BMW’s new iX3 – its Neue Klasse electric SUV – heralds the start of a bold new direction for the luxury car maker with key improvements in design, performance and technology. The iX3 range has been built from the ground up on a dedicated Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) architecture. We got a chance to drive the iX3 50 M Sport around Byron Bay and the surrounding hinterland to admire not only its driving performance but the impressive technology upgrades and innovations as well. The “sheer driving pleasure” – BMW’s slogan – is there with the iX3 50. The car is very responsive with superb road handling – it’s a driver’s car. You feel connected to the vehicle and connected to the road. When you get inside the first thing your eye is drawn toward is a Panoramic Vision which is a heads up display that runs pillar to pillar on the bottom of the windscreen. It contains information pertinent to your drive and can be updated and personalised to show precisely the right information for your journey. This is one of the new features of the new X operating system and from the cabin it looks like the information is wedged just below the line of the bonnet. This is also complemented by a 3D head up display (HUD) engineered to remain legible through polarized sunglasses. The M Sport steering wheel puts the major functions at your fingertips. On the left cluster you can manage ADAS operations and automated parking functions (scan and confirm via thumb toggle). On the right are controls for media, navigation and the Panoramic Vision displays. Inside multifunction heated, electric and massaging seats come standard. The iX30 also has a panoramic glass roof that has multi-layer reflective coatings that filter 100 per cent of UVA/UVB rays