SPEAKER: After testing the EV waters
with a tiny I3 over the last eight years,
BMW is finally ready to make a bigger commitment.
And it's this-- the all new, all-electric 2022 BMW iX.
I'm here in Germany, checking out the Euro-spec example.
But before we get into that, please do me a
favor and hit Subscribe below.
And head over to edmunds.com/sellmycar,
to get a cash offer on your vehicle.
When the iX goes on sale, it'll have a starting price
around $84,000.
That's pretty expensive, and it puts it
in league with the Tesla Model X and Jaguar I-pace.
It's about the size of a BMW X5 with seating for 5.
On a full charge, BMW says it'll have a range of 300 miles.
That's more than 60 miles further
than the Jag and comparable to Tesla's real world range.
Its DC fast-charge capable.
And at its peak of 200 kilowatts,
It should replenish 90 miles in only 10 minutes.
Getting from 10% to 80% should take 40 minutes.
On the more common level 2 chargers,
expect a full charge from empty to take about 11 hours.
iX Owners will also get a $100 charge credit
on the EVgo network, which is powered by 100% renewables.
This is the iX xDrive5 that produces 516 horsepower and 564
pound feet of torque from the motors that drive
the front and rear wheels.
BMW claims it'll hit 60 miles an hour
in 4.6 seconds, which is up there with both the Jag
and Model X long range.
For the rare drivers seeking even more performance,
the iX M60 with 619 horsepower is on the way in 2022.
OK, so this is the first BMW I've
reviewed with the new grille.
Are you ready?
I think I get where they're going.
Pre-war BMWs has had a vertical grille.
And they were as distinctive as the horizontal ones leading up
to this.
Some of my greatest moments behind the wheel
were in those old BMW roadsters.
But this, this makes the Genesis look elegant by comparison.
I've been quietly critical of past BMW redesigns,
but I knew that they'd probably grow on me over time.
I don't think that's the case here.
These grilles don't serve a purpose as far
as cooling the batteries.
But they do serve a purpose besides theft deterrence.
They house a lot of the advanced safety
and driver-assistance sensors.
One cool thing-- though it's covered
in a self-healing, polyurethane coating.
Wait, what?
Yeah, that's right.
It's like Deadpool or Wolverine.
If it gets some minor scratches, you
can leave it at room temperature for 24 hours
or warm it up for five minutes, and voila, it's gone.
Like other BMW the iX makes liberal use of carbon fiber
composites to reduce weight and strengthen the passenger
compartment.
You can see hints of it when you open the doors.
Ignoring the grille for a second, if you can,
the rest of the clean styling over a sculpted and elemental
shape.
I like it a lot from different angles, but definitely not all
of them.
While it was in Germany driving the iX,
I didn't quite have enough time to go over
some of the finer points.
Now that I'm back at Edmunds HQ, let's go over
the interior in more detail.
The exterior's basic minimal shape carries over inside,
with the striking, yet simple horizontal and curved display
on top.
I love the elegant simplicity of this design.
And the use of synthetic blue suede
is striking without looking garish.
It's accentuated with some faceted motifs
in the upholstery and controls.
And I also like the unusual slash quilting in the seats.
Overall, I like the mix of funky,
futuristic, and refined luxury.
The cabin makes use of a lot of sustainable materials
and surfaces that have reduced environmental impact.
It's also light and airy thanks to a massive glass roof
that has a trick up its sleeve.
It features electrochromic glass, like the Mercedes Magic
Sky Roof.
It dims or goes opaque at the touch of a button.
It's not only a cool parlor trick,
but it also increases headroom compared
to traditional sunroofs with retractable shades.
The front seats are well cushioned
for long distance comfort.
And the ventilation helps to keep you nice and fresh
on warmer days.
I do have a complaint, though.
Of course, I have a complaint.
The fixed headrests are just a bit
too far forward, which forces me to recline the seat a bit
past where I prefer.
If you have a big old melon on your shoulders,
this could be a deal breaker.
So I suggest you spend some time with it
before pulling the trigger on an iX.
Rear seat space is as good as an X5 in the outboard seats,
and even better for the center passengers
since there's not much of a hump in the floor.
We don't have specs on cart capacity yet.
But upon visual inspection, it seems pretty close to the X5.
If it is smaller on paper, I still
think there's plenty of space for a couple's road trip,
and definitely enough for everyday errands.
As far as tech features go, the iX
is the first BMW to get the newest iDrive infotainment
system.
In terms of appearance and operations,
it's similar to our favorite Mercedes MBUX system,
with multiple ways to control it,
including natural speech functions.
Unlike the Mercedes system, you can
customize the voice control triggers so you're
not stuck with, Hey, BMW.
Yep, that means you can call it up
by calling out Hey, Jarvis or Cortana, or Yo Adrian!
That was really good.
I'm proud of that one.
I didn't have a lot of time to get deep
into the iDrive system.
But my initial impressions point to it
being very similar in menu structure
as the previous iteration.
That means it might take a little
getting used to if you haven't been in a recent BMW.
But it should become intuitive in no time.
Over-the-air software updates will keep the iX up
to date with all the latest improvements and fixes,
while also allowing for the addition of other features.
One future feature is an automated parking function
that records how you pull into a tricky spot.
Then you can replay the program to park itself,
whether you're in the driver's seat or following close behind.
You will not, however, be able to summon
the car from a distance-- well, at least not yet.
From behind the wheel, this BMW iX
is really hitting all the high notes.
When it comes to acceleration, it's potent.
Now it's not pin you to the feet potent,
like let's say, a performance model from Tesla.
But you will not be wanting for more power
unless you're really used to a performance model from Tesla.
It's mostly silent, with just a little hint of synthetic sound.
And I really like that sound.
And no surprise-- because it was engineered
by one of my favorite modern composers, Hans Zimmer, who's
done things for the Dark Knight and Inception and Dunkirk.
It's got this nice mechanical hum
mixed in with some high pitched whine.
It's almost like some of the undertones
he's used in The Dark Knight for the Joker or Dunkirk
or this rising unsettling tone.
But in this iX, it is not at all unsettling.
It's pretty pleasurable, actually.
I currently have it set in the B mode for drive.
Now you have the regular drive mode and the B mode.
But drive mode is pretty similar to an internal combustion
engine, where when you let off the accelerator,
it gently starts dropping the speed.
In B mode, it's kind of the one-pedal electric vehicle
type of experience, where you let off the gas completely
and it really starts jumping on the brakes.
Or it feels like it's jumping on the brakes,
but what it's actually doing is recharging the battery with all
that energy.
I personally prefer one-pedal driving
it sort of is one of the great attractors for an EV.
As long as you keep enough of distance
between the car in front of you, it's
really easy to never have to tap the brake pedal.
Now this is of course a BMW, which
means it's slightly sportier than what you'd
expect from Mercedes or Audi.
But at the same time, it doesn't really
sacrifice ride quality in order to get some sporty handling.
One thing helping that out is a lot of the weight in this iX
is down in the floor, because that's where the batteries are.
And they made use of a lot of lightweight components
in carbon fiber-reinforced plastics
to lighten the weight up top.
So that low center of gravity kind of
gives you a nice solid foundation
and minimizes body roll.
Combine that with the air suspension
that this particular one has, and it corners nice and flat.
I spent a lot of time in our long term X5.
And honestly, I think this handles better.
At least, it gives you a lot more confidence
going into turns.
Now as you can see, I'm probably getting a little bit of shine
right here in my eye.
That's because the sun is hitting
this crystallized iDrive dial right into my retina.
It's pretty irritating, I have to say.
So if you're thinking about getting this optional crystal
dial as well as the crystal seat controls in the door,
I would suggest no because of that shine.
But everything else is a nice matte
that doesn't reflect too much.
On top of that, I really like this light blue,
kind of faux suede dash topper, even though for the most part
I haven't been a fan of light colored dashes because
of the reflections as you get back from the windshield.
But that is not the case with this.
And I'm not sure how they did it.
But I'm really not getting too much reflection back.
And that's great, because usually,
that can wear me down a little after a long road trip.
Visibility is pretty good, but not great.
This pillar here isn't the thinnest.
But it is still thinner than it probably
could have been because of that carbon fiber-reinforced plastic
that's actually within a steel tube.
Out the back, it's also pretty limited, about as limited
as any other SUV on the market.
But the good thing is, there's so many cameras to take
any guesswork when you're trying to maneuver into a small spot.
As far as steering feel, well, there's
not a lot to report, which is typical for any modern car.
You're not getting any real feedback from the wheel
but for a luxury SUV that seems appropriate.
You don't want it to be too busy and just wear you down
with fatigue after a long trip.
As for the shape of this steering wheel, which
is sort of an irregular hexagon, I
thought I was going to hate it, because I'm not
a fan of flat-bottomed steering wheels.
And this does have a flat bottom.
But for some reason, this doesn't bother me
nearly as much.
It's kind of rounded off all the way around.
So you don't really get that thump, thump, thump if you're
making a really sharp turn.
I like where they've positioned these flats too.
I usually drive lower down in the wheel.
But I find myself kind of creeping up a little bit just
to have these controls at my thumbs.
Even though this iX is a little sportier
when it comes to handling, ride quality really isn't suffering.
It's a nice smooth ride.
And now it's a little hard to judge
on some of these roads in Germany,
so I've been seeking out little bumps and ruts
wherever I could.
As far as I can tell, it's really quite
luxurious and soft, but not so soft
that it feels floaty on the highway.
No, it feels solid on the highway.
With this adaptive air suspension,
it really seems to be doing a great job
at finding that delicate balance between sporty and comfortable
and giving you the best of both worlds.
After spending the day driving around in this iX,
I have to say, I am coming away truly impressed.
It has exceptionally sharp performance.
Sure, it may not be as quick as the top Teslas,
but it is way quicker than most drivers will ever need.
On top of that, it handles better than Tesla or the Jag.
And it's more comfortable, both in terms
of ride quality and the seats.
It's also a tech powerhouse, and I'm really
starting to fall in love with this new Drive system.
Of course, we won't know where it lands in the Edmunds
rankings until we get it back for a full test and evaluation.
But I can confidently say this is my favorite all-electric SUV
that I've driven to date.
For more information on the BMW iX and its competition,
head on over to edmunds.com.
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