BMW iX (2025 - ) Electric review

There are three types of iX to choose from, all called xDrive because they're all four-wheel drive: 45, 60 and M70. The last one's 'M' means it's a proper high-performance thing fettled by BMW's Motorsport Division, albeit every iX is very quick; even the basic 45 has 408-horsepower and will crack 62mph in 5.1 seconds. That one has had the biggest battery range improvement with the life cycle impulse, too, now doing 100 miles more than before, with a claimed 374. It's not rocket science, though - the battery is MASSIVE. At 100kWh, it's more than three times the size of the battery in the outgoing Mini Electric. The iX is more efficient than it was before the update, mainly thanks to aerodynamic tweaks, but there is a limit to how efficient you can actually make a big hunk of SUV weighing 2.5 tonnes. In short, this is cost-effective in the way all EVs are – low company car tax rates and cheap energy if you charge smartly – but it's ultimately a fat luxury SUV with a potential asking price the wrong side of £100,000.

Overriding anything specific is the fact that an electric motor is fundamentally a safer bet than a petrol, diesel or hybrid setup because of its relative simplicity. That's a benefit for all EVs. Far fewer moving parts. And the BMW iX has so far proven broadly reliable in the few years it's existed, albeit the sample size isn't huge – this is an expensive, niche vehicle. That said, it was globally recalled in 2023 because of a software issue affecting the electric drivetrain. As a brand, BMW tends to perform below average in reliability surveys, too, placing 23rd out of 31 manufacturers in a recent owner survey by a weekly car magazine. And BMW's warranty, which covers three years and 60,000 miles, is standard for a German car company but behind the five years you'd get from a Genesis, and Tesla's four-year warranty.

In 2021, the iX was awarded a five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP, including a 91 per cent score for adult occupants and 87 per cent for children. So, you are fundamentally looking at a safe car here. It gets six airbags (dual front, side, curtain), ISOFIX mounts for child seats, and active safety features including adaptive cruise control with stop-and-go, lane-keeping assist, front collision warning, and automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and cyclist detection. Augmented reality navigation and a head-up display are optional, but worth having because they reduce the amount of time you'll have your eyes off the road. On which, BMW's infotainment setup allows you to pick how you want to control it, either with your voice, or using the Drive scroll wheel, or the touchscreen. It's a system quite heavy on menus, but it's easy to get used to – one of the better bits of in-car control software.

On the move, the iX's main quality is a sense of total luxury and refinement. It's smooth, calm, unflustered, has a near-silent electric drivetrain, and is just generally brilliant at shutting out the outside world; even specced with MASSIVE wheels, you're not listening to the constant rumble of wafer thin tyres rolling over the road. That said, we haven't tried the biggest 23-inch wheel option, but they should be okay because BMW has fitted them with foam sound dampeners. Seems excessive TBH. Between that, its beautiful interior (which suits light colours better), very comfy seats, and a driving position that will sit any driver perfectly behind the wheel, this really is a lovely thing to drive. It is, of course, highly spacious too – look at the size of the thing. But BMW has prioritised cabin space over boot space , which is a move that your children or less important adult friends will be grateful for (there's loads of leg- and headroom), but means the iX loses out as... say... an airport taxi. The Tesla Model X has 1,018 litres of cargo space (all told). The Audi Q8 e-tron 569 litres, This thing, just the 500. Boo. And there's no frunk – that's a portmanteau of "front" and "boot", if you're wondering. Don't worry about it, though, there's enough cargo space in an iX.

It's fair to say that the iX is feature rich. The base xDrive 45 comes in Sport spec, which loses a point by virtue of not being called 'M Sport', meaning you can't tell your friends that "it's the M Sport." But still, it gets 21-inch alloy wheels, a fancy grille illuminated for maximum...erm... "go away" appeal. Heated-and-electrically-powered front seats are standard (as an aside, the seats in the M70 are the chunkiest, spongiest sports seats you'll ever see, like racing chesterfields), as is a heated steering wheel. Even the armrests and door panels can be heated, like little radiators. The twin curved display combines a 12-inch digital instrument panel and 15-inch touch-screen - one of the most high-def you'll ever see. Wireless Apple CarPlay, wireless charging (front and rear) three-zone climate control, and an 18-speaker Harman Kardon surround sound system are all standard, too. You can upgrade to a mega 30-speaker Bowers & Wilkins system if you like. It's standard in the M70.

Three power options, all of them xDrive (four-wheel drive): 402 horsepower in the 45, 536 horsepower in the 60, and 650 horsepower in the M70. The last of those offers truly surreal speed for a car so vast and so calm with 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds, which is basically supercar speed. The otherworldly feeling is even stronger when sound augmentation is active, because instead of trying to mimic a petrol engine, as some EVs do, you get 'BMW IconicSounds' designed by film composer Hanz Zimmer of Gladiator and The Dark Knight Trilogy fame. "Like a spaceship" is the laziest way of describing the vibe, but it is proper cool. The 45 is all the pace you need, though, and it's the one we'd recommend because it's BY FAR the best value iX, even though it has the smallest battery of the lot. The xDrive45 gets a 95 kWh battery for a claimed 374-mile range, while the 110kWh unit in the 60 and M70 give the car 426- and 366 miles respectively. In short, every one of them should crack close to 300 miles in reality. Peak charging speed is a little lower in the 45 (175kW compared to 195kW in the others), but in real life, that'll make no difference. It's like having a car with a 175mph top speed rather than 195mph. Whatever. More importantly, the iX has an 11kW onboard charger, which means that if you're plugging it in at work it'll charge quicker than EVs with 7kW onboard capabilities. Click here for an explanation of why that is, if you like.