BMW is going to use the Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) as the stage to reveal its production-ready version of the iX3, its electric vehicle with a 275-mile-plus range and a 286hp/400Nm electric motor. That means that, yes, the iX3 will go on sale later this year. The EV SUV will herald a new wave of pure-electric BMW vehicles, with the i4 and Vision iNext following it to market in 2021. The electrification of BMW is also strongly in evidence in the German manufacturer's other GIMS stars, as the 330e family is growing. To go with the rear-wheel-drive plug-in hybrid (PHEV) 3 Series Saloon which already exists, a Touring estate will also be offered, while both the four- and five-door PHEV Threes will also now be available with xDrive AWD - expect 166.2mpg with 39g/km of CO₂ emissions from the 330e Touring (RWD), 157mpg and 42g/km from the 330e xDrive, and 141.3mpg with 46g/km from the 330e xDrive Touring. Beyond the EVs and PHEVs, BMW is also announcing two new MHEVs - that's a 48-volt mild-hybrid electric vehicle, by the way. Using the drivetrain from the recently announced X5 and X6 xDrive40d and creating a parallel model for the M340i xDrive, the M340d xDrive and M340d xDrive Touring pack robust outputs of 340hp and 700Nm, so while they're 34hp down on their M340i petrol equivalents, they do have an additional 200Nm of torque to play with. Performance is therefore punchy: the saloon will hit 62mph from rest in 4.6 seconds, with the Touring a mere two-tenths behind. You can expect a best of 53.3mpg with 139g/km from the M340d xDrive, and 52.3mpg with 143g/km from the M340d xDrive Touring.

Matt Robinson - 19 Feb 2020