The BMW iX3 and the Tesla Model Y are separated on paper by about 110 miles of official range: the iX3 at up to 500 miles, the Model Y Long Range AWD at 391. What Car? drove both on a 500-plus-mile round trip from London to Whitby in Yorkshire to find out whether that range advantage translates into a meaningfully better experience. The iX3 arrived at Whitby Abbey 14 minutes ahead of the Tesla, having stopped nowhere. The Tesla made one charging stop at a York Supercharger. Over the full two-day trip, the iX3 cost £94.88 to run. The Tesla cost £58.68. The charging hardware was faster. The charging economics were not.
The iX3 starts at £58,755 without options; the as-tested car with 20-inch aerodynamic alloys (a £550 option needed to reach the 500-mile figure) and a technology pack came in with an official range of 498 miles. The Model Y Long Range AWD is priced at £51,990. The charging cost gap came down to network pricing: the Gridserve motorway charger used on the return leg charged 89p per kWh, while Tesla Superchargers priced just over 40p per kWh. BMW's preferred Ionity network offers iX3 buyers a discounted rate of 45p per kWh for the first 12 months, with a £5.49 per month subscription after that. Had the iX3 used Ionity throughout, the total trip cost would have dropped to around £61.80, much closer to what the Tesla spent. About 40% of Supercharger sites now accept non-Tesla EVs, but at a surcharge, and an £8.99 per month subscription is needed to access Tesla rates. Regardless, access remains limited to that 40% share of the network.
On actual range, the iX3 did 369 miles before its first charge on day two, with 6% battery remaining, suggesting a real-world ceiling around 393 miles. The Model Y used 38% of its battery over 216 miles, pointing to a real-world maximum of roughly 348 miles. Charging speed averaged 170 kW for the iX3 (from 6% to 73% at Gridserve) and 129 kW across the Tesla's three stops. Efficiency favoured the Model Y: 3.9 miles per kWh on the iX3's trip computer, dropping to 3.2 miles per kWh grid-to-wheel, compared to 4.6 miles per kWh for the Tesla on the trip computer and 3.5 miles per kWh grid-to-wheel. The iX3's navigation handled third-party charging points with variable quality, offering real-time stall data for some networks and nothing for others. The Tesla's integration with its own Supercharger network showed live availability, estimated costs, and rerouting in real time. When the Model Y driver projected a minus-1% arrival state on the return, the car provided an alternative speed profile that got him to the charger with a small buffer intact.
Bottom line: The iX3 wins on hardware: more real-world range, faster peak charging, and a better car to drive. The Tesla wins on the whole experience. If you do frequent long trips and are willing to plan your stops, the iX3 is a serious option. If you want the car to handle charging logistics on its own, the Model Y's closed-loop system is still ahead of anything else on the market at this price.