Here’s your first look at the 2021 BMW X3 facelift, completely undisguised



They say nothing escapes the internet, and the statement once again rang true. While BMW is trying their best to keep the 2021 BMW X3 and iX3 facelift under wraps until their scheduled launch sometime in June, the necessary homologation process in China means that a set of photos of the cars had to be published on the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology website – and just as expected, savvy netizens immediately picked up on it, giving us a completely undisguised first look at the upcoming SUVs.

The Life Cycle Impulse for the BMW X3 kept most of the SUV’s original silhouette intact, but changes to its styling elements does freshen its looks up quite considerably.

Up front, the kidney grille looks to be now marginally larger and more angular. Just like the iX3 that was launched last year, they are also now conjoined in the middle, where you’ll find the front camera for the surround view monitor. Flanking the new grille are the headlights, which are also slightly slimmer and more angular than before.

Over at the rear, the tail lights receive a new three-dimensional treatment, with a new light signature that somewhat reminds us of the previously leaked 2 Series coupe. Slightly below it, BMW has also given the new X3 facelift a set of faux air vents, though we’d rather have ours without.

Both models shown here are of the M Sport offering, which means they both get a more elaborate bumper designs. Up front, the central lower intake are shaped in a rather busy hexagonal design, flanked by two L-shaped air curtains on each corner. Meanwhile at the rear, the bumper now gets an integrated diffuser-like panel, paired to larger trapezoidal tailpipe exits (none for the iX3, obviously).

No photos of the interior were published just yet, but from what we can see, there seems to now be a larger free-standing centre touchscreen display, possibly featuring BMW’s latest eight-generation iDrive software. Otherwise, we’d expect the rest of the dashboard architecture to remain unchanged.

There were also no mention of its powertrain options, but we expect to see the same range of four- and six-cylinder options as before. Given that the iX3 was launched just a year ago, we’re also convinced that this is merely an aesthetic update exercise. We’ll have to wait until the official launch to learn more, but for now, what do you think of the 2021 BMW X3 facelift?


GALLERY