Why we’re running it: To see if BMW’s entry EV is as impressive as its range-topper
Month 1 - Specs
Life with a BMW iX1: Month 1
Welcoming the iX1 to the fleet - 5 July 2023
Some car makers have been criticised for their slow transitions to all-electric power, but that’s certainly not something that could be said about BMW. The German giant is well and truly engaged in ramping up its electric offensive, and now – or at least at the time of writing – it is offering no fewer than 10 pure-electric models.
The latest addition to the Autocar fleet, then, is the brand’s smallest SUV, which in turn has become its smallest electric model. It’s the iX1, which, as you might have guessed, mirrors the internal combustion engine-powered X1, save for its method of propulsion.
The iX1 measures 4500mm long, 1845mm wide and 1616mm high, a set of dimensions that aren’t too far off those of the larger iX3, which our road testers thought was good value at a smidge under £60,000. The iX1 sits 9mm closer to the ground than the iX3, however, which is clear from our test car’s squat stance.
This iX1 is the second electric car from the German marque to join our fleet in the past year, following editor Mark Tisshaw’s six-month stint in the model at the other, somewhat pricier end of BMW’s catalogue: the iX. While Mark was impressed with the range-topper, the iX1 acts as the entry point to the brand’s EV endeavours and is something of a different ball game.
On paper, things look promising. Replacing the X1’s petrol, diesel or plug-in hybrid powertrain options is a dual-motor electric set-up powered by a 66.5kWh battery, 64.7kWh of which the driver can use. Peak outputs are impressive, with 308bhp and 364lb ft available – enough to whizz you from a standstill to 62mph in just 5.6sec.
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50% over the price it should be, and add in leases at 7% interest instead of 1%.
LOL. Good luck with that.
Full credit to BMW for launching a lot of new electric models over the last three years, but let's not get carried away, 10 models is *too much* credit. They currently have the iX3, iX, i4, i7, iX1 and i5 - six by my count. Seems a bit ridiculous to call the M-badge trim a separate model.
But it's a shame that none of them gets anywhere near the price of the gone-too-soon i3, despite the lack of structural carbon fibre in nearly all of those models.
You could add the MINI, part of the BMW group, starting from 32k
Got one a few months ago to replace a Tesla model 3.
Like it very much so far. Interior compared to a Tesla is "exceptional" - a different league.
Yes it does not go as far, but the charge/mileage indicator is far more realistic than the Tesla's was ( Over 2 years I averaged 72% of the Tesla's claimed range). On the BMW am averaging 86% of its claimed range so far ( although not had it for very cold spells yet).
Price is expensive, but then so is everything else
At the moment I do 3,000 miles a year, infact my wife's does about the same, so, would an EV make any difference to my outgoing?,and secondly, I'm on my fifth BMW but I'd think twice about shelling out this amount of cash for something I hardly use compared to others? It's case of do I buy a BMW just because I like them?
Exceptional interior compared to a Model 3, but then it starts from 10k more so I'd expect alot more.
When I ordered mine end last year, another Model 3 Long range with wheels and paint was at that time about £55k, before Tesla cut their prices, so the price differential was not that big.
Even at £10k more still prefer the BMW