2022 BMW iX3 adopts the X3 family look

BMW still hasn't seen fit to give the U.S. the battery-electric iX3 introduced for the 2021 model year, but the Munich automaker has put the updated 2022 version out there for the rest of the world. The changes effectively gave the iX3 the same family look as the standard X3 — the one we can buy — a couple of months ago. The electric crossover now wears the M Sport package as standard, which puts on more angular and chiseled fascias front and rear that get accented in BMW i Blue. The kidney grille grows a tad, and sits between headlights fixtures that are each 10 millimeters narrower than before, hardly enough to notice without having the former iX3 nearby to make comparisons. The lights in front are now adaptive LEDs as standard, the razzle dazzle continuing out back with three-dimensional LED taillights. The little ute comes standard on 19-inch wheels, but a new design of 20-inch aerodynamic M Sport wheels joins the options sheet.

Revised control displays make the digital cockpit and infotainment screen a matching 12.3 inches each. Revised switchgear sits on the center tunnel and includes the gear selector lever, engine start button, the Driving Experience Control selectors, and the parking brake toggle. BMW i Blue accents coordinate with the exterior, here placed on the selector lever, start button, and steering wheel. Lastly, the cabin will be dressed from the factory with Sport seats in perforated Sensatec upholstery contrasted with "Aluminium Rhombicle dark finish" trim. For those unfamiliar with the BMW lexicon, no, you did not see Aluminum Rhombicle dancing with Coat Rack and Maestro Cadenza in "Beauty and the Beast." This deceptively gobbledygook trim name — it's just metallic pieces etched with rhombuses — appears to have debuted in 2017 as the follow-up to the disappointingly accessible Aluminum Hexagon.

Being just two years old, there are no changes to the powertrain yet. The 80-kWh battery juices a single motor on the rear axle that produces 282 horsepower and 295 pound-feet of torque. Maximum estimated range on the WLTP cycle is 286 miles. The 2022 iX3 will debut at the Munich Motor Show next month. Next year we're due to get BMW's compact electric offerings for our market, the i4 hatch and iX4 crossover.

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