BMW on the 11th of December will finally be launching the iX in India. Now, BMW will enter the pure electric SUV segment which they have been missing previously from.
Joining in a segment with the likes of the EQC, e-Tron and i-Pace the iX has a tough task ahead. The iX will serve as the flagship electric vehicle for the Bavarian manufacturer and will be similar in size to the X5. Interior space and comfort however will be closer to the X7!
Bold or Bland? : The iX is definitely not bland, but comes out extremely bold with it’s massive kidney grille. The grille unlike other BMW models is sealed shut and hosts a ton of cameras and radar systems. It also features sensors to operate all the driver assistance systems, all of which are neatly tucked inside.
The headlights and taillights depart from the traditional look featuring slimmer quad LED bands which look neater.
M Sport guise gets you a sharper bumper with angular design cues and air vents for aero efficiency. The rear ironically gets rounder with a smoother bumper designed to be less aggressive.
The iX features frameless doors, a fixed bonnet, fixed B-pillars and a tapered glasshouse giving it a unique look.
Eco Friendly Interior: The extremely spacious interior is green as well. Just not in the way you think with it featuring recycled plastics and microfibre fabric for the seats. The electric motors allow for a fully flat floor creating comfort levels comparable to the X7. Special shout out to the squarish steering wheel which just ups the quirkiness level of the interior up a notch.
Being an electric car, it has got to feature some cool screens! And it does with a single-piece curved glass groups a 12.3-inch instrument cluster and a 14.9-inch infotainment display. It does not have a central console but instead gets all the jobs done with iDrive located in the armrest.
The iX offers 650 litres of boot space making it a practical daily driver as well.
Under the hood: The iX will debut in two forms namely the xDrive 40 and 50. The 40 produces 326hp of power and 630Nm of peak torque and has a driving range of 414km. The 50 on the other hand produces 523hp and 765Nm of peak torque and has a driving range of 611km.
0-100: The iX XDrive 40 does the deed in 6.1 seconds while the 50 does it in 4.6 seconds.
These figures are achieved thanks to a smart AWD system with a dual electric motor setup.
One motor on each axle allows it to be an AWD and RWD SUV on command. The iX in RWD only mode is said to be more efficient allowing for a longer range band.
0-100% Charge: The iX 40 comes with a 71kWh battery pack vs a 105.2kW in the 50. The charging system in the iX allows for DC fast charging upto 195kW. This allows the battery to go from 10 to 80% in just 35 minutes in the iX50. 31 minutes is what it takes for the same task in the iX40.
The regular 11kW AC wallbox fast charger takes 11hrs for a full charge in the XDrive50 and 7.5hrs in the XDrive40. There is no official comment on whether a wallbox charger will be part of the standard package or not.
Coming soon: 11th of December will be when we have more details on the iX. More importantly what specifications it will be launched with in India. Expected to be priced around the crore mark, only time will tell if the iX will finally see success for BMW’s electric division.
