BMW's New Electric 3 Series Revealed With 463 HP and 440 Miles of Range
A new BMW 3 Series debuted today, marking another shift towards electrification for BMW. The brand's new i3 is every bit the luxury car (and the performance car) a BMW should be, with standard all-wheel drive and more than 400 horsepower and more than 400 miles of range. BMW's new i3 follows the Neue Klasse concept to a "T" (or to a "K"), nearly reproducing the concept's design for production.
Under the frunk
BMW
The new sedan debuts with a sole trim: the i3 50 xDrive. That means standard all-wheel drive, brought to you by two electric motors - one at each axle. Together, output is a staggering 463 horsepower and 476 pound-feet of torque. Range also starts with a "4." BMW says that on Europe's more lenient WLTP range testing cycle, the sedan managed a healthy 440 miles of range. Likely, its EPA-rated range will also be in the 400-mile ballpark. There's also a new Soft-Stop feature, which BMW claims will deliver smoother, more natural stops while using the car's regenerative braking systems to harvest range.
The EV uses the latest in electrical architecture from the brand, which means an 800-volt design. This has a few benefits, largely in terms of charging speeds. BMW says the new i3 will be capable of charging at up to 400 kilowatts, though charge time estimates haven't been announced just yet. The new architecture also promises better efficiency, hence the range figure, and the i3 will also support vehicle-to-load, vehicle-to-home, and vehicle-to-grid functionality, meaning it can also charge and power other devices or give power back to the grid.
Tech-forward, as always
BMW
The new i3 continues a trend of pushing for technological advancement at BMW that has been especially prevalent over the last five years or so of the brand's interiors and designs. It features the latest in BMW infotainment, complete with all of the requisite new-car features for today, including an integrated AI assistant and BMW's Digital Key. The new operating system is a huge leap forward, and the brand claims it is 20 times more powerful than the outgoing system. Inside, BMW delivers on the tech through screens. The windscreen-spanning display aside, you'll primarily interface with a massive 17.9-inch center screen.
The new i3 is a move towards further sustainability and electrification goals for the brand. It believes that by 2030, it will have achieved sales parity, which means half of BMW's sales will be electric, and the other half gasoline. Across a majority of BMW's markets (the US notwithstanding), adoption of electric vehicles is increasing, but the 2030 target still feels highly ambitious.