BMW iX3 debunking load shedding myths one kilowatt at a time

Electric vehicles (EVs) are the future, they say. But in the current day and age, trying to figure out the charging mechanics of an EV can be more challenging than figuring out which load shedding schedule you’re on.

Take the BMW iX3 for example that we had on test last month. On paper, the facts and figures around this fully-electric car sound simple enough. And pretty decent too.

The BMW iX3 produces 210 kW of power and 400 Nm which is sent to the rear wheels. It is fitted with an 80-kWh battery which BMW claims will give average consumption of 21.6-kWh, with a maximum range of 440 km possible.

You do need to take into account that although that sort of range was possible during testing, it was probably without the use of the air-conditioner, mostly in city traffic with lots of regenerative braking and at lower speeds.

During testing, we didn’t tick one of those boxes. We could only achieve an average consumption of mid-20s, with the best indicated range only a tad over 300 km. Which is still more than enough for your average daily commuter.

The BMW iX3 has a limited top speed of 180 km/h and can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in a very hasty 6.8 seconds.

Now for the hard part

These are the easy numbers. It’s trying to figure out the charging mathematics where you might start regretting not persevering with higher grade until matric.

This does not bode well for the staunch anti-EV crowd that is already beating the load shedding drum every time Eskom makes an announcement.

In essence, the load shedding argument is rather futile. But the EV naysayers will be correct in pointing out all fuel stations have the same fuels and pumps them at the same speed through the same nozzle.

As EVs are pretty much still in their infancy, they are slightly more complicated when “filling” up.
The fastest charging achievable from the wall charger included in the selling price of the BMW iX3 is 22 kW if you have three-phase power available at your house. Many public charging points on the GridCars network offers the same capacity.

The BMW iX3, like many other EVs in standard form, comes off the assembly line only capable of charging at a maximum of 11kW off an AC charger.

Unlike the Audi e-tron for example, upgrading the car’s onboard AC charging capacity from 11 to 22 kW is not currently offered as an optional extra on the BMW.

If you only have one-phase power available at your house, the charger will only go up to seven kilowatts. You do have the option of upgrading to three-phase power via City Power to be able to achieve 11 kW. But only gaining four kilowatts might not be worth the cost involved.

ALSO READ: Volted-up, all-electric BMW i4 and iX3 priced

To determine the time it will take to charge the BMW iX3 at your house, let’s work on both numbers. If you are charging from dead flat it will take between seven and eight hours using 11 kW and between 11 and 12 hours using 7kW.

At GridCars’ DC fast-charging points it will be much quicker, but not any less mathematically challenging to figure out.

For instance, while the DC charging point at Fourways Mall has a rated capacity of 60 kW, only 48 kW was possible when we charged the BMW iX3 there.

The official word from GridCars is that even when charging with DC power, an EV might be limited to only charge at a certain percentage due to factors like cable specifications.

BMW iX3 and the calculator

But even at “only” 48 kW, the BMW iX3 should charge from completely flat to 100% in less than two hours.

What the home charging times do is bust the popular load shedding myths around EVs, which proclaims doom and gloom when the lights go out.

If you plug the BMW iX3 into the charger from 18h00 to 06h00 every night, even when half of these hours are lost due to load shedding, you should get benefit from six hours of charging. That will ensure a range of 150 km at the very least if the battery was completely flat, which it probably never will be.

If the BMW iX3 is plugged in every night with a carried over range of 120 km, you are likely to leave the next morning with a range of close to 300 km in the worse-case scenario charging with seven kilowatts during the highest load shedding stages. Pretty much like you will do with your cellphone, topping it up every day even when it is nowhere near flat.

As far as cost goes, even if you work on the 80-kWh battery in the BMW iX3 only giving a range of 300 km, it is still cheaper to “fill” it compared to petrol and diesel variants. At home you should be paying just under R3 a kilowatt, which will mean that a full charge will cost around R230.

Fast-chargers will cost more, but charging there will be the exception and not the rule for EV owners. Not forgetting that you can charge your iX3 for free at any of BMW-group branded charging station.

Even if you manage an excellent fuel consumption of 6 L/100 km on the X3 oil burning derivates, you will still be forking out around R450 for every 300 km at today’s diesel prices. On the petrol variants 300 km will cost you well over R500.

Appreciating the BMW iX3

The awful long time it has taken us to explain the charging intricacies and bebunking the load shedding myth has now somewhat overshadowed a damn fine machine which is the BMW iX3.

Unlike BMW’s initial foray into future mobility with models like the i3 and i8, which was deliberately designed to stand out from the crowd, the iX3 blends in unassumingly alongside the rest of the X3 line-up. If they don’t notice the badging, most observers will probably not even realise it’s an all-electric car.

That is a good thing, because for EVs to start resonating with the masses it needs more familiarity and less extraterrestrial-ness. It’s already hard enough for carmakers to convince motorists of the new technology that is EVs amid all the myths, having to do that with unfamiliar models is a tall order.

The X3 has been a local favourite for a long time, offering every day practicality, space and comfort. The BMW iX3 ticks all the boxes associated with the petrol and diesel derivates, while offering the major benefit of an EV which is the huge saving at the “pumps”.

Offered standard with the M Sport package, it comes with good-looking 20-inch aerodynamic wheels and adaptive LED headlights.

Conclusion

Making the BMW iX3 even more attractive is its price tag of R1 290 000. While most people that are out of tune with current car prices might get heart palpitations seeing this price, it is actually very good value.

Where EVs’ high pricing has been one of their biggest local deterrents, the iX3 is only a few dozen rand more than the xDrive30d M Sport, which offers slightly better performance and costs more to “fill”.

Levelling the playing fields on the price front between internal combustion engine cars and EVs will go a long way towards convincing people that EVs really are the future. That is if they can be convinced that Mzansi will have any power left in the future.

For more information on the BMW iX3, visit the manufacturer’s website.