It appears that online pre-bookings for the BMW iX3 have opened in Malaysia, allowing prospective buyers to place their orders for the electric SUV from the comfort of their own home. The car was launched in October last year, after which the first batch of 30 units were promptly snapped up.
Both the Inspiring and Impressive variants carry a booking fee of RM5,000 on the official BMW Shop website. To recap, the former gets a tax-free price of RM307,160 on-the-road without insurance, while the latter retails at RM325,160. These figures include the 50% sales and service tax (SST) rebate valid until June 30, as well as the basic two-year, unlimited-mileage warranty.
Add the five-year warranty and five-year/100,000 km service package and the prices jump to RM322,800 and RM340,800 respectively. A Power Package with a 22 kW AC home wallbox and a Type 2 charging cable is also available, and with it, the iX3 costs RM327,800 for the Inspiring and RM345,800 for the Impressive.
The iX3 comes with the government’s exemptions on import tax, excise duty and road tax, cutting prices by between RM10,200 and RM11,200. According to a BMW Malaysia spokesperson, this also includes the first batch, which arrived in Malaysia in December and January.
Those cars, which included a complimentary Power Package and one year of free access to the ChargEV charging network (worth RM240), were only able to be registered once the Road Transport Department (JPJ) officially introduced the road tax exemption. Buyers received their cars in late January and February, he said.
Whichever variant you go for, you get a rear-mounted electric motor delivering 210 kW (286 PS) and 400 Nm of torque. So equipped, the iX3 will get from zero to 100 km/h in 6.8 seconds before hitting an electronically-limited top speed of 180 km/h.
The car is also fitted with a 73.8 kWh lithium-ion battery that provides a range of between 453 and 461 km on the WLTP cycle. Charging the iX3 takes around seven and a half hours using the maximum AC charging power of 11 kW; alternatively, you can juice the battery through a DC fast charger at up to 150 kW, filling it up to 80% in just 32 minutes.
In terms of specs, there aren’t a great deal of differences between the two variants. The base Inspiring model already comes well-equipped with the M Sport package, adaptive LED headlights, 19-inch Style 842 aerodynamic alloy wheels, Vernasca leather upholstery, a stitched Sensatec faux leather-wrapped dashboard, brushed aluminium interior trim with Pearl Chrome finishers and galvanised silver switchgear.
Also fitted are keyless entry, push-button start, adaptive dampers, power-adjustable front seats with heating and driver’s side memory, triple-zone automatic climate control, a Qi wireless charger, a panoramic glass sunroof, parking assist with the Reversing Assistant, a 12-speaker, 205-watt sound system, a reverse camera and a hands-free powered tailgate.
The Impressive model adds Laserlight headlamps, staggered 20-inch Style 890 M alloys, a head-up display, acoustic glass front side windows, gesture control, a 16-speaker, 464-watt Harmon Kardon sound system, a 360-degree camera system and IconicSounds Electric synthetic driving sounds – the latter developed in partnership with renown composer Hans Zimmer.
Impressively (no pun intended), both variants come with the Driving Assistant Professional package, adding a full complement of active safety features. These include autonomous emergency braking, evasive steering assist, adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane centring assist, blind spot monitoring, traffic sign recognition, emergency stop assist and adaptive high beam.
The iX3 also comes as standard with an acoustic warning for pedestrians and Active Protection. The latter is BMW’s version of Mercedes-Benz’s Pre-Safe that primes the seat belt pre-tensioners and closes all windows if the car detects an imminent collision. Browse full specifications and equipment of the BMW iX3 on CarBase.my.
GALLERY: BMW iX3 Impressive in Malaysia
Keyword: BMW iX3 EV – online bookings open at RM5k in on official Malaysian website, tax-free starting at RM307k