Hot topics

Finance

Marketing

Menu Mind Control – Gastropod

At its most basic, a menu is simply a...

Jewellery stocks: Traders pick jewellery again, hope gold’s sparkle rubs on

ET Intelligence Group: Jewellery stocks have gained traction over...

Aston Martin India sees 50:50 sales split between SUVs and sports cars

Aston Martin has revealed that the sales split between its...

Lizzo to Play Sister Rosetta Tharpe in New Movie

Lizzo has been tapped to play Sister Rosetta Tharpe...

Politics

How Businesses Can Thrive in Uncertain Times

The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with Bill Canady In this...

Panettone French Toast

I’ve been pondering what, if anything, I should close...

Strategy

Hot topics

Finance

Marketing

Menu Mind Control – Gastropod

At its most basic, a menu is simply a...

Jewellery stocks: Traders pick jewellery again, hope gold’s sparkle rubs on

ET Intelligence Group: Jewellery stocks have gained traction over...

Aston Martin India sees 50:50 sales split between SUVs and sports cars

Aston Martin has revealed that the sales split between its...

Lizzo to Play Sister Rosetta Tharpe in New Movie

Lizzo has been tapped to play Sister Rosetta Tharpe...

Politics

How Businesses Can Thrive in Uncertain Times

The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with Bill Canady In this...

Panettone French Toast

I’ve been pondering what, if anything, I should close...

Strategy

Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

BMW iX long term review 2500km report with range and features performance – Introduction

First report: BMW’s massive electric SUV joined our long-term fleet and spent an entire month out of character as a city runabout.

Between our long-term i7 and iX, it was the latter that everyone was after, but I still managed to hang on to the iX for over a month, and what an interesting month it was! Living with a large car as your daily driver in Mumbai is challenging. Every time I couldn’t squeeze through a narrow gap in traffic or find a parking space long enough, I missed having a smaller car. But beyond that, it proved its mettle.

When the iX xDrive50 replaced the xDrive40 in BMW’s range, it got air springs as standard. The previous car’s coil springs delivered a superb ride, but the air springs offer an even greater degree of flexibility at both ends of the ride spectrum. The softer end is what I called on most often for tackling Mumbai’s minty-fresh dug-up roads. The ride was very good, and I have to add, without wallow, too, given, of course, the relatively low speeds the chaotic city roads allowed for.

The spare tyre in the boot limits space; the parcel screen needs to be removed to stack more bags.

The other bit I loved was the powertrain. The xDrive50 saw power go up from 326hp to a massive 523hp, with torque rising from 630Nm to 765Nm. This increase in power has not corroded the powertrain’s modularity, though. Stay away from Sport mode, and the car is quite relaxed to drive; and should you find that miraculous open stretch, power is a quick prod of the accelerator away.

During a few long stints stuck in traffic, the comfy cabin was a nice space to be in. My daughter thought the rear seats were spot on for comfort, and my wife thought it was just superb, but I felt the backrest was a tad upright. The glass roof that can switch from translucent to transparent at the press of a button was also a big hit with friends. However, given that it lacks a fabric screen, I would like to see how it performs in keeping the heat out in peak summers. Right now, in Mumbai, we’re enjoying cooler days with lows in the early 20s, and before you Delhi folk laugh, let me assure you that is cool for anyone from here.

BMW iX idrive control

The crystal-cut iDrive dial looks super, but at certain angles, it dazzles you with reflected sunlight.

On to bits I didn’t like, the steering wheel is one. Perhaps it is a small matter, but it never felt right to me. After completing a turn, I like to let the wheel naturally return to the centre, and when it does that, the irregular, hexagonal shape of the wheel feels very odd while running through my palms. Another small irritant is the crystal iDrive dial. It looks lovely, as do other glassy bits like the seat-adjustment buttons, but the dial and the surrounding gloss panel reflect light very harshly at certain angles. Every morning, when headed to work, a particular stretch of road would always have the sun glinting straight at me.

Besides these niggles, a bigger matter was the spare tyre in the boot. Picking up my son and his friends at the train station, we had to remove the parcel screen to fit in three large suitcases, and you have to be mindful not to load it above the head restraints. With the parcel screen in place, you’ll be able to fit only one big bag and perhaps a smaller carry-on.

BMW iX front seat storage

Handy mobile holder has a neat slot below, allowing you to pass a wire through to the USBs below.

Back to the changes on the iX xDrive50, the biggest one is the larger 111.5kWh battery, up from 76.6kWh – a massive jump. And while I didn’t stretch that range out on a long drive, the benefit was not having to charge it often. In our instrumented real-world range test, we got a range of 504km (city and highway).

This meant that with my usage, all within Mumbai city limits, I was charging it every two weeks with an indicated range of about 530km. So, all in all, it’s been a nice, comfy and easy-on-the-pocket month spent with the iX. I never thought I’d say that of a BMW.

BMW iX glove box

Given the handy spaces all around, the glovebox is oddly small and impractical to use.

Also see:

BMW iX xDrive50 review: More power, more range, more features

BMW iX facelift revealed with more power, improved range

New BMW iX3 design previewed by Neue Klasse X prototype

Source link

Hot this week

Official: Peugeot e-208 GTi green-lit by new CEO

Peugeot will launch a GTi variant of the e-208, new...

Taylor Swift Mentioned During Senate Intelligence Committee Hearing

Taylor Swift‘s name was brought up during a Senate...

The Creamiest Greenest One-Pot Pasta — Green Kitchen Stories

Have you seen the "TikTok pasta" where you bake...

Topics

Menu Mind Control – Gastropod

At its most basic, a menu is simply a...

Jewellery stocks: Traders pick jewellery again, hope gold’s sparkle rubs on

ET Intelligence Group: Jewellery stocks have gained traction over...

Aston Martin India sees 50:50 sales split between SUVs and sports cars

Aston Martin has revealed that the sales split between its...

Lizzo to Play Sister Rosetta Tharpe in New Movie

Lizzo has been tapped to play Sister Rosetta Tharpe...

How Businesses Can Thrive in Uncertain Times

The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast with Bill Canady In this...
spot_img

Related Articles

Popular Categories

spot_imgspot_img