BMW X3 G45
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6 hours agoLAST POST
04-15-2026
04-15-2026
NielsH user avatar
NielsH
New Member
Australia
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Ozzie8 wrote
For those with a new car on order, the Joe Achilles video 'Watch My BMW M3 Touring Get Built in Germany' which you can access on the main Bimmerpost homepage, is outstanding. Especially in terms of giving you a sense of the time it actually takes to build a new car. Maybe Debrecen will be faster with different labour laws and more robotics.

Towards the end of the video, Joe interviews Frank van Meel the CEO of the BMW M Division. He asks Frank about the car he drives, and the answer is the iX M70. I wasn't expecting him to say that, and more expecting him to answer M2, M3 or M5. Now I drive the iX M60, the pre LCI version, and it is a great car. I was going to upgrade to the M70 but BMW Australia never released the 60 or M70 LCI models, only the 45, due to the cost point. So I waited, and then the iX3 was announced and available for order way ahead of my expectations, and I took the plunge.

Needless to say there are a lot of features of the iX I'm going to miss and I will certainly do a very detailed comparison review between the two cars when I receive my iX3. But the CEO of the M Division drives an iX M70. It does get me thinking...
I love me a good cup of Joe. He got a bit giddy at times there, but I guess I would too.

I wonder if the original intention of the M brand had been diluted since it seems to be on so many models now. I always thought M cars were synonymous with racing and competition features and for track work etc. Does it now just mean more powerful or sporty? There also seem to be tiers within the M brand like sport, pro, performance, competition and CS.
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04-15-2026
04-15-2026
kevinm03 user avatar
kevinm03
Second Lieutenant
Ireland
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Ozzie8 wrote
For those with a new car on order, the Joe Achilles video 'Watch My BMW M3 Touring Get Built in Germany' which you can access on the main Bimmerpost homepage, is outstanding. Especially in terms of giving you a sense of the time it actually takes to build a new car. Maybe Debrecen will be faster with different labour laws and more robotics.

Towards the end of the video, Joe interviews Frank van Meel the CEO of the BMW M Division. He asks Frank about the car he drives, and the answer is the iX M70. I wasn't expecting him to say that, and more expecting him to answer M2, M3 or M5. Now I drive the iX M60, the pre LCI version, and it is a great car. I was going to upgrade to the M70 but BMW Australia never released the 60 or M70 LCI models, only the 45, due to the cost point. So I waited, and then the iX3 was announced and available for order way ahead of my expectations, and I took the plunge.

Needless to say there are a lot of features of the iX I'm going to miss and I will certainly do a very detailed comparison review between the two cars when I receive my iX3. But the CEO of the M Division drives an iX M70. It does get me thinking...
I suspect the EV choice is due to company car taxes in Germany, which i believe are lower for EV's.
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04-15-2026
04-15-2026
Ozzie8 user avatar
Ozzie8
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Australia
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G30M wrote
Ozzie8 wrote
For those with a new car on order, the Joe Achilles video 'Watch My BMW M3 Touring Get Built in Germany' which you can access on the main Bimmerpost homepage, is outstanding. Especially in terms of giving you a sense of the time it actually takes to build a new car. Maybe Debrecen will be faster with different labour laws and more robotics.

Towards the end of the video, Joe interviews Frank van Meel the CEO of the BMW M Division. He asks Frank about the car he drives, and the answer is the iX M70. I wasn't expecting him to say that, and more expecting him to answer M2, M3 or M5. Now I drive the iX M60, the pre LCI version, and it is a great car. I was going to upgrade to the M70 but BMW Australia never released the 60 or M70 LCI models, only the 45, due to the cost point. So I waited, and then the iX3 was announced and available for order way ahead of my expectations, and I took the plunge.

Needless to say there are a lot of features of the iX I'm going to miss and I will certainly do a very detailed comparison review between the two cars when I receive my iX3. But the CEO of the M Division drives an iX M70. It does get me thinking...
so, what does an iX driver think about the iX3 in terms of luxury? i read everywhere it's cheap, noisy, bumpy, bad sound system...
G30M's user avatarG30M the reviews I've been reading are on the whole positive and the biggest hit I am expecting is on the luxury touches. I've not seen the iX3, sat in it, or driven it. If you're ordering a new model early in the cycle from Australia then this tends to be the norm. I am hoping to get a test drive, but more than likely after my car is built. I can see from the reviews and features, that BMW have taken a lot of the positive iX design and interior finishes and evolved them to the iX3, but at a different price point. Also no air suspension, rear wheel steering, venitlated seats, soft close doors, immersive front heating and Bowers & Wilkins sound. The big item for me in all of these is the suspension. I'm running 22" wheels on my iX M60 with air suspension and the ride is firm. It handles the crater sized pot holes superbly but it is a bit firm and jittery under normal driving conditions. I understand in the iX M70 they softened the ride a little. A lot of the reviews do talk about the dampers in the iX3 providing excellent ride comfort and the car being a lot more direct and integrated to drive. But honestly this is the big unknown. The other items I know are not going to be there, and yes I'll miss them. Have I made the right decision, am I making a big mistake? Time will tell.
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04-18-2026
04-18-2026
Ozzie8 user avatar
Ozzie8
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Australia
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Managed to obtain the wheel and tyre specifications for Australian iX3's. I'm on the 21" which get 255/40's all round. Only the 22" wheels get different sizes front and rear.

An image attached to this post, provided by the poster
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04-18-2026
04-18-2026
Ozzie8 user avatar
Ozzie8
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Latest order status. Production has moved out a day, expected delivery has moved out by 3 weeks :thumbdown

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04-18-2026
04-18-2026
kevinm03 user avatar
kevinm03
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Ireland
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Ozzie8 wrote
Latest order status. Production has moved out a day, expected delivery has moved out by 3 weeks :thumbdown

An image attached to this post, provided by the poster
The first number in that date format is the week number, not the day of the month. So your build week is now week 22, which is in the 5th month of 2026.

My car has stayed at week 19, status went 112 on April 8th.
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04-20-2026
04-20-2026
Ozzie8 user avatar
Ozzie8
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Australia
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After viewing a few more review videos on the iX3, I decided to change the wheels from 21" 1050 M's to 20" 1047 M's. Ride comfort is my biggest anxiety moving from the iX M60 to iX3 M50, given things will go from air suspension to no air suspension. In the latest Autogefuhl review involving a long range drive, there was also a significant range benefit from the 20" aero wheels (1047's). Their results on this config showed real world range of 680km with an average speed of 100 km/h in cool conditions, which is around 16 kWh/100 km. For Australia, 100 km/h average is going to be as good as it gets, even on long trips once you factor in road works, congestion and stops.
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04-20-2026
04-20-2026
G30M user avatar
G30M
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Ozzie8 wrote
n the latest Autogefuhl review involving a long range drive, there was also a significant range benefit from the 20" aero wheels (1047's).
did he say which 20" aero wheels? there are 2, the 1047 looks less aero than the other one.
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04-20-2026
04-20-2026
Ozzie8 user avatar
Ozzie8
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Yes. The 20" aero are the 1047's (3NH code) in the picture above. The 1051's (3NQ) are the 21" areos which look 'more' aero. You can see on the 1047's the black fills between the spokes.
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04-20-2026
04-20-2026
hafni user avatar
hafni
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Ozzie8 wrote
Yes. The 20" aero are the 1047's (3NH code) in the picture above. The 1051's (3NQ) are the 21" areos which look 'more' aero. You can see on the 1047's the black fills between the spokes.
At least in Europe, we get a second 20" aero option, the 1046 / 3NF:

1046.jpg
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04-21-2026
04-21-2026
G30M user avatar
G30M
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Ozzie8 wrote
Yes. The 20" aero are the 1047's (3NH code) in the picture above. The 1051's (3NQ) are the 21" areos which look 'more' aero. You can see on the 1047's the black fills between the spokes.
i don't see where he said it was the 1047. there is another one which is the 1046 which we can't get but is the standards wheels in Europe.

if anything my guess is that he's referring to the 1046.
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04-21-2026
04-21-2026
Ozzie8 user avatar
Ozzie8
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Yes you are right. Did not realise the 1046's existed.
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04-21-2026
04-21-2026
NielsH user avatar
NielsH
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Australia
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Just keeping you up to date…
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04-21-2026
04-21-2026
NielsH user avatar
NielsH
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Australia
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NielsH wrote
The dealer principal went on for a bit about the specs which we already know, acknowledged his team and then revealed the car. he invited the crowd to come forward to see the car and sit in it, but I only pushed in for a few quick pics and left them to it. The car seems lower than I expected and looks nice and compact while roomy inside. I have no doubt that we are going to enjoy our cars.
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04-21-2026
04-21-2026
Salmonfisher user avatar
Salmonfisher
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Did they say what coulour that car was?
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04-21-2026
04-21-2026
MontyB1 user avatar
MontyB1
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That look Ocean Wave blue to me but with the other lighting a little hard to tell and the silver.
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04-21-2026
04-21-2026
NielsH user avatar
NielsH
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Australia
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It was Space Silver. The room was flooded with blue lighting.
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04-25-2026
04-25-2026
Ozzie8 user avatar
Ozzie8
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Australia
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And we've move to 112 and production week has moved forward to week 21, which is the week of 18 May. So around 3 weeks away from production.

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04-26-2026
04-26-2026
NielsH user avatar
NielsH
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Australia
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I received an unexpected email this morning...
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04-26-2026
04-26-2026
NielsH user avatar
NielsH
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Australia
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Which means I can now do this...
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04-26-2026
04-26-2026
NielsH user avatar
NielsH
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Australia
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Unfortunately the tracking link keeps timing out.
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04-26-2026
04-26-2026
kevinm03 user avatar
kevinm03
Second Lieutenant
Ireland
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NielsH wrote
I received an unexpected email this morning...
Is this just an Australia thing?
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