An all-new BMW i3 made its debut Wednesday, the second entry in its Neue Klasse series that takes a radical new approach to the design and engineering of the Bavarian automaker’s battery-electric vehicle line-up. Headlight.News takes a closer look at the sporty, all-electric sedan.
The 2027 BMW i3 caught during winter testing.
If the name sounds familiar, you’re likely thinking of the quirky little electric city car BMW introduced back in 2013. But the all-new i3 is designed to be a much more mainstream offering, the battery-electric alternative to the iconic BMW 3-Series.
It’s the second model based off the Bavarian automaker’s Neue Klasse, or new class, technology which will underpin the automaker’s future battery-electric vehicles. It follows last year’s debut of the crossover-styled BMW iX3, itself the electric alternative to the now-familiar X3 line.
Based off a new, skateboard-like platform, the new sedan will be offered in a variety of different trims, though it debuts with the 2027 BMW i3 50 xDrive, a twin-motor package punching out 463 horsepower and 476 pound-feet of instant torque. Range easily tops 400 miles, according to preliminary EPA estimates. It features BMW’s new “Heart of Joy” computing system and a centralized computing system.
What’s new
The 2027 BMW i3 gets a new take on the classic double-kidney grille, as well as an updated rondel logo.
Where BMW’s early EVs opted for edgy styling intended to differentiate them from more familiar models using internal combustion power, the new i3 “As a representative of the new design language, the new BMW i3 is immediately recognizable as a BMW 3 Series – assured, dynamic, and intelligent,” BMW said in a statement. “The hallmark BMW sporty silhouette proportions are reflected in the new 2.5-box design.”
Like the iX3, the new i3 sedan adopts BMW’s sixth-generation eDrive system, with two motors mounted front and aft. The system has been upgraded to an 800-volt electrical architecture that helps boost performance while also reducing charging times.
Lifting a page from the Tesla handbook, BMW migrated to a centralized computing system, sharply reducing the number of microprocessors – typically running into the dozens, even 100 or more – normally scattered around most vehicles today to operate everything from power mirrors to engine controls. The Heart of Joy computer system features a “self-learning” voice assistant that can be activated much like Amazon’s Alexa, simply by saying the keywords, “Hey, BMW.”
Design
The 2027 BMW i3 in an early rendering.
The 2027 BMW i3 measures 187.4 inches in length, with a 114.1-inch wheelbase. That’s about 1.5 inches longer than the 2026 3-Series, with an added 1.9 inches of wheelbase. The EV sits 73.4 inches wide, with a height of 58.3 inches. Those numbers are about 2 inches larger than a current 3-Series.
Though it picks up on the basic design language of the ICE-powered BMW 3-Series, with its classic, long hood, short overhangs and sporty silhouette, the i3 is far from a clone. It picks up some details first seen on the iX3, including the new take on BMW’s iconic kidney grille, a revised look for the familiar BMW rondel logo and new four-eyed headlamps. Aerodynamics played a critical role considering the payoff in improved range and performance. That’s apparent in features like the smooth underbody and flush door handles.
The interior takes a more divergent path from the ICE 3-Series line-up. The most distinctive feature is the angular shape of the 17.9-inch central touchscreen. And rather having to look through the oblong steering wheel at a traditional gauge cluster, BMW has mounted three shallow screens atop the instrument panel, running nearly pillar to pillar.
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Powertrain
As with all of its various model lines, expect BMW to eventually offer a variety of different trim and performance packages, but the new EV debuts in the form of the 2027 i3 50 xDrive. The twin-motor layout provides through-the-road all-wheel-drive and BMW promises that the low center of gravity created by mounting key drivetrain components under the load floor will deliver classic 3-Series road dynamics.
The package produces 463 horsepower and 476 pound-feet of instant torque. Range is expected to be 440 miles, according to preliminary EPA estimates.
The automaker hasn’t revealed many details about the battery pack, beyond claiming the new chemistry and cell design achieve a 20% increase in volumetric energy density compared to the prior-generation BMW pack. It’s expected the initial i3 version will share the same 108.7-kWh hour pack as the iX3.
Charging
The 2027 i3 is slightly longer than a classic 3-Series. And the skateboard platform helps to deliver more interior space.
Charging times for the i3, the automaker claims, are also 20% faster, in part due to the use of an 800-vole electrical architecture. If the iX3 again offers a good comparison, this would mean going from a 10 to 80% state-of-charge in 21 minutes when plugged into a 400-kW DC quick charger. The iX3 can add as much as 231 miles of range in as little as 10 minutes.
With a Level 2 240-volt charger, it takes anywhere from 8 to nearly 12 hours to fully charge a drained battery, depending upon the amount of current it can provide.
Not surprisingly, U.S. versions of the i3 will be fitted with a North American Charging Standard, or NACS, port. That will allow motorists to access the Tesla Supercharger network. An adaptor will be provided to connect to the older CCS, or Combined Charging System, chargers.
Like the earlier Neue Klasse model, i3 will offer various V2X capabilities. In the field it can be a V2L, or vehicle-to-load “power bank,” according to BMW, powering a work site or camp site. This bidirectional power supply can keep a home running in the event of a blackout – what’s known as Vehicle-to-Load. And it could even have its battery tapped to provide power to the grid in the event energy supplies are strained, say, on a hot summer day.
Pricing and availability
Aerodynamics were a critical part of the i3’s design.
BMW will offer a number of performance options and accessories for the new i3, including an Adaptive M Suspension.
Production of the first i3 package is set to launch this coming August at the BMW Group plant in Milbertshofen, just north of Munich. Deliveries will begin by autumn. The automaker isn’t yet providing a market-by-market breakout but U.S. buyers may have to wait until BMW fills up European inventories before it start shipping the new EV across the Atlantic.
Pricing will be announced closer to the on-sale date. Currently, the base version of the BMW iX3 starts around $60,000 in the U.S.
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