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

[MaskedRacerX]

Also ... driver's facing display. That's a new deal breaker for me. You can obviously adapt to it, I did, but it's clearly an inferior execution.

Sponsored

 

[Jeremy3292]

Also ... driver's facing display. That's a new deal breaker for me. You can obviously adapt to it, I did, but it's clearly an inferior execution.

Wait do you mean that you like the large ribbon screen on the iX3? Oh man I hate it haha. We just really disagree on this car lol that's ok to each his own!

What's wrong with Rivian driver display? Isn't that "normal"?

 

[MaskedRacerX]

Wait do you mean that you like the large ribbon screen on the iX3? Oh man I hate it haha. We just really disagree on this car lol that's ok to each his own!

What's wrong with Rivian driver display? Isn't that "normal"?

Nothing.

The R2 has one, which is why we have one on reserve. People were just talking out loud about things that compel them to like / dislike different vehicles (or things that make it a no-can-do). It's a place where there's no problem iX3 vs. R2 vs. EX60 (though we're probably not buyers for the Volvo).

My main possible beef with the R2 is service/QC, and the lack of CarPlay. The latter is a touch of a bummer, but I might come around (our last several vehicles have had it).

I'll definitely wait and experience the new iX3 UI/UX in person, not ready to hate something I haven't seen first hand.

 

[Blue in NC]

There are several interesting features on the EX60 that I want to check out. One is the pixel headlights. The standard model has matrix headlights like the R2 but the Ultra trim comes with 25,000+ pixel headlights that steer with the car around curves. I'm also curious to see how the Google AI system works. Nice to see Android Auto and CarPlay.

I don't want to open up a big topic on this but I am honestly curious. I own a Tesla (not a Rivian) and I don't miss or want CarPlay at all. I feel like Tesla's system is better than CarPlay. So the question for me is whether Rivian's setup is dramatically worse than Tesla's such that I would want CarPlay. I understand that people have different preferences but for someone that favors the Tesla interface over CarPlay, will Rivian's stack be so much worse that I will long for CarPlay?

 

[DuoRivians]

Enjoyed this review of the iX3. This charging curve is niiiice!

 

[blipit]

Ultimate range spec would be a 50sdrive (rwd). But I don't think BMW is going to produce it. That spec could be 465+ mile EPA.

 

[Great Gatsby]

I don't want to open up a big topic on this but I am honestly curious. I own a Tesla (not a Rivian) and I don't miss or want CarPlay at all. I feel like Tesla's system is better than CarPlay. So the question for me is whether Rivian's setup is dramatically worse than Tesla's such that I would want CarPlay. I understand that people have different preferences but for someone that favors the Tesla interface over CarPlay, will Rivian's stack be so much worse that I will long for CarPlay?

Personal opinions will surely vary on this, and it truly is a can of worms you opened, but IMO the only two automakers that can get away without CP/AA are Tesla and Rivian. I cannot fathom why you would want them on a Tesla and Rivian is still far off but you can definitely live with the day to day software. Having owned a vehicle with CP and a Rivian simultaneous, I was always happy to go back to the Rivian UI.

I'm going to get dragged here, but it offers way more freedom than CP as far as what you can do. Specially while the car is on the move. CP insist that a passenger is not a thing and you can't possibly type in directions while driving. Pun intended, it drove me nuts. CP/AA are nice to mask mediocre UI from other companies but I find it, again my opinion, unnecessary on Rivian. YMMV.

Basically, if you don't crave for it in a Tesla, doubt you will want it in a Rivian.

 

[Blue in NC]

Thanks that's a helpful response. I am sure there will be a UI drop-off from the Tesla but it seems like something I will still enjoy.

 

[Jeremy3292]

Personal opinions will surely vary on this, and it truly is a can of worms you opened, but IMO the only two automakers that can get away without CP/AA are Tesla and Rivian. I cannot fathom why you would want them on a Tesla and Rivian is still far off but you can definitely live with the day to day software. Having owned a vehicle with CP and a Rivian simultaneous, I was always happy to go back to the Rivian UI.

I'm going to get dragged here, but it offers way more freedom than CP as far as what you can do. Specially while the car is on the move. CP insist that a passenger is not a thing and you can't possibly type in directions while driving. Pun intended, it drove me nuts. CP/AA are nice to mask mediocre UI from other companies but I find it, again my opinion, unnecessary on Rivian. YMMV.

Basically, if you don't crave for it in a Tesla, doubt you will want it in a Rivian.

Perfect answer. The people that want CP/AA are bc the cars they've had were so bad at software. So why not just project my iPhone onto the screen in my car? After all my iPhone has great software that I'm familiar with. Not knocking it at all, but that's why people want it.

The only thing I miss is having Waze on the screen like you can with CarPlay for long trips to watch out for cops

 

[TexasBob]

I'm sorry, but that isn't accurate. Neue Klasse is a nice architecture shift, but let’s not rewrite reality. BMW didn’t suddenly become Rivian. Zonal wiring doesn’t mean “we own the whole stack.” They still run Android Automotive, still depend on Bosch/Mobileye/Continental for ADAS and firmware, and still ship supplier‑approved OTAs on supplier timelines.

Rivian actually writes its stack. BMW reorganized theirs. That’s the whole story, not a BMW Power Point presentation.

I do not want to pick a fight here but Rivian and BMW both run android automotive which they both customize in house. BMW is not using Mobileye anymore. They have a new ADAS that they jointly developed from scratch with Qualcomm the AI Enabled Snapdragon Ride Pilot that runs on the snapdragon chipset. The entire architecture, replacing the CAN bus with zonal ethernet, replacing 100 distributed (and mostly supplier controlled) ECUs with the four central computing units: Driving Dynamics (Heart of Joy), ADAS, Infotainment, Basic vehicle functions. HOJ collapses propulsion, chassis control, braking, steering, and slip control into a single physical super-controller. BMW absolutely owns 100% of the HOJ software running on Infineon's AURIX microcontrollers. The BMW OS X for the infotainment is an in-house system built on top of Android Automotive (just like Rivian). The Basic Vehicle functions is an in-house integration.

For example BMW developed the battery management system (BMS) and the integrated high-voltage switching matrix 100% in-house. Or to use your example on brakes from Continental / Bosche, the brake hardware provided by the Tier 1 supplier no longer contains the complex slip-control or regenerative blending logic. That logic is now computed exclusively inside the "Heart of Joy" using BMW's 100% in-house software. The supplier's physical hardware simply executes the high-speed commands sent from the HOJ. BMW has the ability to adjust any of those braking parameters without any supplier bottleneck. But the firmware from Continental is still there to take the HOJ commands and turn them into physical friction and this goes through the AUTOSAR layer. Rivian bypasses this last element and can directly control most of the hardware. So there is a difference, but the overwhelming majority of functions in the Neue Klasse are in the direct control of BMW internal software. The is a giant change versus the previous generations.

BMW has moved not just incrementally but holistically into an SDV architecture. It has full horizontal integration even if it is less vertically integrated. Rivian has good strengths in this area but the way you have described BMW reflects a pre-neue klasse situation not the iX3.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

CarPlay is meant as augmentation on top of the native stack, giving you improved versions (with more updates) of apps (ex: Spotify, Messaging [with proper group messaging]) , UI consistency across cars/devices, integration into the phone OS ecosystem (ex: HomeKit), and access to apps that don't exist at all on the native CarOS (ex: Waze).

It's basically just like an extra container of functions, extensions, improvements, etc.

Obviously I'm aware it's not present on Rivians, and we're still very seriously considering the R2 (reserved on day 1, "confirmed"), but it will be a touch of a bummer. If the rest of the R2 is fantastic, just a real knocked-it-out-of-the-park, and I have good confidence with Rivian, I'll just settle for 1990s era messaging

The Rivian acquistion of ABPR is pretty exciting though, hopefully some additional features of the app roll into the Rivian native OS.

Right now, I've got ABPR, works on the iPhone and on CarPlay, supports the second display (but not nearly as slick as Apple Maps or native), and I've got a BT OBD dongle that sends telemetry through the phone to CarPlay for a real time battery status (and range projectsion). Pretty neat.

Really off track, but I'd kill for a CarPlay update with widget support for R8 companion.

 

[rfkxyz]

I cannot imagine Rivian is going to 800v anytime soon.

I'd think R1 would have to get it first.

The Volvo is also a less divisive in the looks department. Inside and out.

Clearly you haven't noticed EX60 dashboard yet. There's a reason Volvo fired its design lead a few months before reveal.

 

[macb00kemdanno]

Personal opinions will surely vary on this, and it truly is a can of worms you opened, but IMO the only two automakers that can get away without CP/AA are Tesla and Rivian. I cannot fathom why you would want them on a Tesla and Rivian is still far off but you can definitely live with the day to day software. Having owned a vehicle with CP and a Rivian simultaneous, I was always happy to go back to the Rivian UI.

I'm going to get dragged here, but it offers way more freedom than CP as far as what you can do. Specially while the car is on the move. CP insist that a passenger is not a thing and you can't possibly type in directions while driving. Pun intended, it drove me nuts. CP/AA are nice to mask mediocre UI from other companies but I find it, again my opinion, unnecessary on Rivian. YMMV.

Basically, if you don't crave for it in a Tesla, doubt you will want it in a Rivian.

I just wish that Rivian had native YouTube Music integration like Tesla and had native video players (YouTub, Netflix, etc). From what I’ve heard, casting videos from your phone to the Rivian screen is

 

[Great Gatsby]

I'd think R1 would have to get it first.


Clearly you haven't noticed EX60 dashboard yet. There's a reason Volvo fired its design lead a few months before reveal.

...what's wrong with it?

 

[Great Gatsby]

I just wish that Rivian had native YouTube Music integration like Tesla and had native video players (YouTub, Netflix, etc). From what I’ve heard, casting videos from your phone to the Rivian screen is

Hoping we get Youtube Music by the time the R2 comes out. It does have Youtube already and it works great. The chromecast from my experience borders on unusable. I think Rivian will get there. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

Sponsored