In our in-depth Tesla Model Y vs NEW BMW iX3 comparison, we head out on a 600-mile road trip to find out if BMW has finally beaten Tesla! For years, the Model Y has been the king of long-distance electric SUV travel, but the new iX3 xDrive50 promises a massive 500-mile range and 400kW charging. To find out the TRUTH about long EV journeys in 2026, we’re driving from London to Yorkshire (and back) to put these two heavyweight electric cars to the ultimate test. 🔔 Don't forget to subscribe! If you enjoyed this 600-mile road trip test, hit subscribe to keep up to date with our latest in-depth reviews, group tests and top 10s: @whatcar 🚗 Looking for a specific model? Read our in-depth reviews on the Tesla Model Y and BMW iX3 here: http://www.whatcar.com In this review, we explain the difference in charging costs and reveal why the BMW arrived earlier but at a higher price. We also compare the Tesla Supercharger network against other public charging providers, and find out which of these electric SUVs is more rewarding to drive on the North York Moors. Presented by: Will Nightingale & John Howell Videography by: Jonty Renk & Tom Goodban What Car? is the UK's biggest car-buying brand and has been helping buyers for more than 50 years. Our tests are widely regarded as the most independent and in-depth. Our YouTube channel brings you trusted reviews on all types of car, plus car news, reveals and features. In-depth written reviews are available on our website whatcar.com, where you'll also find advice features and the latest new and used car deals. Follow What Car? here: LIKE What Car? on Facebook: https://goo.gl/yv5jF8 FOLLOW What Car? on Twitter: https://goo.gl/SJzmT8 Check out our full video catalog: https://bit.ly/2W81iu9 #TeslaModelY #BMWiX3 #ElectricCar #RangeTest #WhatCar #EVRoadTrip #NeueKlasse #TeslaSupercharger #longrangeev Video chapters: 0:00 – Intro: London to Yorkshire road trip 1:08 – The cars: 500-mile BMW vs 391-mile Tesla 3:38 – Infotainment: Tesla integration vs BMW nav 5:55 – Update & the 30% battery rule 8:20 – Charging: Tesla Superchargers 8:50 – Arrival at Whitby Abbey! Efficiency & battery charge 10:55 – Interiors: iX3 vs Model Y 14:59 – Rear space & boot 16:12 – Driving: Ride comfort, handling & refinement 20:05 – Range anxiety: when the sat nav says -1%! 22:58 – Charging: BMW vs Tesla in the real world 27:58 – Costs & efficiency 34:45 – Verdict: time vs stress – which is the better long-range EV?
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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).
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.
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.
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.
Poor test of apples and oranges when looking at het battery capacity … Absolutely not how a car owner would do a trip like this.
Can anyone explain why the IONITY chargers at York were not used? The Tesla went to York but yet again Whatcar use GRIDSERVE and then moan about the cost ffs. This is supposed to be a motoring channel that educates and not misleads people. I’m beginning to think Whatcar don’t know much about motoring.
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.
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.
Great to see how the emergence of the genuinely good £20k EVs is happening concurrently to vast improvements in £50k EVs
03:00 Price as tested would be more interesting. The Tesla doesn‘t do pricing shenanigans while you can easily add 20k to BMW in equipment without changing the engine options….
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....
Tesla Superchargers were the clever solution from the start. But obscene price differences are a consumer issue, not a car issue, and should be solved through competition and regulation. We don’t judge petrol cars based on the local petrol station.
I always say with my Tesla that the car goes longer than my bladder. lol
In the real world, very few people will go on a trip and not take a bathroom/food break. Very rarely do trips like this hinge on a 30-minute time differential. If you can charge while taking your bathroom/food break, that is where the EV charge 'penalty' starts to go away. FYI, You can change the size of the screen elements in the Tesla settings.
Nothing changes with journalism and EVs.
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!) 🔋💰
Your at a charger, you charge a bit and see that you require another 37miles of charge, yet decided to unplug and drive on, thereby forcing another charge! WHY?? This is so bloody stupid!!!
12:00 I’m sure there is an option to make the text and icons bigger in the settings of the Tesla.
Interesting scrolling a fair way down the comments: attitudes to EV's are definitely more positive. A year ago, half the comments would have been the usual 'my diesel Astra goes further and I can fill it in minutes'. Perhaps all the trolls have run out of charge.
The extra stops on the return trip in the Tesla may have been shown because the arrival energy was still set to 30%?