Korea Auto Journalists pick BMW iX3 as August Car of the Month

611 km range, ultra-fast charging draw high marks

'Advances in driving performance, charging efficiency stand out'

The Korea Automobile Journalists Association (KAJA) announced Thursday that it has selected the new BMW iX3 as its Car of the Month for August, praising the electric SUV's driving performance and charging efficiency as setting a new benchmark in the premium electric SUV market.

KAJA's Car of the Year selection committee evaluates new models and facelifts launched each calendar month and announces a monthly winner.

Vehicles are judged across seven categories: design and emotional quality, driving performance and energy efficiency, safety and advanced driving technology, infotainment and connected systems, space utilization and practicality, price competitiveness and product value, and overall product appeal and purchase attractiveness.

Among new vehicles unveiled last month, the BMW iX3 and the Lincoln All-New Navigator (listed in Korean alphabetical order by brand) were shortlisted as candidates for August. The iX3 earned a final score of 58.7 out of 70 to claim the title.

The vehicle scored 9 out of 10 in the driving performance and energy efficiency category and recorded 8.7 points each in infotainment and connected systems and in price competitiveness and product value. It received 8.3 points each in safety and advanced driving technology and in overall product appeal and purchase attractiveness.

Won Seon-ung, chair of the Car of the Year selection committee, said the new iX3 is "the first fruit of BMW's Neue Klasse project, a decade in the making, and a model where advances in driving performance and charging efficiency — made possible by a dedicated electric vehicle architecture — truly stand out." He added that a single-charge range of 611 kilometers under domestic certification standards and ultra-fast charging capability of 350 to 400 kilowatts "set a new benchmark for the premium electric SUV market."

Won also said the driving experience reorganized around the Heart of Joy integrated computing platform, the generous rear-seat space gained by eliminating the transmission tunnel, and the minimalist yet refined interior design "meet the expectations of an increasingly diverse premium SUV buyer base."

The new BMW iX3 has also demonstrated its competitiveness by earning a five-star rating — the highest possible — in the latest safety assessment by Euro NCAP, the European new car safety evaluation program.

Meanwhile, KAJA has been selecting and announcing a Car of the Month since 2019. Last month, the Toyota All-New RAV4 took the honor. Vehicles named Car of the Month advance directly to the first round of final judging for the Korea Car of the Year (K-COTY) award, bypassing the first-half and second-half preliminary rounds.

eyre@heraldcorp.com