 are the beginning of serious competition in the segment of more value driven vehicles, but I think the floor needs to go even lower ($30k or less).

 

[DuoRivian]

Because the US conservative political rhetoric is currently pretty anti-EV, although that's obviously a broad brush and is not one-size fits all. I think it would take a bigger push to get that group of people into EVs and I think that bigger push is getting the price down enough that it makes such overwhelming sense that people can't help but buy them, regardless of political affiliation.

I'm hoping the iX3 and R2 are the beginning of serious competition in the segment of more value driven vehicles, but I think the floor needs to go even lower ($30k or less).

I think it is a broad brush and now mandates and pushing people towards one vehicle type or another has gone I feel vehicles will be judged on their merits. It helps as more affordable EV like the Toyota/Subaru trio, which price range from $33-50k , come to market.
The EU is also applying tariffs to Chinese cars because they have a large auto industry to support. Canada is allowing more Chinese cars as they don’t have any home grown auto companies.

 

[mkhuffman]

Because the US conservative political rhetoric is currently pretty anti-EV, although that's obviously a broad brush and is not one-size fits all.

I happen to be under that broad brush, and I am exposed to all those media and political sources you hate. And you are wrong.

That is not the rhetoric of conservatives. You are seeing the rhetoric though the distorted lens of your sources, which are not the primary sources.

I will help out. The rhetoric is simple. No mandates. Let people decide for themselves. That's it. And I 100% agree with the rhetoric.

I purchased my R1T because it is the best truck money can buy - for my use cases. I am never going back to a ICEV. That's the way it should work. And that is consistent with the rhetoric.

 

[Shoeshear]

I happen to be under that broad brush, and I am exposed to all those media and political sources you hate. And you are wrong.

That is not the rhetoric of conservatives. You are seeing the rhetoric though the distorted lens of your sources, which are not the primary sources.

I will help out. The rhetoric is simple. No mandates. Let people decide for themselves. That's it. And I 100% agree with the rhetoric.

I purchased my R1T because it is the best truck money can buy - for my use cases. I am never going back to a ICEV. That's the way it should work. And that is consistent with the rhetoric.

I appreciate that! The few people I have spoken to in person gives me only a narrow look into that thought process. Glad you bought what suited you! I think buying for your own true use case is the best for everyone!

 

[Zorg]

At the federal level there has never been a mandate.

 

[mkg3]

The fact of the matter is, their tech is superior....for better or worse...

The current state of EV technology and quality have been won by the Chinese. There is no debate on this. They are also ahead on the next generation of BEV too (e.g., SSB).

The cycle time to innovate, test and validate EV/EV tech is so much faster than all of the western countries and at a significantly lower costs. While the Chinese government subsidies make resources available, the simple fact is that their cost of doing business is an order of magnitude lower than ours.

The most recent BYD charging tech has the new Blade battery charging 10% to 97% in 9 minutes in normal temperatures and the same is accomplished in 12 minutes in the -30C. What BEV owner wouldn't want that???

https://motorillustrated.com/new-by...harging-from-10-to-97-in-nine-minutes/177443/

All western BEV makers have to figure out how to leap frog them or just license the Chinese technologies and implement it into their vehicles to survive.

 

[mkg3]

At the federal level there has never been a mandate.

There was a direct mandate for many federal agencies.

From a practical stand point, there was an indirect mandate through various regulations and changing the standards.

 

[Zorg]

Again, there was no direct federal mandate to force anyone to buy an EV.

 

[mkhuffman]

There was a direct mandate for many federal agencies.

From a practical stand point, there was an indirect mandate through various regulations and changing the standards.

Fuel efficiency regulations and emissions regulations are how the politicians and the bureaucracy implement a mandate without actually calling it a mandate. It's dishonest, but do people actually expect the truth from them?

 

[mkhuffman]

Again, there was no direct federal mandate to force anyone to buy an EV.

Because they do it without calling it a mandate via fuel efficiency and emissions regulations. They lie.

 

[vbaker]

Probably already been said bur the ix3 looks like a station wagon not an SUV. Volvo may be a bit more SUV like but it has the same issue. I know hardly anybody takes their RAV 4 off-road but it is still the best selling SUV and part of that is because it looks like a truck and people like that.

 

[mkhuffman]

I appreciate that! The few people I have spoken to in person gives me only a narrow look into that thought process. Glad you bought what suited you! I think buying for your own true use case is the best for everyone!

It's not just me, though. One of my best friends who is conservative like me purchased a Model Y because it was a great deal - and FSD! He uses FSD all the time and loves it. It is perfect for his short commute and he never has to go a gas station.

If the value is there, people will buy them. Let the free market decide.

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