The hosts take an immediate, raw look at the new BMW iX3 during its UK launch, focusing on its touted 500-mile electric range and driving experience. They discuss the car's advanced digital displays, intuitive controls, and the balance between traditional BMW driving pleasure and modern EV technology. The episode covers the car's single-pedal driving, upcoming hands-off motorway driving features, and the contrast between the tech-heavy briefing and the actual driving feel. Their candid impressions highlight both the innovations and the realities behind the iX3's range claims and usability.
"...just going to give you raw, immediate, first impressions of the all-new BMW iX3.
Oh, no, mate."
The BMW iX3 is a fully electric car that looks like a regular SUV but runs only on electricity instead of gas. It's BMW's way of making a clean, green car that still feels like a BMW to drive.
The BMW iX3 is an all-electric SUV from BMW, representing their push into electric vehicles with a model based on the popular X3 SUV but powered solely by electricity. It combines BMW's traditional driving dynamics with zero emissions and modern electric vehicle technology.
The iX3 is an electric SUV made by BMW. It looks like a regular SUV but runs only on electricity, so it doesn't use gas. People talk about it because it offers a quiet and smooth ride with no emissions.
The BMW iX3 (G08) is an all-electric version of BMW's popular X3 SUV, combining the practicality of a compact luxury SUV with a fully electric powertrain. It is significant as BMW's effort to electrify its lineup while retaining familiar driving dynamics. The iX3 is often noted for its balance of range, performance, and comfort.
"Which, look, yes, let's get it out of the way. It's an electric car. Yeah. You know. We like electric cars."
An electric car is a car that runs on electricity stored in batteries instead of using gas. This means it doesn't make smoke or pollution when you drive it.
An electric car is a vehicle powered entirely or primarily by electric motors using energy stored in batteries, instead of an internal combustion engine using gasoline or diesel. Electric cars produce zero tailpipe emissions and typically offer instant torque for quick acceleration.
"This is an enthusiast-based podcast. Can we say that? I think, you know, we're talking to petrolheads."
An enthusiast-based podcast is a show made for people who really love cars and know a lot about them, especially fast or special cars that use gas.
An enthusiast-based podcast is a show targeted at passionate fans of a particular subject, in this case, car enthusiasts or 'petrolheads' who are typically interested in traditional internal combustion engine vehicles and performance cars.
"I think, you know, we're talking to petrolheads. We assume. Most of the time, yeah."
Petrolheads are people who really love cars that use gasoline. They like the sound and feel of these cars when they drive.
Petrolheads is a slang term for car enthusiasts who have a strong passion for traditional gasoline-powered cars, often valuing performance, sound, and driving experience associated with internal combustion engines.
"And most of the time they just want to hear about Ferraris and Lamborghini."
Lamborghini is a car company from Italy that makes very fast and flashy sports cars. People who love cars often talk about Lamborghinis because they look cool and go very fast.
Lamborghini is an Italian manufacturer of luxury sports cars and SUVs, known for its aggressive styling, powerful engines, and high performance. It is a brand iconic among car enthusiasts and collectors.
"And most of the time they just want to hear about Ferraris and Lamborghini."
Ferrari is a famous car company from Italy that makes very fast and expensive sports cars. Many car lovers admire Ferrari cars for their speed and style.
Ferrari is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer known for producing high-performance supercars and racing cars. It is a brand highly regarded among car enthusiasts for its speed, design, and racing heritage.
"The reason why this is theoretically an important EV, one that we've been so excited about for a while, is that it's the first mainstream production actually electric vehicle to claim a range of 500 miles."
An electric vehicle is a car that runs on electricity instead of gas. It uses batteries to store power and doesn't make pollution from the exhaust.
An electric vehicle (EV) is a car powered entirely or primarily by electricity stored in batteries, rather than by gasoline or diesel fuel. EVs produce zero tailpipe emissions and are considered more environmentally friendly.
""In this cabin, we have multiple displays. There's various different heads-up displays going on.""
A heads-up display shows important driving info right in front of you on the windshield, so you don't have to look down at the dashboard.
A heads-up display (HUD) projects important information such as speed, navigation, and alerts onto the windshield or a transparent screen, allowing drivers to see data without looking away from the road.
""...which not only shows us our normal trip data, but a lot of our electric consumption, which I love because we're currently using, although our total consumption is 1.1 kilowatt in the last 10 minutes we've been sitting here.""
Electric consumption means how much battery power your electric car is using while you drive or use things like the heater or lights.
Electric consumption refers to the amount of electrical energy a vehicle uses to operate, including driving and powering accessories. Monitoring this helps drivers understand how efficiently their electric vehicle uses energy and how it affects driving range.
""67% is climate. Well, that just goes to show, because that is true, by the way, because if you're driving down a road and your electric runs low on a normal electric car, you turn the climate up and the range goes up.""
Climate means the car's heating and air conditioning system that keeps the inside warm or cool.
In automotive terms, climate refers to the vehicle's heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system that controls the interior temperature and airflow to keep passengers comfortable.
""Oh, Tony, help me. ADAS off. Let's do that. So. Didn't you just turn it all off?""
ADAS means the car has special technology to help the driver, like automatic braking or lane keeping, to make driving safer and easier.
ADAS stands for Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems, which are electronic systems in vehicles designed to assist the driver in driving and parking functions, improving safety and convenience.
Single-pedal driving means you mostly use just one pedal to go and stop the car. When you take your foot off the pedal, the car slows down by itself, so you don't have to press the brake as much.
Single-pedal driving is a feature common in electric vehicles where the driver can accelerate and decelerate using only the accelerator pedal. Releasing the pedal causes the car to slow down significantly, often regenerating energy back to the battery, reducing the need to use the brake pedal frequently.
"But coming or will be available from the summer is motorway self-drive, hands-off driving... Which you'll be able to activate in this kind of moment, like cruise control, hands-off... Let's turn that on. Assisted driving."
Motorway self-drive means the car can drive by itself on big roads like highways. It can keep the car in its lane and control speed without the driver needing to touch the steering wheel all the time.
Motorway self-drive refers to advanced driver assistance systems that allow a car to drive itself on highways or motorways, including features like lane keeping, adaptive cruise control, and hands-off driving at certain speeds.
"Let's turn that on. Assisted driving. Do I let go? No. This feels sketch."
Assisted driving means the car helps you drive by doing some parts of the driving, like steering or stopping, but you still need to watch and be ready to take over.
Assisted driving is a technology that helps drivers by controlling some driving tasks like steering, braking, and acceleration, but still requires the driver to be attentive and ready to take control.
"This is very odd.
This is electronic.
Very odd.
Very odd.
Apparently, there's like a little micro switch behind the handle.
The handle, handles sit very flush in the door.
And obviously, when you unlock it, they come out."
Some cars have door handles that hide inside the door and pop out when you unlock the car, making the car look smooth and cool.
Electronic door handles are door handles that sit flush with the car body and extend outward electronically when the car is unlocked, improving aerodynamics and aesthetics.
"... come out. We've seen that on a lot of cars now, Range Rovers. There's a lot of BMWs that you can have it as w..."
The Range Rover is a big, fancy SUV made by Land Rover. It is designed to be comfortable and can drive on rough roads as well as smooth city streets. People talk about it because it has a lot of useful and fancy features.
The Land Rover Range Rover is a luxury SUV known for combining off-road capability with high-end comfort and advanced technology. It is significant for setting a benchmark in the luxury SUV segment and often features innovative features that later appear in other vehicles. Its mention likely relates to its advanced tech or luxury features that are becoming common in premium cars.
""So this floating kind of display we've got in front of us, which for some reason, my eyes are struggling to adapt to.""
A floating display is a screen inside the car that looks like it's floating above the dashboard. It shows important information and controls, making it easier to see and use.
A floating display is a screen that appears to hover above the dashboard or center console, often designed to reduce glare and improve visibility. It is a modern interior feature in many new vehicles, enhancing the futuristic look and user interface.
""Perfectly judged, perfectly smooth, fantastic one-pedal deceleration. Oh, one of the brake lights come on.""
In some electric cars, when you take your foot off the gas, the car slows down by itself without pressing the brake. This is called one-pedal deceleration and helps save energy.
One-pedal deceleration is a driving technique common in electric vehicles where lifting off the accelerator pedal causes the car to slow down significantly using regenerative braking, often eliminating the need to use the brake pedal in many situations.
""Because it's doing, but it's literally just regenerating and do it on its own. Well, it's doing it totally on its own. It's judging it perfectly with whatever cameras and sensing... But do you think the brakes are actually working or do you just think it's regen? Because if the brakes are, I mean, it's never going to need a set of brake pads or discs.""
When you slow down an electric car, it can save some of the energy it uses and put it back into the battery. This is called regenerative braking and helps the car go farther.
Regenerative braking is a system in electric and hybrid vehicles that recovers energy during deceleration by using the electric motor to slow the car and convert kinetic energy back into stored battery energy, reducing wear on traditional brakes.
"They didn't even call it an SUV. They call it an SAV. Sports Active Vehicle or something like that."
SAV means Sports Activity Vehicle, which is BMW's way of saying their SUVs are more sporty and fun to drive than regular SUVs.
SAV stands for Sports Activity Vehicle, a term BMW uses to describe their SUVs with a focus on sporty driving dynamics and versatility, differentiating them from traditional SUVs.
""But would you buy an X3 M40i? Um, yeah. Mmm. Over this? No, no. In general.""
The BMW X3 M40i is a sportier version of the BMW X3 SUV. It has a stronger engine and is designed to be more fun to drive while still being a practical car.
The BMW X3 M40i is a performance-oriented variant of the BMW X3 SUV, featuring a more powerful engine and sportier tuning compared to the base models. It combines practicality with enhanced driving dynamics typical of BMW's M Performance lineup.
""I feel like you're coming at it from I just have an M3 touring instead, thank you. Which, obviously, that's not what this car is.""
The BMW M3 Touring is a fast and sporty car that looks like a wagon, which means it has more space for stuff. It's like a sports car and a family car combined.
The BMW M3 Touring is a high-performance station wagon variant of the BMW M3, combining the M3's sporty performance with the practicality of a wagon body style. It offers powerful engines, sharp handling, and increased cargo space.
"... what more do you need? Because as you said, the 120i, which you've been barking on about for the last..."
The BMW 1 Series is a small car made by BMW that is comfortable and fun to drive. The 120i is a version with a good engine that works well for everyday driving. People like it because it feels sporty but is easy to use.
The BMW 1 Series is a compact luxury hatchback or sedan known for its sporty handling and premium interior in a small package. The 120i variant typically features a turbocharged petrol engine offering a balance of performance and efficiency. It is often discussed for providing a dynamic driving experience at a relatively accessible entry point into the BMW brand.
""...actually going to Silverstone and GT3 RS. No. And that's what I think driving an EV briskly feels like.""
Silverstone is a well-known race track in England where many important car races happen. It's a place where fast cars are tested and raced.
Silverstone is a famous racing circuit in the United Kingdom known for hosting Formula 1 British Grand Prix and other major motorsport events. It is a benchmark track for testing sports cars and race cars.
"There's a third X3 in my life from an M40i to an M40d to now get one of these."
The BMW X3 M40d is a version of the X3 SUV that uses diesel fuel. Diesel engines give more power at low speeds and can be more fuel efficient.
The BMW X3 M40d is a diesel-powered variant of the X3 SUV, known for its strong torque and fuel efficiency. It offers a different driving experience compared to gasoline or electric versions.
"Because of the extended range, it would fit into my lifestyle more because I do a lot of unpredictable miles."
Extended range means the car can go a long way before the battery runs out and needs charging again.
Extended range refers to an electric vehicle's ability to travel a longer distance on a single full battery charge compared to typical EVs. This makes it more practical for varied driving needs.
"We haven't tried any charging now, but let's assume that we can gain 50 to 200 miles pretty quickly."
Charging is plugging the car into electricity to fill up its battery so it can drive again.
Charging refers to replenishing an electric vehicle's battery by connecting it to an electric power source. Charging speeds can vary, with fast chargers providing significant range in a short time.
"I'd put this up there on a Taycan level of impressiveness. I would agree."
The Taycan is a fast, electric car made by Porsche. It doesn't use gas and is known for being quick and smooth to drive. People mention it because it shows how electric cars can be exciting.
The Porsche Taycan is a fully electric luxury sports sedan that has been praised for its performance, handling, and advanced electric drivetrain technology. It represents Porsche's commitment to electric mobility while maintaining the brand's sporty character. It is often discussed as a benchmark for electric vehicle performance.
"So basic vehicle. We've got nine grand of optional equipment on here."
Optional equipment means extra things you can add to a car that don't come with the basic version. These extras usually cost more money.
Optional equipment refers to additional features or packages that can be added to a vehicle beyond the base model, often increasing the price. These can include luxury upgrades, technology packages, or performance enhancements.
Select text to request an explanation
Now, we know lots of you don't love it when we record episodes whilst driving in a car,
but we are making an exception.
You keep saying this as well, mate.
What?
To upset the people.
Why don't people do it whenever we've done episodes in cars whilst driving?
People go, audios crap, you've ruined this podcast, unsubscribe.
We're sorry.
That's why we stopped doing them.
No.
But we're back.
We're back.
In a car.
Because, well, we think this is a very important car.
It is.
And we've literally just stepped into it for the first time.
And rather than spend the morning driving it and then sitting down at the loudest, we're
just going to give you raw, immediate, first impressions of the all-new BMW iX3.
Oh, no, mate.
Go away.
You can't say the make of the car.
No.
Because the computer's going to talk to us.
All the while.
Okay.
So we can we say iX3?
Yeah.
We're in new iX3.
Which, look, yes, let's get it out of the way.
It's an electric car.
Yeah.
You know.
We like electric cars.
No.
No.
You never liked electric cars.
I have liked electric cars for a while, but let's face it.
This is an enthusiast-based podcast.
Can we say that?
I think, you know, we're talking to petrolheads.
We assume.
Most of the time, yeah.
And most of the time they just want to hear about Ferraris and Lamborghini.
Yeah.
I'm aware that, but this is an important electric car, people.
Very important.
It's moved the goalposts.
We think so.
On paper it has.
Well, yeah.
We're about to find out if that's a reality.
We are here in the UK launch of this car.
And, yeah, I mean, literally it has been handed the keys.
We had a little short briefing, a very nice short briefing.
Sometimes, as we've talked about in this podcast before,
these media briefings can go on a while.
This one was pretty.
The Italian ones, right?
The Ferrari ones.
Four and a half hours later, they were locked in a room.
They had taken your phone away.
Didn't even offer you any snacks.
Anyway, that was short and concise.
And we're here.
We got the keys.
We sat in it.
And I literally rigged up the cameras.
And we're about to embark on about an hour's long drive to today's lunch stop.
So I kind of want to get going.
But there's some stuff that we need to set up,
clarify, showcase before we actually hit the road.
Well, you told me off, mate, immediately.
In what sense?
I literally got in the car.
You said, don't say anything.
Do not say, don't talk.
Don't say anything.
And then he's like, starts fondling me with a bloody mic.
What are you doing that, mate?
I had to put the mic on you,
which means I have to put my hand down your shirt.
Yes.
It used to be on your trousers.
I'd rather it be my trousers.
The reason I said, don't say anything is because
immediately when you walk up to this car,
just to get in it, it feels different.
Really different.
And the minute you sit in it, there's so much to go.
And I thought you're going to start reviewing it.
It's going to be gold.
It's going to be gold.
I don't want to miss that.
So I was like, just shut your mouth.
Shut your mouth.
Shut your mouth when you talk to me.
I rigged up the cameras.
And here we go.
This is very much going to be a one take.
So this could be a disaster.
So we are going to be driving.
There could be road noise.
We don't know.
We don't know what the cabin noise is going to be like.
We don't know anything.
Anyway.
Okay.
Where do we start, mate?
Give me some of those initial impressions.
We're going to get into all the stats and all that stuff in a bit.
Actually, you know what we should say?
The reason why this is theoretically an important EV,
one that we've been so excited about for a while,
is that it's the first mainstream production
actually electric vehicle to claim a range of 500 miles.
Fair.
Do you want to go?
Should we go for the elephant in the room?
I think that's a lie.
Well, you know, just like with MPG,
claimed combined MPG figures are never quite correct.
What we have learnt quite quickly is,
firstly, to get the supposed 500 mile range,
you have to have the entry level vehicle with very specific wheels.
Yeah.
We are in the M Sport Pro, the Larry one.
Yeah.
With not the right wheels.
And we've got 99% charge and a range of 435 miles today,
here in the UK in seven degrees centigrade ambient temperatures.
As we speak right now.
Right now.
Yeah.
And we should keep track of that.
How are we going to keep track of our...
I know.
What's the mileage on the car now?
That's exactly what I was just trying to work out.
Go to that thing that that man showed us.
No, no, that's not it.
I want to know.
You're right.
I want to know how many miles this car has done.
I think it was 934.
Where did you see that?
We are now exploring the vehicle.
Yeah.
Through these, this new unbelievable.
How does it not show you the miles, mate?
That's weird, isn't it?
Normally it is in status.
It's not in systems.
Units?
There.
Where?
The units.
No.
No.
Shall we be back in someone over?
Yeah, should we?
Please come and help us.
Excuse me.
Can I have some assistance?
You had to get your handbrake off.
Which one's the accelerator?
Where does one find the mylometer or tripometer?
As in how can we monitor how many miles we're doing today?
The quickest way to do it.
It's done well.
You can scroll through today or whatever you want to do.
Perfect.
Well done.
If you want to see the mileage that you've got,
you can scroll across on there.
Look at this.
That's it.
Fantastic.
Tricky so much.
I'm so glad he came over because I would never have done it.
There's been a lot of button pushing going on.
Thank you so much for your help.
Goodbye.
On the right.
Fantastic.
Look at this information.
Can you drink?
I actually love this.
Look at this information.
I'm apologies.
Audio listeners.
We're going to have to be very descriptive for audio listeners.
Fine.
You may want to watch the episode on YouTube afterwards.
In this cabin, we have multiple displays.
There's various different heads-up displays going on.
Panoramic eye drive, did they call it?
Which is essentially a bar running underneath the main windscreen
projecting various bits of information.
We can customise that bar.
We've got a huge tablet-esque screen.
There's also a heads-up display.
The information that we're able to get is actually fascinating.
What they just brought up there is a sort of page
which not only shows us our normal trip data,
but a lot of our electric consumption,
which I love because we're currently using,
although our total consumption is 1.1 kilowatt
in the last 10 minutes we've been sitting here.
32% of that is electronics.
I guess headlights and stuff.
Yeah.
67% is climate.
Well, that just goes to show, because that is true, by the way,
because if you're driving down a road
and your electric runs low on a normal electric car,
you turn the climate up and the range goes up.
Oh, yeah.
Well, look, we've been sitting in the car for 16 minutes.
That's amazing.
Right, let's crack on.
So I think you're going to have to help me explore some of this
whilst we're driving because I want to be driving.
Fine.
So if we hit, hit, it's very intuitive, this system.
Yeah.
I don't know if it's just because I'm familiar with BMW stuff,
but it's unbelievably intuitive,
considering it's all new equipment.
Yeah.
It's what we call familiar.
So let's do the main route at 53 minutes.
And how many miles do you say?
Oh, no.
Three to shark right.
We're going to turn her off.
Turn on.
33 miles.
So, Tony, we should have 400 miles left of range.
On the dot.
Theoretically.
How do I make her quiet?
I had to say that it was intuitive in our settings.
So the instructions go away.
Okay.
Right.
So no on off button.
Foot on break.
Drive.
And we're moving.
So how does that work then?
You just literally just get in the car and it turns on.
I just got in.
That's all I did.
Right.
Have you got your badge?
We're going to need to tap out.
Oh, would you?
Would you?
Oh, maybe I've got my badge on.
Hello.
How are you?
Oh, very well.
Thank you.
Let me badge you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Enjoy your drive.
Thank you so much.
Bye-bye.
Okay.
So we are being released from BMW HQ, UK HQ.
Oh, Tony, help me.
ADAS off.
Let's do that.
So.
Didn't you just turn it all off?
No, I didn't.
That was...
Yeah.
I'm okay.
Perfect.
I don't want that back because we're going to get...
What about the self?
What about the hands off driving?
Is that allowed?
Wow.
I know it's coming in the summer.
Yeah.
Thank God.
Okay.
So look, let's chat as we drive.
Uh-huh.
I think that briefing that I just had was maybe the least driver-focused briefing I've ever
had at any press launch ever.
I agree.
I think 90% of the chat was not about anything to do with how the car drives or performance...
Like, just anything.
Which is technology?
Technology, recycled items, battery harvesting, all this kind of stuff.
I'm sorry, there's going to be so much to work.
Steering wheel, very different.
It feels quite nice.
But genuinely, like apart from talking about the heart of joy, which I want to discuss,
and the fact that it's still a BMW so it must have ultimate driving pleasure, that was it.
They didn't talk about anything else with regards to how the car actually goes down the road.
They literally had to put that in there.
If they didn't put that little bit of speech in, you might as well just...
You're literally just getting into an iPhone at that point.
What does it mean?
It was more about like how not to drive the car, all the stuff you can do in the car
and with the car except drive it.
Right.
So we've got all this entertainment, which we're going to have to talk a little bit more about.
Yeah.
But yes, all new battery infrastructure, which is allowing the supposed 500 mile range, which is actually...
It's a whole new design.
It's a whole new design.
It's a whole new ground up.
Ground up electric vehicle, which is going to kickstart.
What did they say?
The start of 40 new vehicles before the end of 2027.
Yeah.
And interestingly, also what they said, which we already know, is about you'll be able to choose what you want.
So you can have this in electric, hybrid, combustion form.
Oh, I misunderstood.
I got a different understanding of that.
Did you?
Yes.
They're going to offer a range.
They're going to continue to offer a range because we've just got a new X3, which is combustion or hybrid.
And then this is the electric version.
Yeah.
You're not going to get this particular car with an engine or a hybrid.
No, no, no.
But they're saying...
Across the range.
Across the range of version because what they said is so customers can choose what they want.
Okay.
I have so much to discuss about the driving.
So first things first, I really like it.
First things first, I generally really like it.
Literally two miles in, I really like it.
Okay, good.
There's a lot of single-pedal driving going on.
I haven't touched the brake pedal once, yet we've stopped for a roundabout stuff.
It's all very pre-emptive.
Yeah.
Again, again, the focus is on not actually driving.
No.
Just like with the briefing, the car is essentially driving itself.
And I mentioned it a moment ago.
Terrifying.
We're not going to be able to experience it.
But coming or will be available from the summer is motorway self-drive, hands-off driving.
Yeah.
Which you'll be able to activate in this kind of moment, like cruise control, hands-off.
Yeah.
Our American listeners will be very familiar with this, but we don't have a lot of this
technology in the UK yet, and up to 130 kilometres an hour.
Yeah.
And to change lanes, all you do is look in the mirror.
I mean, that is terrifying.
Shall I see if it's working?
Maybe it is working, aren't so?
Let's turn that on.
Assisted driving.
Do I let go?
No.
This feels sketch.
Is it going to yell at me?
What's it doing, mate?
I don't know.
Oh yeah, it's telling me to put my hands back on the wheels.
Okay, so yeah, that is coming in the summer.
What?
Fine.
What I like about it initially, as soon as I got in the car, it's a BMW.
Yes, I agree.
Oh, thank you.
No, thank you.
The first thing that I, as I opened the door, it was very, very familiar.
Would you want to talk about opening the door?
Yeah, we can.
So, a normal conventional door, you kind of pull a handle and a latch releases and you
open the door.
This is very odd.
This is electronic.
Very odd.
Very odd.
Apparently, there's like a little micro switch behind the handle.
The handle, handles sit very flush in the door.
And obviously, when you unlock it, they come out.
We've seen that on a lot of cars now, Range Rovers.
There's a lot of BMWs that you can have it as well.
But there's a micro switch behind the door, which is touch feel.
So, as soon as you put your hand, the door just opens like no latch anymore.
It's sort of unsatisfying.
Yeah.
There's no movement.
There's nothing to engage with.
Yeah.
But also, it's like, you know, the old adverts, I mean, how they're going to do that?
Remember the old adverts, you shut the door.
It's a Golf or it's a BMW or it's a Porsche.
Because the clunk of the door.
Yeah.
Well, that might still happen.
We haven't actually tried closing the door.
We've always done this openness.
We did close it, mate.
We're in it.
But it is, and this is the whole thing.
The minute, walking up to it, I don't think, which I quite like,
from the outside, it's not dramatic.
You know, you said, I think I saw one of these on the road on the way here.
No, last weekend.
Oh, last weekend.
Sorry.
It would be very easy to confuse this with an old X3 or an IX.
Or they haven't gone aggressive on the outside, which I appreciate.
But the minute you interact with it, you're like, oh, here we go.
Yeah.
You know, various things are lighting up.
So this floating kind of display we've got in front of us,
which for some reason, my eyes are struggling to adapt to.
But there's just a lot.
All the touch points are new and different and unique.
I quite like on the steering wheel, of course, it's sort of haptic touchy.
But there are buttons as well.
There are things that I can feel.
I have to constantly look down.
Which is nice.
Which is nice.
And there is an intuitive stuff.
I've got still stalks for indicators and windscreen wipers.
Fine.
So there's enough seat controls, a little bit different.
It's sort of futuristic without being annoying.
Yeah, without being annoying.
Well, I think this, see this bar here.
I can't see the head up display, obviously, but you can.
I can see why you're...
I think that's too much, mate, in front of your eyes like that.
Like, can be a little bit distracting.
Yes.
I don't think I...
I definitely don't need the heads up display and the floating bar thing.
No.
And I say it's floating.
I don't think it is.
It just gives you that sort of weird impression.
And I don't know where to look.
Do you know what I mean?
Like, so obviously...
Obviously, I'm trying to look at the road.
But I'm like, okay, so...
And obviously, we're going to get used to this, right?
You can customize this bar to have whatever information you want on it.
Let's try doing that as I'm moving.
So I hit these three bars here.
I can go along to the trip information.
That's what they said, wasn't it?
And there you go.
We're starting to look at our kilowatt usage.
Our trip total so far, 5.9 miles.
We're down to 423 miles.
So so far...
We've used loads of miles.
We've used loads of miles.
Let's see if that catches back up on itself.
I want to go back again.
See what the map does.
Well, okay.
Again, I've got a massive screen here.
Yeah.
We don't need that there.
So far, it feels very unnecessary.
It's not really adding much to my experience.
Because I've got this huge screen in front of me, which is very nice.
Yeah.
Very familiar.
Yeah.
But is it just change?
Is it just because we're not used to having that kind of tech?
Possibly.
Possibly.
And you know, one thing that I took from this car in the briefing,
I thought, oh, actually, that's a really good point.
It's the price.
Oh, my God.
The pricing.
They have done a fantastic job.
I think it's a fantastic value for running this car.
Well, okay.
Well, it's in line.
Can we quantify that for an EV?
No, I'd say full stop there.
It's in line with the X330E.
So they're hybrid X3.
Yeah.
Okay, maybe you're right.
Because actually the amount of kit you're getting on this vehicle.
Yeah.
Brand new, good looking, fully loaded, 63, 64 grand.
And is that like, that's how it comes.
It's the, it's the, it's the IX350M Sport Pro.
63, 64 grand.
So there's nothing else you can put on this?
I'm sure.
I'm sure there is.
I'm sure you can.
You know, well, M Sport Pro is about as low as you can get.
Yeah.
And then there'll probably be, you know, a sound.
What's called?
Yeah.
What do they call it?
The extra packages you can do.
There will be something.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Like a comfort pack or.
So like, here's an example of this tech, which again,
all your listeners, I apologize.
I've got the main screen, which is huge.
Yeah.
Show me the navigation.
Full screen navigation.
Yeah.
I've got heads up display.
Yeah.
Giving me a visual, what's called a visual display.
Yeah.
Of the road and the directions.
And the floating bar is also showing me.
I've got three things giving me navigational help.
Yeah.
I just don't need it.
You don't need it.
But.
My system.
And this is a petrolhead doesn't need all this because someone that's an enthusiast,
they're normally quite a competent driver.
They, they, they.
Sorry, I'm going to interrupt you.
No.
This is not about a competent driver.
This is about like, I've got three things like one, two, three, all in my direct.
Line of vision.
I'm trying to get to the bottom of it, which is what I'm trying to explain before you,
before you've, you've never let me finish.
I know.
Just piled in.
Go on.
Because I'll get to the bottom of it and then you'll go, oh yeah, fair enough.
I understand.
Hurry up.
Because a competent driver wouldn't need all this information and they're enthusiast,
which is what our audience are.
This car isn't aimed at them.
This car is aimed at people like your sister, my sister.
Man, you need a bit of help.
No, but no one needs that much help, mate.
That's why I can.
No, no, no, no.
I'm sorry.
If you need three things in front of you showing exactly the same information, you need help
leaving the house.
You need help putting your socks on.
Like I'm worried about you being on the road.
It's too much.
Can I also just point out we came off the motorway there 70 miles an hour to a red light at
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