BMW iX 2022 long-term test
Luxury electric SUV flagship arrives on the fleet in mid-level xDrive50 guise
*Why we’re running it: *To see if the BMW iX, the firm's second dedicated electric car, can live up to its range-topping billing
-Month 3 - Month 2 - Month 1 - Specs-
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-Life with a BMW iX: Month 3-
*Our iX is still MIA - 9 November*
No update on the alarm issue that’s keeping our xDrive50 off the road, so we remain in the M60. The two iX variants have plenty in common, including that most wondrous thing on the coldest of mornings: heated armrests for the driver. A shame you can’t drive flat-armed on both sides like in a Land Rover, but it’s pleasing nonetheless.
*Mileage:* 5788
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*There’s no cause for alarm, but an M60 is standing in for our xDrive50 - 2 November*
No sooner had my head hit the pillow, having stayed up a little later than I should, than I shot up again, snapped out of a doze by a car alarm in the driveway shortly before 1am. It was the BMW iX’s.
There was no sign of anyone in the driveway, and a check on the BMW app lets you view an image from inside the car (a very cool and clever bit of kit) at the time the alarm was triggered. Nothing.
A few days later, I was by the coast on a long weekend and the alarm triggered again, at 6.30am. And once more two minutes later. Something was up, confirmed again when it went off that afternoon in another location.
So back it went to BMW HQ, where it is currently being investigated. It’s not a fault they’ve experienced before, and I’ll have more news when they get to the bottom of it. In its place has arrived the courtesy car- and-a-half you see here, the iX M60.
The M60 is not a full-fat M car, more of an M Performance model. Yet it still has some quite extraordinary headline numbers, the power increasing from a combined 516bhp in the 50 to 611bhp in the M60, in part due to the M60 being fitted with an upgraded rear motor.
It gets a chassis makeover too, with higher damper rates, a stiffer rear anti-roll bar and a more precise tune for the steering and air springs, as well as a bodykit and various bits of M trim inside and out. Ours is finished in a lovely Blue Ridge Mountain metallic colour, which actually makes this the most agreeable-looking iX I’ve yet seen.
There doesn’t feel a night-and-day difference between the pair on the road. The M60 feels marginally quicker off the line, and even more so during ‘in-gear’ acceleration. This is one very quick car indeed, not that the 50 was crying out for extra pace. The ride is a bit firmer and the responses are sharper, which combine to make the car feel more natural flowing down a UK B-road at pace.
Efficiency takes a hit, showing around 2.6mpkWh for a real-world range below 300 miles, whereas we’re regularly seeing more than 350 miles on a decent run in the 50. It also comes in a good £17,000 more than the 50 M Sport, which is a lot to pay for even more performance on top of an already high-performance car.
It’s been good to try, but I’ll be happy to see the 50 back. For me, the iX is about comfort and performance rather than performance and razor- sharp handling, so the M60 isn’t the direction I’d have taken the iX in. Still, I’d take the colour and trim (and alarm) of this car with the chassis and drivetrain of the 50,and be very happy indeed.
*Love it *
*Iconic sounds*
The Hans Zimmer soundtrack is boomier in the M60, and it suits the car well.
*Loathe it *
*Is it an M?*
The M60 shows what M is up against with EVs. It’s quick, but hardly that sporty.
*Mileage:* 5788
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-Life with a BMW iX: Month 2-
*After driving an Audi EV to Bruges, our man plots a longer journey in a rangier BMW - 19 October*
Earlier this year, an Audi Q4 E-tron Sportback was my transport for a short break in Bruges, Belgium. The distances involved weren’t massive, but I still started out feeling slightly anxious about taking an electric car on a longer journey onto the Continent, with its unknown infrastructure.
In the end, there was nothing to worry about. I could charge at the Channel Tunnel, en route at fast-charging stations, and at charging posts in Bruges and when we dipped briefly into the Netherlands. If anything, I overcharged. There was no jeopardy.
But all this got me thinking: what about going farther afield? Could the great European road trip be achievable by EV? Cue the BMW iX and another trip down to the Channel Tunnel terminal at Folkestone in early September to see.
From my home to Folkestone is 100 miles on the nose, and we set off with 100% charge and an indicated range nudging 380 miles. The official range is 371 miles, but the displayed figure seems to be based on current and recent performance: drive on the motorway and it will drop; conversely, it will creep up in stop-start urban driving.
Our mid-morning departure meant avoiding rush hour and a leisurely trip down to Kent’s south coast pleasingly devoid of traffic.
There are two ways to charge while you wait for your train: using one of the free fast chargers provided by the Channel Tunnel, or one of the dozen or so Tesla Superchargers that have recently and conveniently been opened up to non-Tesla EV drivers.
I did a bit of both for consumer testing purposes with the best part of an hour to kill before boarding, getting 18kWh from Tesla in 20 minutes at a cost of £10.54 and the remaining 13kWh from the free charger to get me back up to 99%. Those two DC chargers were quick to connect and then to charge, so both were positive experiences.
The size of the iX’s battery and our near-capacity charge meant no more topping up would be needed to cover the 170 miles down to Reims, our overnight stop, so the time we took to replenish the battery ahead of our boarding call for the train proved to be very well spent indeed.
We arrived in Reims nearly three hours after departing Calais, quietly in awe of how quick and easy it is to make progress on French toll motorways. I had intended to drive a bit under the 130kph (81mph) speed limit to try to conserve battery, but then the mental maths kicked in about how much earlier I would arrive and I adjusted the speed of the adaptive cruise control accordingly.
The range took a hit, but a 230-mile cruising range at such a speed (so 2.2mpkWh efficiency, compared with the 3.5mpkWh-plus I typically get pootling around) didn’t seem catastrophic. The iX is a big and heavy tool, after all, with a huge frontal area. If I had been paying the price of diesel instead of electricity, it would have been a different story... Chargers are not yet abundant in Reims, so it’s the kind of city where some prior research comes in handy.
I had made plans A, Band C in case I struggled to find an available charger or encountered any unforeseen issues. Plan A came off, though: a charging post in an off-street car park right near our hotel. It cost ¤5 (£4.40) to park for the best part of 24 hours, and the 78kWh AC charge overnight cost a reasonable ¤22.10 (£19.45) to get us back to 100%.
Our next stop and base for the rest of the week was another 80 miles south in Troyes. After some short day trips and local pottering, we needed another 71kWh of energy to be able to set off with 100% on the way home. Troyes is a bigger city than Reims and has many more charging options, among them a charging post in a free leisure centre car park just a couple of minutes’ walk from the quiet residential area where we stayed.
Again, it was easy enough to connect, although not as easy as it was on my wallet: just ¤12 (£10.55), which was less than 7p per kWh. The energy price crisis had yet to reach this part of the Troyes suburbs.
Now being able to predict the range so precisely at around 230 miles with my 130kph cruising speed meant I could plot a one-stop charging strategy on the 355-mile return drive. The perfect place seemed to be Saint-Quentin, just over halfway to Calais – by which point I would be likely to need a bathroom break, anyway, plus my second coffee of the day. A Tesla Supercharger station is open for all here too, and it charged the iX at close to its 195kW maximum rate.
BMW and Tesla both have phone apps that let you check the charging rate and battery status in real time. The Tesla unit had added nearly 5% before we had even set foot in the large shopping centre outside which it resided and double that again in the time it took me to murder the French language one final time when ordering a cappuccino.
I had worked out that we needed to get to 85% to get us all the way home and have some charge in hand just in case, and it took under 30 minutes to do so. The rapid charge was the priciest yet, at ¤39.44 (£34.69) for 58kWh, but a price I happily paid for the speed and convenience.
My hot chocolate consumed, it was on to Calais, where we arrived in good time and found the Channel Tunnel running so well that we got on an earlier train.
Back on the other side and with just over 100 miles left, thanks to a small detour en route, my maths thankfully proved correct and we arrived home with 8% charge, never having experienced any range anxiety.
During the whole trip, we never experienced any charging anxiety, either. Sure, not every EV trip will be as successful as this one or have as many chargers immediately available in ‘plan A’ locations. But as ever with electric cars, prep in advance and have a back-up plan ready, and they really can conquer even the longest journeys.
The total cost of charging, including a 100% charge (£23.10) at home beforehand, was £98.33, and efficiency 2.48mpkWh. A BMW X5 covering the same 850 miles would cost about £188 in diesel at 40mpg for comparison. That’s some saving.
Just as intriguing was the amount of time we spent charging. One of the sticks used to beat electric cars is how you will have to constantly stop and charge and add loads of time to your journey. As this trip proved, that’s not true.
I could charge in the dead time waiting for my Channel Tunnel train to leave Folkestone, then I could charge overnight and then, on my return to Calais, I would want a 30-minute break in a 250-mile, four- and-a-half-hour journey anyway, which is where fast charging comes in. Let’s call that a 10-minute refuel stop if you really do want to get a move on in a non-EV and you would save only 20 minutes over the whole 350-mile return leg.
A successful trip, then, and at the heart of it all was an electric car that I’m appreciating more and more by the day. It was quiet, comfortable and spacious – all essential qualities for such a journey. I don’t ever recall feeling so fresh after such long stints at the wheel, either. Further testament to the iX’s soothing powers.
As with all the best trips, I returned home wanting more. Thankfully, a large part of what made the journey enjoyable is going nowhere soon.
*Love it*
*Active cruise control*
The iX has among the better ones I’ve experienced, backing off from trouble ahead in plenty of time and leaving its foot in when needed.
*Loathe it*
*Shades of grey*
BMW’s grey cable blends into the paving next to chargers, making it a trip hazard. I used my hi-vis jacket to be a good citizen and highlight it.
*Mileage:* 5221
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*A short off-road stint showed the iX's class - 12 October*
I took the iX down to the Goodwood Revival recently, where I was shown to a dark corner of the car park, a postcode or four from the classics by the entrance. Despite me arriving in the Antichrist, they let me into the event at least, and the drive over the Downs showed off the iX’s surprising grip and handling flair for the first time. And it didn’t break down...
*Mileage: *5013
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*The already-brilliant iDrive is significantly improved - 5 October*
BMW’s iDrive system has long been a benchmark, and the eighth iteration introduced in the iX is another leap forward. The graphics are clear and crisp, the menus easy to navigate and key functions always to hand. Plus, press the Nav button and, if your phone is connected, you get taken to its sat-nav app rather than BMW’s system, which is a boon.
*Mileage: 4612*
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-Life with a BMW iX: Month 1-
*EVs are all the same, eh? Clearly you’ve not tried this one, then - 28 September*
One of the major concerns that car lovers like us have about electric cars is how they can be given their own distinctive personalities. Aren’t they all just going to be differently styled yet ultimately characterless white goods when they share common electric motors and battery packs that don’t allow for bespoke tuning in the way that a good old combustion engine does?
For a lot of early electric cars, and even plenty on sale today, that might be true. Yet increasingly now we’re seeing those that offer plenty of character of their own – something the BMW iX takes even further by creating a driving experience that doesn’t try to mimic that of an ICE car in any way.
I touched on the unique noise (or rather the Hans Zimmer- composed score) that it makes under acceleration in my opening report, and even a few weeks in, the novelty of this hasn’t worn off.
It’s something that passengers instantly pick up on, too, egging me on up slip roads or away from traffic lights so they can hear it again. The best description of it so far has been a comparison to the noise that a sliding door to a sci-fi villain’s lair might make when opening or closing.
I’ve already taken the iX on some big journeys, including a late-summer excursion a good few hundred miles into France (full report on that next month) and have found it to be the most comfortable, calming and relaxing car that I’ve driven in recent memory.
There are no quirks to it: it gets everything bang on, from the seat padding and positioning to just how super-smooth and quiet it is at speed, with a comfortable ride to boot. Electric cars are a refined species anyway, but it’s taken to the next level by the iX.
I made the Range Rover comparison last time, and that car has got to be as quiet and refined as it has ever been after five decades of development. The iX is BMW’s first attempt at an electric luxury SUV, and it’s this good already. What a tantalising prospect of just how much better again electric cars can get in this field with a similar time frame of development.
The data also suggests that this is a car dispelling the ‘all electric motors and batteries are the same’ myth and showing just what they can do for performance and efficiency with a decade or more of development behind them. The iX uses a pair of BMW’s fifth-generation motors, and I’ve been staggered by just how efficient it has been, even with 516bhp on tap.
I ran the Honda E city car a couple of years back and would get close to four miles per kWh on a warm day and three miles per kWh on a cold one, and I’ve used that as good barometer since to account for journeys with higher average speeds.
The iX gets close to those figures despite weighing around half as much again and having about four times the power, showing just how efficient BMW has made it without compromising on performance.
The development of electric cars continues apace, then, and the iX is at the forefront of it.
*Love it *
*Colour scheme*
I do like the burgundy and gold. It doesn’t solve the grille issue, but it certainly looks smarter than some iX specifications.
*Loathe it*
*Beep beep*
There are almost too many cameras and sensors, particularly when I’m reversing into a space. It makes me a bit jumpy.
*Mileage:* 3650
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*Our editor is impressed by the iX's efficiency - 14 September *
I’ve been very impressed with just how efficient the iX is. We’re still learning which mpkWh figures are good (this being the EV equivalent of MPG), but anything below three isn’t great and anything above four is excellent. The iX is averaging about 3.5 – no mean feat for something that weighs 2510kg and testament to BMW’s long-term development of electric motors and batteries.
*Mileage:* 3211
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*Welcoming the BMW iX to the fleet - 8 September 2022*
The visual statement and ensuing debate over the styling of the iX has somewhat overshadowed the countless other far greater and more significant statements that are being made by BMW’s new flagship.
They include, among others, the sheer amount of technology this car packs in, plenty of it breathtaking and truly innovative, and much of it so cool that if Apple had launched it, we’d be hearing about it for years.
Then there’s the positioning of the car, and how successfully BMW has managed to pull it off. The firm has long dabbled in the luxury space with the likes of the 7 Series, 8 Series and more lately the X7, but never with overt success. Yet the iX feels so quiet, refined, powerful, comfortable and high-quality that you’d happily line one up against a Range Rover.
It may still lose, but it would not be a foregone conclusion – and that’s something against the standout luxury SUV of the past 50 years.
There are those, though, who will never get past the looks, in particular that grille, and that’s fine. It’s not for my eyes, truth be told, but you can get it blacked out, and in certain colour and trim specifications it doesn’t stand out as much as some of the photos suggest. It’s not just any old grille, either: it houses many of the car’s sensor and safety cameras and is coated in material that self-heals should it get chipped or scratched. That aside, let’s call it somewhere between bold and divisive and get on with enjoying the car’s other qualities, of which there are many.
You could call the iX a distant successor to the i3. It is only BMW’s second dedicated fully electric car, arriving at the same time as that small EV icon sadly departs. Both are built around ‘carbon cage’ core structures and have light, airy cabins full of interesting and innovative materials, but given that the iX is five metres long and starts at close to £80,000, the similarities soon end.
Three versions of the iX are offered. Bookending the range are the xDrive40 with a 71kWh battery good for a claimed 257-mile range, and an M60 with a 105kWh battery that’ll get you a claimed 348 miles between charges. In the middle is the xDrive50 we have here, which uses the bigger battery from the M60 but gets an extra 23 miles of range as it does without the extra power and performance of the top-end model.
The xDrive50 uses twin electric motors for a combined 516bhp and all-wheel drive. That’s a lot of power but it’s needed for a car weighing more than two and a half tonnes – a figure that would be higher were it not for that carbonfibre core. Put your foot down and you’ll be under no illusions: this is no normal big-range EV, if you hadn’t realised that already.
The iX is a car that’s determined to do things differently and really deviate from the internal combustion era. That first of all manifests itself in the spaceship-style noise it makes under acceleration, a soundtrack created by none other than movie composer Hans Zimmer (think Top Gun: Maverick, Gladiator and, er, Kung Fu Panda).
The volume and intensity of the sound are all relative to your use of the right pedal. That shouldn’t be a revelation because that’s essentially how driving a combustion-engined car works, but nobody has yet done something this different and this successfully. It sounds like doors opening in a sci-fi film, and it’s good fun. I’m glad BMW made it this way.
Before you drive the iX, you will already have marvelled at the cabin. It mixes high-quality materials that are easy on the eye and lovely to touch with technology that’s undoubtedly in-your-face yet still sympathetically integrated. Better yet, it is also for a large part controlled by some actual buttons and a click wheel. Such common sense will never catch on...
There’s so much to explore in the iX, and that’s before you get to the £22,140 of options our M Sport-trim test car is fitted with. The likes of the £3500 Sky Lounge Pack (next-level cool panoramic roof) and £5000 Technology Plus Pack (plenty of clever cameras here) are all things we’ll come back to.
For now, I’ll doff my cap to the lovely £1890 Aventurine Red III and £550 Titan Bronze trim of our car, a lovely combination that’s refreshingly not monochrome, and get settled into that oh-so comfy Sport Seat (part of the £3900 Comfort Plus Pack), from where you can enjoy the most soothing and calming of rides.
Refreshing is a word I think we’ll keep coming back to. As a ground-up electric car, no assumptions have been made in the way it has been designed, engineered and created, and neither does it feel like one of those electric cars in which an internal combustion engine has simply been swapped out for some electric motors and a battery.
A different approach has been taken across the board, and the result is a car that already feels like one that will remain not only a benchmark for how to approach the development of electric cars but also one with plenty of ‘firsts’ to which we’ll refer back to for years to come. Rarely has a long- term loan felt like such an adventure.
*Second Opinion*
I liked the informality of the iX when we road-tested one earlier this year. You may not think it’s beautiful, but there’s something disarming about the design that adds character and diffuses the stuffy grandiosity that can pervade with big luxury cars. Spend some time with it and you’ll realise that this car is really likeable, and it somehow feels inclusive and informal. It’s also so damned good at being quiet, supple, relaxing everyday transport.
*Matt Saunders*
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-BMW iX xDrive50 M Sport specification-
*Specs: Price New* £94,825 *Price as tested* £116,965 *Options T*echnology Plus Pack £5000, Comfort Plus Pack £3900, Sky Lounge Pack £3500, Interior Design Suite I Amido £3250, Visibility Pack £2000, Aventurine Red III metallic paint £1890, Clear and Bold Interior Application £1050, bi-colour Aero alloy wheels £1000, Titan Bronze exterior trim £550
*Test Data: Engine* Twin electric motors *Power *516bhp *Torque* 564lb ft *Kerb weight* 2585kg *Top speed* 124mph *0-62mph* 4.6sec *Claimed range *320 miles* Economy *3.4mpkWh *Faults* None *Expenses* None
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