All systems go with BMW iX, but 520d adds touch of irony

Published on 1 January, 2022

Overview

I could only smile at the irony of what transpired near the end of my test drive in the new BMW all-electric SAV.

It was my fault totally, but I got a touch of the jitters after one of several drives. I’ll explain in full in a moment, but first, a little about this new Beemer.

It’s called the iX, in case you missed it, and I had the xDrive40 MSport version, which costs from €85,815 on the road.

It’s a huge machine with massive amounts of interior space, especially in the rear where I briefly stretched the old legs at a stationary stop on one of my test routes.

It’s nearly five metres long, two metres wide and 1.7 metres tall, which puts it in BMW X5 territory, I suppose, but it’s a lot more spacious.

It’s dubbed the electric flagship for the brand and is the first model based on the company’s new, modular, scalable toolkit. They say the future of the BMW group will be built on it.

The side-on look is one of slightly strange, sleek and subtle styling, but the front is, like so many BMWs these days, sheer, in-your-face, forceful design with the massive, famous kidney grille catching eye and breath on first acquaintance.

As I say, inside is so spacious you’d find it hard to beat with a comparably priced, conventionally powered SAV.

But space is only just that; the real attraction is the curved display ensemble embracing 12.3 inches and a control display screen of 14.9 inches behind a glass surface.

As a compendium of competence, they pass muster. The iX marks the debut of the new generation iDrive powered by Operating System 8.

In the main, the new displays, controls, software, connectivity and data processing – the lot – all worked well for me in so far as I just about dipped my finger in the digital water that makes them tick. It’s a bit like turning on the light: I don’t need to understand electric theory and practice to get it to work, I just expect it to be easy-to-follow and operate, and it was.

Speaking of technology, it’s claimed the iX has the largest cluster of standard driver assistance systems ever on a Beemer.

The iX xDrive40 version I had develops 326hp and can cover, they say, up to 414km on a single charge (more anon).

The more powerful 523hp xDrive50 version can cover 613km.

I drove the test car with varying amounts of vim (it’s particularly good at ironing out bumps) over a variety of roads and surfaces.

After one vigorous workout – it does appeal enormously to energetically minded drivers – I got a touch of range anxiety as the charge remaining in the battery dipped to 100km. That’s what you get for enjoying yourself, I said to myself.

I could have parked it to charge on the roadside half-a-kilometre away and waited hours to pick up few enough kilometres.

They say that with really fast chargers you can fill 80pc in 31 minutes, only there are none near me.

The roadside charger I really didn’t fancy as it was raining and I was tired and I didn’t feel like traipsing home and then back again.

So I arranged to drop the iX back as I reckoned I’d sampled enough anyway, and I was kindly offered a BMW 520d diesel to tide me over to my next test car.

Oh, the irony of it: a giant of the former (and, it can be argued, current) diesel era and a giant of the future in the one day.

Anyway, there I was looking at the meagre few kilometres left in the iX and the 900km or so awaiting consumption on the purring 520d.

What a wonderful car it is, and how often did I tell anyone prepared to listen just how good it felt to drive. I never thought I’d blend a test drive of an electric SAV with that of a diesel saloon, but there you have it.

Yes, I smiled at the irony of it all and risk being viewed as putting down the iX in some way. Not at all. I just couldn’t help but observe the coincidence.

On a more serious note, it again underlined how vital it is that we have a bigger and faster charging network. 

Had the cars’ roles been reversed, would I have had the slightest worry about the 520d getting me home? Certainly not, given the refuelling stations en route. I believe we really need so many more of their electric equivalents to power the drive to EVs over the next couple of years.

All that apart, the iX is a largely successful piece of work. I felt cosseted in the interior and encouraged to drive with the handling and power at my disposal.

It’s pricey and it’s unconventional, but it’s a major step for brand and  likely buyer.

Fact file

BMW i20 iX xDrive40 M Sport electric SAV. 76.6 kWh, auto transmission, road tax €120, 326hp, range 414kms. Car on test: €98,656; €88,630 before extras (which include comfort pack, front electric sports seats, Sky Lounge Pack, panoramic glass sunroof; 22ins alloys, parking assistant Plus, flexible charger, spread of driver, vehicle assistances). Standard options include dynamic package, 4-zone auto air con, Harman/Kardon surround sound audio system, live cockpit professional.

Why buying the car you want may not be as simple as you think this year
  

IT’S a new year, and I hope it’s a peaceful and happy one for you and that you keep your resolutions.

However, when it comes to buying a new car this year, I think your resolve could be tested in ways that maybe you haven’t thought about.

There are areas where you could end up spending more than you planned. That’s not always a bad thing – sometimes a few euro extra can get you better all-round value.

But it can kick your budget off the road, and that’s dangerous if it squeezes your funding of the usual monthly bills.

I mention all this now because for the first few months of 2022 the heralded shortage of some new stock means having to consider changing your preferences on the likes of price, colour, engine size and trim levels.

Let’s take price. Are you prepared to pay a few grand extra for your second-choice car because what you wanted isn’t available?

If you had your heart set on a nice deep burgundy model, are you going to wait until July or go with the silver/grey model that’s already here?

Engine output matters more than engine size, but you may have to opt for a more/less powerful model. That’s a big test of your resolve.

You may not like the upholstery or the colour of the interior and you wanted that extra comfort element, but selection being limited you have a choice to make: buy now or wait for what you really want.

You have to weigh up the pros and cons: your trade-in’s current, and projected, value is a big factor. So is your need for a new car, perhaps?

My advice? Do what is best for you only after you have added up all the figures and factored in all the pros and cons. It takes time and resolve to do the right thing.