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

[MaskedRacerX]

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

Yes! It’s happening!

Sponsored

 

[mellowthecat]

Yes! It’s happening!

explain like I am 5 please

 

[MaskedRacerX]

explain like I am 5 please

Oh right, so a couple of steps back: the R8 is a Uniden R8, it's a radar detector*, that model has BT and can communicate with apps. R8 Companion is one of those apps (it's 3rd party), it has much better screening, a constantly evolving database/markers, has extensive tuning options, and, it gives you a slick remote display so you can run your detector in "dark mode".

Currently, it's an iOS (iPhone) app, but they've been talking about providing a CarPlay interface as well for years, and that's pending (so you can stow your phone and have some kind of display right there with nav, etc.)

* Yes, I use a detector, mostly on the highway since that's where we mostly use the iX, I like the situational awareness, yes, I've heard the "I don't speed so don't need one" plenty of times, I would suggest you can do both.

 

[mkhuffman]

Oh right, so a couple of steps back: the R8 is a Uniden R8, it's a radar detector*, that model has BT and can communicate with apps. R8 Companion is one of those apps (it's 3rd party), it has much better screening, a constantly evolving database/markers, has extensive tuning options, and, it gives you a slick remote display so you can run your detector in "dark mode".

Currently, it's an iOS (iPhone) app, but they've been talking about providing a CarPlay interface as well for years, and that's pending (so you can stow your phone and have some kind of display right there with nav, etc.)

* Yes, I use a detector, mostly on the highway since that's where we mostly use the iX, I like the situational awareness, yes, I've heard the "I don't speed so don't need one" plenty of times, I would suggest you can do both.

That is so cool. I want one, but illegal in VA. Sniff.

BTW - I guess they don't have an Android app?

 

[MaskedRacerX]

That is so cool. I want one, but illegal in VA. Sniff.

BTW - I guess they don't have an Android app?

This particular app/developer is iOS only, but there's apparently very good Android apps that do basically the same thing (and they all work with several different detectors).

This is the one that comes up in a lot of discussions, apparently has pretty close feature parity vs. R8 Companion:

https://highwayradar.com/

 

[mellowthecat]

I know there has been expressed interest in the iX on this thread. I ran across this today

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a71015918/2026-bmw-ix-discontinued-america-confirmed/

 

[mdpa]

Thought I would at least check out the BMW even though I have reservations about their ability to execute FSD. Car Wow compared the Audi, BMW, and Model Y.

 

[DuoRivians]

Thought I would at least check out the BMW even though I have reservations about their ability to execute FSD. Car Wow compared the Audi, BMW, and Model Y.

Carwow reviews are crap, imo. It doesn’t get into any of the charging capacity or range of the cars

 

[mdpa]

Carwow reviews are crap, imo. It doesn’t get into any of the charging capacity or range of the cars

Thought it was fairly detailed and they did cover real world range. I suspect you didn’t like the conclusion.

 

[mellowthecat]

Carwow reviews are crap, imo. It doesn’t get into any of the charging capacity or range of the cars

are you talking about their new video with that compares the ex60 and iX3?

 

[DuoRivians]

Thought it was fairly detailed and they did cover real world range. I suspect you didn’t like the conclusion.

No, it wasn’t covered. Plenty of better reviews out there with actual stats and testing. Carwow is generally clickbait content trying to be legitimatized by a British accent.

 

[mdpa]

What stood out to me is if they were comparing (3) equally priced options, the Model Y Performance would have done even better.

Personally, my issues with the BMW are the weird shaped screen and what I suspect would much less sophisticated software capabilities, not a fan of the outside looks, and would not want to pay $70K without real FSD.

The increased range and charging speeds doesn’t quite make up for the other shortcomings.

 

[TexasBob]

What stood out to me is if they were comparing (3) equally priced options, the Model Y Performance would have done even better.

Personally, my issues with the BMW are the weird shaped screen and what I suspect would much less sophisticated software capabilities, not a fan of the outside looks, and would not want to pay $70K without real FSD.

The increased range and charging speeds doesn’t quite make up for the other shortcomings.

Model y would have done better on Efficiency not range. Matt really dislikes the iX3. The only mediocre review I've found but most definitely not a fan. Bjorn loves range and charging but not a fan of rear seat space.

 

[MaskedRacerX]

The ADAS in our iX is stellar, there's several subfunctions, hands free traffic mode, highway, look-to-validate-lane change, etc. And some really slick tech stuff (not really ADAS per se) like it tracks the last 100 or so yards, so if you pull into a deal end, you can have it simply do a reverse retrace back out. The auto-parking is excellent and there's storage for multiple parking scenarios/configs.

The iX3 is getting fantastic reviews from all over the world, it's definitely a winner. I think a lot of folks are waiting to get a sense of the "M60" trim and even the new iX5 vs. the iX3 before pulling the trigger (that certainly applies to us).

https://www.caranddriver.com/bmw/ix3

https://insideevs.com/reviews/793046/bmw-ix3-review-neue-klasse/

https://www.thedrive.com/car-reviews/2027-bmw-ix3-50-xdrive-first-drive-review

https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/bmw/ix3/driving

(and so on, and so forth )

 

[mdpa]

The ADAS in our iX is stellar, there's several subfunctions, hands free traffic mode, highway, look-to-validate-lane change, etc. And some really slick tech stuff (not really ADAS per se) like it tracks the last 100 or so yards, so if you pull into a deal end, you can have it simply do a reverse retrace back out. The auto-parking is excellent and there's storage for multiple parking scenarios/configs.

The iX3 is getting fantastic reviews from all over the world, it's definitely a winner. I think a lot of folks are waiting to get a sense of the "M60" trim and even the new iX5 vs. the iX3 before pulling the trigger (that certainly applies to us).

https://www.caranddriver.com/bmw/ix3

https://insideevs.com/reviews/793046/bmw-ix3-review-neue-klasse/

https://www.thedrive.com/car-reviews/2027-bmw-ix3-50-xdrive-first-drive-review

https://www.topgear.com/car-reviews/bmw/ix3/driving

(and so on, and so forth )

I am not normally vain, but I can’t get over how ugly it looks inside and out. What’s up with the weird shaped screen? I guess it is not getting as hammered as the Ferrari Luce since it doesn’t cost over $600K.

I used to ride BMW motorcycles and over time it felt like their styling department had priority over engineering.

Sponsored