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BMW's iX3 electric SUV is luxe, practical, and built for long journeys. It can pull off both road trips and long drives in style

- HORMAZD SORABJEE

BMW pulled the covers off the all-new iX3 at this month’s Munich Motor Show. And while it may seem like just another electric SUV, it’s anything but. This is the first of a new generation of models built on BMW’s Neue Klasse platform, which will underpin six electric cars in the coming years. For BMW, it’s the start of a new chapter, one that blends cutting-edge technology with a welcome return to classic design values.

That last bit is important. In recent years, BMW’s styling has often divided opinion. Their oversized grilles and bold flourishes haven’t always gone down well. The iX3 is different. Its slimmer, upright kidney grilles and clean, sculpted lines hark back to BMW’s elegant sedans of the 1960s and ’70s.