Best EV Car – New Electric Car Reviews

600-mile test! New BMW iX3 vs Tesla Model Y ROAD TRIP

In our in-depth Tesla Model Y vs brand-new BMW iX3 comparison, we head out on a 600-mile trip to find out if BMW has lastly beaten Tesla!

For many years, the Model Y has been the king of long-distance electrical SUV travel, however the new iX3 xDrive50 assures a massive 500-mile variety and 400kW charging. To find out the reality about long EV journeys in 2026, we're driving from London to Yorkshire (and back) to put these 2 heavyweight electrical automobiles to the supreme test.

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In this evaluation, we describe the difference in charging costs and reveal why the BMW showed up earlier but at a higher price. We also compare the Tesla Supercharger network against other public charging service providers, and learn which of these electric SUVs is more fulfilling to drive on the North York Moors.

Provided by: Will Nightingale & John Howell
Videography by: Jonty Renk & Tom Goodban

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#TeslaModelY #BMWiX 3 #ElectricCar #RangeTest #WhatCar #EVRoadTrip #NeueKlasse #TeslaSupercharger #longrangeev

Video chapters:
0:00– Introduction: London to Yorkshire trip
1:08– The cars: 500-mile BMW vs 391-mile Tesla
3:38– Infotainment: Tesla combination vs BMW nav
5:55– Update & the 30% battery rule
8:20– Charging: Tesla Superchargers
8:50– Arrival at Whitby Abbey! Effectiveness & battery charge
10:55– Interiors: iX3 vs Design Y.
14:59– Rear area & boot.
16:12– Driving: Trip comfort, managing & improvement.
20:05– Variety stress and anxiety: when the sat nav states -1%!
22:58– Charging: BMW vs Tesla in the real life.
27:58– Costs & effectiveness.
34:45– Verdict: time vs stress– which is the better long-range EV?

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Comments

60 responses to “600-mile test! New BMW iX3 vs Tesla Model Y ROAD TRIP”

  1. @whatcar Avatar
    @whatcar

    If you were driving 600 miles tomorrow, which of these electric SUVs would you take?

    A) BMW iX3 (It has a longer range & faster charger!) 🏎️💨
    B) Tesla Model Y (The Supercharger prices and software are still unbeatable!) 🔋💰

    Reply
    1. @snaenaeyerbusiness Avatar
      @snaenaeyerbusiness

      The supercharger prices are available to the BMW also. Not exactly unbeatable when it’s the same for both

      Reply
    2. @Arnold_C.O Avatar
      @Arnold_C.O

      Ix3 for sure

      Reply
    3. @HHGTYG-u6g Avatar
      @HHGTYG-u6g

      The Tesla obviously

      Reply
    4. @Felmea Avatar
      @Felmea

      With BMW you get the option to filter in the networks you want. And set percentage at destination AND charger. You also have manual+automatic battery pre-conditioning and most of the time you will get the 300+ kW speeds. I feel you are being a bit harsh on the BMW for not being “in the closed system”. It is not the end all be all anymore.

      Sure the Tesla being integrated and all synced is great but their infotainment also locks you into it. The route planner will only use SuC. It does not even allow you to set other networks. Yes the UI is a bit slicker but I do not think there is that much in it.

      Reply
    5. @stevelowe1216 Avatar
      @stevelowe1216

      Both look great if you an Ionity passport to cover the price delta that when checked last week was 46p (plus 10.99 pm) vs around 44p for day rate tesla. Comes down to lease,PCP (or cash/ apr%) as 99% of people don’t have 50k+ sitting idle just waiting for that BM to launch.

      Company car buyers are unlikely to be able to get the BM until deals avail via big lease companies and unless your high up it would be the RWD with cloth seats and no extras which changes the experience in side id imagine

      Reply
  2. @MoorviewMusic Avatar
    @MoorviewMusic

    Great to see how the emergence of the genuinely good £20k EVs is happening concurrently to vast improvements in £50k EVs

    Reply
    1. @GaryJohnWalker1 Avatar
      @GaryJohnWalker1

      Would’ve been nice to have a representative 20k or so EV tag along just to see how much more effort it takes to journey.

      Reply
    2. @pqvid Avatar
      @pqvid

      The 50K vehicle of today is the 20K vehicle of tomorrow. Used cars have been the sensible buying choice for decades.

      Reply
    3. @davidperry7128 Avatar
      @davidperry7128

      @GaryJohnWalker1 You shouldn’t drive for more than two hours without a stop anyway. People deceive themselves if they think that their concentration levels don’t plummet.

      Reply
    4. @kylewhisman Avatar
      @kylewhisman

      Rather have the new GLC EV

      Reply
  3. @wirly1751 Avatar
    @wirly1751

    The model Y long range starts at £44,995 .. that BMW started £53250 and that the same range as the Tesla.. would of been a better test….

    Reply
    1. @whatcar Avatar
      @whatcar

      The iX3 currently starts at £58,755, although cheaper versions will be joining the line-up in the future.

      Reply
    2. @attiliopetrini4507 Avatar
      @attiliopetrini4507

      Here in Ireland there is a €20k difference in price between the long range all wheel drive Tesla Y and the basic iX3. €20k!

      Reply
    3. @TheRealLondonBoy Avatar
      @TheRealLondonBoy

      The BMW is far more expensive and Tesla has the best software by far. Software is the future for cars.

      Reply
    4. @Adam-pt3cb Avatar
      @Adam-pt3cb

      @TheRealLondonBoy I genuinely don’t think Tesla’s software is an advantage any more. It screwed the pooch with its proposed charging strategy on the way back, and it seems to do things like that more often than not.

      Reply
    5. @camerarightdoorpillarblocked Avatar
      @camerarightdoorpillarblocked

      @TheRealLondonBoythe BMW is a real car. It fucks the Tesla in ever aspect. Range, charging, battery capacity, suspension.

      Reply
  4. @sebbbi2 Avatar
    @sebbbi2

    In Finland we have a lot of 400kW chargers costing just 0.36e/kWh. No contract needed. Tesla Superchargers are 0.30e/kWh, but Tesla’s network is quite sparse here. So in practice even Tesla drivers regularly use various other public chargers. Also most EV owners charge ~90% at home at under 0.1€/kWh, especially if you buy a long range cars like these. Public charger only needed couple of times per year. This is where bigger battery helps. Longer trips are possible with no charging stops (only cheap home rate).

    Reply
    1. @toms_garage Avatar
      @toms_garage

      oh wow that is pretty affordable charging. The local chargers near me very from 55p/kWh to 89pkWh (not service stations just local ones at shops)

      Reply
    2. @riesa85 Avatar
      @riesa85

      Yeah, we have silently got one of the best EV infras around. With some of Europe’s cheapest electricity and most expensive fuel prices one would have to be a bit dim to buy a new ICE car…

      Reply
    3. @andreazonin Avatar
      @andreazonin

      @riesa85 Finnish are smart, you built nuclear + wind and so the electricity is cheap and produced indipendently.

      Reply
    4. @timothyshanks6799 Avatar
      @timothyshanks6799

      Good to know. At home is roughly 10cents per kw hour in tbe uk overnight more like 40 cents in the day. Yoi saw the charge rates on public chargers. Clears finalnd does a lot better job than the uk

      Reply
    5. @rogerlapin9809 Avatar
      @rogerlapin9809

      I can’t believe the Brits are still faffing around talking about charging. Here in France (and any other European country, apart from the UK , that I’ve visited since I went electric three years ago) it is just not an issue.

      Reply
  5. @AMTUP1991 Avatar
    @AMTUP1991

    All the charging stalls open when you guys stopped in the bmw… and you chose to park next to someone on a split power charger. And THEN complain about it not reaching a higher charge speed. It clearly showed the station as the limiting factor… smh. Should’ve parked in one of the other open spots that wasn’t sharing power to give it a fair go.

    Reply
    1. @deansh8506 Avatar
      @deansh8506

      Expert motoring journalist that haven’t got a clue. Constantly making EV’s look more expensive and harder work than it actually is in real life.

      Reply
    2. @the-silverghini Avatar
      @the-silverghini

      I’m constantly saying that dealers and manufacturers need to do much more to educate new EV drivers. The fact that car journalists fail to understand the basics just shows how poor a job they are doing about this.

      Reply
    3. @JohnBakerCharge Avatar
      @JohnBakerCharge

      To be fair to them charging this optimal way is complex. You need to know the hardware, ABB Terra HP, in this case and understand the site configuration. There are 8 power cabinets for the 8 chargers many would presume it would be one for one. Not all chargers work this way come are one-to-one power modules built in, some distribution is more even and then in chunks 50,100 kW, etc and then would would know how many power modules the site could hold) and I expect very few (if any) people out there will know how every charger hardware and site works.
      To my knowledge the CPO Gridserve don’t help you here they don’t say anything of the sort when charging. I know the car didn’t let them know either.
      You say they are not giving a fair go. I think it shows a real world experience that 99% of drivers get – you might not get what is claimed when charging.

      Reply
    4. @sampass Avatar
      @sampass

      They are delivering a narrative they want …. Not necessarily what is real …..

      Reply
    5. @jellyd4889 Avatar
      @jellyd4889

      Yes, you make the mistake once or twice and never again. Or you must be classed as stupid. Should be sacked from that high paying job, that allowed you to get that BMW.

      Reply
  6. @callumcurtis15 Avatar
    @callumcurtis15

    I’d be interested to know with the Tesla, if you remembered to set the arrival percentage back down to a more reasonable percentage on the return trip, could that be why it was recommending multiple stops ?

    Reply
    1. @Arpedk Avatar
      @Arpedk

      This!

      Reply
    2. @TheMicky12345 Avatar
      @TheMicky12345

      It reset’s it selves after every stop, if you made the wanted 30%, the next day with the new goal it will be on Tesla to decide, at least in my Tesla

      Reply
  7. @yvesvandenbroek6055 Avatar
    @yvesvandenbroek6055

    We take as long in our Q7 as the iX to drive to the south of France … we stop 2 times to have breakfast and lunch … as most people do on longer trip … yes if you eat behind the wheel, keep your ICE and be like 40 minutes faster 🤷‍♂

    Reply
    1. @rogerlapin9809 Avatar
      @rogerlapin9809

      We live in the South of France and I’m up and down to the Chunnel in my i4 very regularly. It’s a doddle. I tried once in my wife’s R5e and that was a bit more of a challenge 🤭

      Reply
    2. @rusty911s2 Avatar
      @rusty911s2

      But your Q7 is doing, what 40mpg? 45 possibly?

      The BMW is doing the equiv of 128mpg.

      And you must have bladders like barrage balloons!

      Reply
  8. @alangravy27 Avatar
    @alangravy27

    I was hoping for some sensible EV content. Alas no.
    1. There are lots of AC chargers in Whitby. A sensible person would have plugged in there.
    2. The York Tesla Chargers are open yo all. The BMW could have got there and charged and left before the Tesla arrived.
    3 Plugging the BMW in at Tesla York would have cost a bit more than the Tesla but less than Grid Serve.
    4 Who owns a Tesla and charges at home and pays the price cap? Or was it deliberate, to make the journey cost more?
    5. Journalists give the impression Tesla Superchargers are everywhere. The nearest one to Whitby? 49 miles. There are huge parts of the country where there are plenty of chargers, just not Tesla ones.
    6. Why not use the 350 kw Ionity chargers at Skelton Lakes near Leeds?
    A normal person would have stopped on the way up for a break and quick charge, making the journey so much easier.

    Reply
    1. @tangoadvance8393 Avatar
      @tangoadvance8393

      100% agree. Whatcar are becoming irrelevant when it comes to EV.

      Reply
    2. @anthonyn3774 Avatar
      @anthonyn3774

      1. Not sure I’d want to leave my new BMW on a random AC charger somewhere for 10 hours.
      2. He said he wanted to use 800V.
      3. He said he wanted to use 800V.
      4. You might want to leave in the morning with 100% rather than having to stop as soon as you start.
      5. Fair enough.

      Reply
    3. @the-silverghini Avatar
      @the-silverghini

      In the real world (at least in the UK) how frequently do people need to travel more than 300 miles in a day without needing to stop? I’ve done 40k miles in the past 2 years and rarely had to DC charge (albeit I’m fortunate that I can AC charge at home). Even for trips from south to north and back I rarely charge more than 2 or 3 times for the entire journey. Both these cars are really well suited for anyone needing a family car.

      Reply
    4. @sargfowler9603 Avatar
      @sargfowler9603

      There are chargers in Whitby, but only 4 chargers with 100kw and above.

      Reply
    5. @alangravy27 Avatar
      @alangravy27

      ​@sargfowler9603That’s true.
      Not arguing, its a question. Should there by 10 AC chargers or 1 DC rapid charger at a tourist destination people spend several hours at.

      Reply
  9. @EP-mc5hx Avatar
    @EP-mc5hx

    no pee stops in the bmw?, you must have a very strong bladder 🙂

    Reply
  10. @the-silverghini Avatar
    @the-silverghini

    12:00 I’m sure there is an option to make the text and icons bigger in the settings of the Tesla.

    Reply
  11. @slloyd6577 Avatar
    @slloyd6577

    Unfortunately the premis of this ‘challenge’ was poor. As a number of comments already posted by others above indicate, both cars could have arrived in York without a charge. Superchargers are available in York open to all so both cars could have arrived together at the same charger. The 30% arrival ‘requirement’ was a ploy to give an advantage to one car over the other but still claim it as a ‘fair comparison’. The reality I took away from this video is that the BMW has 45 miles of additional range but costs significantly more (7k). Both cars took pretty much the same amount of time. Just spend more if you want a BMW and pay for a lumbar support when you do. I chuckled.

    Reply
    1. @krisvanaut Avatar
      @krisvanaut

      BMW for sure. I currently drive a Model Y with 100k km on it. Biggest issues for me:

      – Charging curve drops off quite quickly
      – Windscreen wipers are still frustrating
      – Never managed to get more than ~350 km real-world range in normal driving conditions
      – Suspension comfort is mediocre
      – Navigation overly prioritizes Tesla Superchargers, even when there are plenty of fast chargers directly along the motorway every 50 km

      Still a good EV overall, but personally I would move to BMW next.

      Reply
    2. @TheStonecold128 Avatar
      @TheStonecold128

      “I’m going to pick a 300kwh charger as I can charge upto 400!”

      Plugs in and gets 170. LOL.

      I gave the video a chance but full of fact twisting and mistakes. No one charges at home on peak rate.

      Reply
    3. @bartdeking Avatar
      @bartdeking

      Also leaving out the fact that 1 of the cars will drive itself fully autonomous and gets better over time where the other one gets old pretty quick.

      Reply
    4. @RacingAnt Avatar
      @RacingAnt

      ​@krisvanaut sounds like you have the older Y. Suspension on the new ones is way better…

      Reply
    5. @RacingAnt Avatar
      @RacingAnt

      ​@TheStonecold128almost like BMW gives them advertising revenue, and Tesla doesn’t…

      Reply
  12. @chapmandu2 Avatar
    @chapmandu2

    In reality with both of these cars if driven competently it should be very easy indeed. Simply plug in for as long as you’re stopped for whenever you stop anyway – I can’t see how anyone would drive from London to Whitby without stopping for a toilet break, so just plug in for 5 or 10 minutes and again on the way back. No issues at all. And not sure why the BMW didn’t stop at Ionity York rather than Gridserve Wetherby for cheaper charging? Also when driving a Tesla you don’t HAVE to use only the Tesla network, there would have been plenty of other options if needed to add 10 or 15% and get you to the next Supercharger even if it’s a 50kW rapid, absolutely no danger of running out of charge.

    Reply
  13. @rgen28 Avatar
    @rgen28

    Good to see more competition

    Reply
  14. @RoyalCrane Avatar
    @RoyalCrane

    Why not use the Tesla class leading software if you are actually testing the car. Unnecessarily requiring the Tesla to arrive with 30 percent on day one artificially added an extra stop, then only adding a small charge at that stop when you could have stayed an extra few minutes and removed one stop the next day. Tesla is known for keeping a huge bottom battery buffer so you can easily arrive with battery to spare even if the software says you are below the minimum. Without the unnecessary 30 percent charge limit sabotage the car could have simply charged more the next day and then finished before the BMW. By BMW Band-aiding the huge battery to make up for a less powerful and less efficient powertrain is just that, a band-aid for inefficiency.

    Reply
    1. @pauldbeer Avatar
      @pauldbeer

      Absolutely agree!
      Motor jouno’s are either really stupid, or biased, or both! These guys made things so “unreal”, then think we are all stupid! What absolute BS test this was!!!

      Reply
    2. @attiliopetrini4507 Avatar
      @attiliopetrini4507

      @pauldbeer they are biased. Read the reviews of (real or perceived) UK brands to get an idea…

      Reply
  15. @SanePerson1 Avatar
    @SanePerson1

    Kinda silly to do the first charging stop and add just a few minutes of charging – no one would really do that, especially since the delay caused by the slight detour to the charger is probably lengthier than the charging time itself given high rate of charging when the battery is low. I’ve been driving Model 3s for 7.5 years and no one charges the way John does.

    Reply
  16. @trevorsoh2130 Avatar
    @trevorsoh2130

    Pretty thorough – thumbs up!

    Reply
  17. @liamporter1137 Avatar
    @liamporter1137

    Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  18. @schonezukunft607 Avatar
    @schonezukunft607

    The Ionity subscription for the BMW lasts only one year. After that you have to pay much more. You need to keep that in mind.

    Reply
  19. @fluffy24 Avatar
    @fluffy24

    Fair review, congrats

    Reply
  20. @ulgorash9471 Avatar
    @ulgorash9471

    I found this to be a very informative and well-presented video. Thank you!

    Reply

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