BMW’s bespoke electric SUV, BMW iX.

BMW already has an electric SUV in form of iX3, which uses a 74kWh battery pack and majority of which is drained by a single 282hp electric motor placed over the rear axle. 

The numbers are not impressive enough, so does the looks. Apart from alloy wheels, partially covered kidney grille and some splashes of blue accents, there is nothing else to differentiate iX3 from the conventional fossil-fuel sipping X3.

However, BMW has recently unveiled iX, which is the production version of the iNEXT concept debuted in 2018.

What iX3 lacked, the iX delivers in oodles. Starting with the looks, the iX stays remarkably close to the iNEXT concept with large covered vertical kidney-grille, slim headlights, even slimmer tail lamps and split roof-pillar. Looks are subjective, but I like it.

On the inside, the interior is nothing like any other BMW on the road. Reminiscent to other modern electric cars, the dashboard is dominated by a pair of large screens, one of those screens is a touch sensitive infotainment system while the other is a non-touch sensitive instrument cluster, both the screens are neatly integrated as a single unit-just like a Mercedes.

Talking of similarities, BMW has ditched the traditional gear selector in favour of Porsche like rocker switch for selecting the drive. 

Unlike other manufacturers, BMW has not deleted their traditional scroller wheel to control its infotainment unit, this is a good thing as the driver won't have to take the eyes off the road for relatively longer periods to operate the infotainment unit. 

Speaking of safety, BMW iX comes loaded with sensors, cameras, and radars to aid future ready driver assistance systems.

Unlike its other German counterparts from Audi and Mercedes, the BMW iX is built on a bespoke platform which is dedicated for future electric cars from BMW.

BMW might be little late to showcase their prowess in segment with their iX, but being late and bespoke, BMW has ensured that it can blow away its competition with their latest offering. 

BMW claims that the iX can cover 376miles with its standard 100kWh battery pack, which is 5miles more than Tesla Model X Long Range and nearly 150 miles more than its German counterparts. 

The power stored in the battery is sent to all four wheels via two electric motors with a combined output of 500hp. If that is not enough, BMW is rumoured to be working on 700+hp triple motor setup.

The drag coefficient is also remarkably low at just 0.25Cd given its upright and X5 like dimensions, which is just 0.01Cd more than the Tesla Model X.  

BMW claims that it can charge from 10% to 80% in just 40 minutes and supports fast-charging up to 200kW. If you are short on time, iX can add up to 75miles of range in just 10 minutes.

BMW has not revealed anything related to launch date but hinted that the production will commence by second half of 2021.

Athul Z

Content Creator, MyTyre.