The all-electric iX is something to behold. This midsize SUV is spacious, comfortable, surprisingly efficient and ridiculously agile for its size. If you can get past its slightly polarizing design, you may just fall in love with this electric BMW.
Pros
- Roomy and comfortable interior
- Quick acceleration
- Comprehensive set of luxury features and driver aids
- Daring interior design
Cons
- Some on-screen controls are hard to learn or access
- No third-row seating option
- No entry-level model for a lower starting price
What’s new
- Battery preconditioning function can now be set independently
- Some xDrive50 options have been discontinued
- Part of the first iX generation introduced for 2022
Overview
The 2024 BMW iX is among the top-rated all-electric luxury SUVs, and for good reason. It’s about the same size as the automaker’s midsize X5 and stands out with its roomy seating and impressive power and range. Even the entry-level xDrive50 has two electric motors, all-wheel drive, 516 horsepower, and more than 300 miles of range. Alternatively, you can pick the M60 version that dials up 610 hp and can rocket from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.5 seconds.
BMW iX EV Insights
Range 307 miles
EPA Estimated Range
EV batteries lose 1-2% of range per year. Est. range for this car is 261 miles after 8 years.
Charging at Home
11 hoursStandard port for most electric models. Supports Level 1, Level 2, and DC Fast charging.
Total Charging Time (240V outlet)
EV Battery Warranty
8 yrs or 100,000 miles
Such performance can seem a little superfluous for a vehicle that is ultimately meant to be a family-friendly hauler, but such is the new world of EV performance. Besides the Tesla Model X, there is a new Mercedes-Benz EQE that is a direct rival to the iX. Audi is also making significant changes to its e-tron, which is now called the Q8 e-tron. Check out our Expert Rating below to see our test team’s scoring of the 2024 iX’s real-world range, comfort and more.
What’s it like to live with?
When the BMW iX debuted in 2022, it quickly became one of our favorite all-electric SUVs. It made perfect sense to add one to the Edmunds long-term test fleet to see how it fares over the course of a full year and 20,000 miles. Check out our latest impressions from our real-world BMW iX test. Our test vehicle is a 2022, but nearly all of our impressions still apply to the 2024 model.
Performance 8.5/10
How does the iX drive? Electric SUVs are redefining how large vehicles are supposed to handle, and the iX is a prime example. The weight of batteries mounted low under the floor really helps provide a hunkered-down feeling. The iX isn’t really exciting to drive, but it corners with ease, and the light-effort steering creates the illusion of the iX being lighter than it actually is.
Our test vehicle came with the optional 22-inch wheels and tires. They provide decent levels of cornering grip and, in our emergency braking test, helped slow the iX down from 60 mph to a dead stop in an impressive 114 feet. In typical driving, the iX can provide plenty of regenerative braking, and that makes it easy to drive around using just the accelerator pedal and letting the regen handle the braking.
Brakes are important because the iX can boogie. Accelerating to 60 mph took only 4.2 seconds in our testing. That’s quicker than most EVs (including the Jaguar I-Pace and Audi e-tron) and not too far off from BMW’s gas-powered X5 M.
Comfort 8.5/10
How comfortable is the iX? The iX has some of the coolest-looking upholstered seats on the market today, and thankfully they’re also comfortable to sit in. The front seats offer a generous range of adjustments and have effective seat heaters. The iX rides quite nicely on the road too. There’s still a hint of sporty firmness rather than total cloud-like softness, but we suspect our test car’s larger 22-inch wheels may have played a part here. It’s also a quiet SUV, and wind and road noise is minimal on the highway.
Much of the iX’s interior controls are touchscreen-based, and that includes those for the climate system. At least the primary temp settings are easy to access and make adjustments to. Rear passengers get two climate zones as well, plus a range of vents for excellent coverage. Overall, the system does an excellent job of maintaining a comfortable cabin.
Interior 8.5/10
How’s the interior? This interior — wow! Not only is the iX interior gorgeous to look at, it’s highly functional too. It’s easy to get in and out thanks to large door openings and low stepovers. Passenger space is generous once you’re inside, with a flat floor throughout the cabin, ample headroom and legroom in both rows, and great shoulder room. Visibility is excellent, especially out of the front windows, and the available cameras can handle anything you can’t easily see naturally.
There are a few downsides. Most of the iX’s controls are touchscreen-based, and wading through layers of menus can be time-consuming and distracting. We also discovered that the white-lettering touch controls on our test vehicle’s optional walnut center panel washed out in sunlight, which made it hard to see where the actual buttons are.
Technology 9.0/10
How’s the tech? The iX showcases some of the latest BMW innovations, and they’re pretty impressive. BMW’s suite of advanced driver aids can be hit-or-miss in how they perform, but they’re a hit here. BMW’s optional Highway Assist Plus even allows for some hands-free operation at low speeds when conditions permit. The infotainment system takes a while to learn, but overall we’re impressed with the operation of the iX’s tech. BMW’s voice-activated virtual assistant is also a cut above most voice control systems in how it responds and its ability to change things like the climate control settings.
BMW pushes the envelope even more with its Android smartphone integration. Android users can quick-pair their phones to the car, and navigation directions show up as turn-by-turn directions in the driver’s gauge cluster. Our test car also had the optional Bowers & Wilkins audio system. We found it pretty impressive, and it had a few party tricks up its sleeve like “4D bass,” which essentially vibrates your seat in concert with the music for a more immersive experience (though it can be disabled). Why just listen to podcasts when you can feel them?
Storage 8.5/10
How’s the storage? There’s 35.5 cubic feet of space behind the rear seats, which is much more than what the Audi e-tron offers but not quite as much as the Tesla Model X. The rear seats can split and fold flat in three sections and have convenient release buttons at the rear hatch. But there is no front trunk like on the Model X. Interior storage for small items is also a bit lacking. The door pockets and center armrest bin will be your best options.
The iX accommodates child safety seats with ease thanks to copious rear seat space and easy-to-access anchor points. But you might be disappointed in the iX if you want to tow; BMW does not rate the iX for towing.
Range and Efficiency 9.0/10
How are the range and efficiency? The iX xDrive50 has an EPA-estimated range of 315 miles when equipped with the optional 22-inch wheels like our test car had or 324 miles with the standard 20-inch wheels. Impressively, we easily exceeded the EPA’s estimate on our standardized real-world EV range test route. Here, the iX drove 377 miles on a single charge, which is one of the longest distances we’ve gotten so far from an EV.
Efficiency, or how much electricity the iX uses when driving, is also impressive. We measured 32 kWh used for every 100 miles of driving. That’s one of the best results we’ve seen in the class and similar to what we’ve observed from less powerful EVs such as Ford’s Mustang Mach-E.
The iX comes with an 11-kW onboard charger. BMW estimates it can charge from zero to full in a little over 10 hours on a Level 2 home charger (assuming you’ve got the right hardware and under optimal conditions). It also has DC fast-charging capability up to 195 kW, which can recharge the battery from 10% to 80% capacity in about 40 minutes.
Value 8.0/10
Is the iX a good value? The iX is not what we’d consider affordable when taking a quick glance at its price tag. But if you start lining it up against its segment competition, the iX begins to look like more of a bargain. Build quality feels incredibly solid. Everything in the interior looks great, carries a bit of heft and is tightly screwed together. This is easily one of the better modern luxury interiors we’ve seen to date.
BMW’s warranty is comparable with coverage of most luxury brands. Basic coverage lasts for four years/50,000 miles, with generous rust-through coverage of 12 years/unlimited miles and a battery warranty of eight years/100,000 miles. BMW provides complimentary maintenance for three years/36,000 miles, which is a plus, and two years of free fast charging (30-minute sessions at a time) on Electrify America’s charging network.
Wildcard 8.0/10
If we’re being honest, we’re not thrilled with the front-end design of the iX. It does look unique, but it may be a bit too bold for most palettes. The styling alone may be a nonstarter for some people.
If you’re able to get past the exterior, the interior is where it’s at. Clean, modern and functional, it’s a place we’d love to spend time. Behind the wheel the iX can be fun to drive, but more so we find it easy to drive. Speed is readily available, and the lightness of controls and responsiveness to inputs just make the iX easy to maneuver and place. Did we mention it has a hexagonal steering wheel? Endless conversation starters here.
Which iX do We recommend?
The xDrive50 gets our recommendation in the BMW iX lineup. It has way more power than most drivers will ever need and costs $24,000 less than the higher-performance M60 version. We also suggest adding the Driving Assistance Professional package for the adaptive cruise control, surround-view camera system and other safety features.
BMW iX models
The 2024 BMW iX is available in two trim levels: xDrive50 and M60. Both versions have all-wheel drive with two electric motors fed by a 106.3-kWh battery pack. The xDrive50 produces 516 horsepower and 564 lb-ft of torque, while the M60 increases output to 610 hp and 749 lb-ft of torque. The EPA estimates that the xDrive50 can go up to 324 miles on a single charge, and the M60 up to 288 miles. In Edmunds’ real-world range testing, we managed to beat those estimates by 50 to 60 miles. Keep reading for our editors’ breakdown of the iX’s significant features and options.
iX xDrive50
Comes well equipped with:
- 20-inch wheels
- DC fast-charging capability (up to 195 kW)
- Panoramic sunroof with electrochromatic shade tinting
- Power liftgate
- Curved display housing a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and 14.9-inch infotainment touchscreen
- Four-zone automatic climate control
- Ambient lighting
- Power-adjustable, heated front seats
- Heated steering wheel
- Synthetic leather upholstery
- Navigation system
- 12-speaker audio system
- Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (both with wireless connectivity)
- Wireless phone charging pad
Standard advanced driver aids include:
- Forward collision warning with automatic braking (warns you of an impending collision and applies the brakes in certain scenarios)
- Blind-spot warning (alerts you if a vehicle in the next lane over is in your blind spot)
- Lane departure warning (alerts you if the vehicle begins to drift out of its lane)
- Parking sensors (alert you to obstacles that may not be visible in front of or behind the vehicle when parking)
As with most luxury vehicles, the iX xDrive50 offers a lengthy list of optional extras such as:
- Convenience package
- 18-speaker Harman Kardon audio system
- Adjustable drive sound modes (produces sportier or quieter powertrain noises through the iX’s audio speakers)
- 360-degree camera system (gives you a top-down view of the iX and its surroundings for tight parking situations)
- Drive recorder (records an image of the road ahead, which can be reviewed later)
- Head-up display (displays important information in your sight line on the windshield)
- Automated parking system (steers into a parking spot with little or no driver intervention)
- Premium package
Convenience package features
- Massaging front seats
- Interior camera
- Wi-Fi hotspot
- Offers upgrade to Bowers & Wilkins premium audio system
- Luxury package
- Glass controls with wood veneers
- Soft-close doors
- Driving Assistance Professional package
- Adaptive cruise control (maintains a driver-set distance between the BMW and the car in front)
- Lane keeping system (makes minor steering corrections to help keep the vehicle centered in its lane)
- Remote vehicle parking system with memory function
- 360-degree camera system
- Drive recorder
- Highway Assistant (allows hands-off driving in select conditions on the highway)
- Two-tone and microfiber/wool combination upholstery
- Leather upholstery
- Ventilated and massaging front seats
iX M60
Besides the extra power, the M60 comes with most of the features from the xDrive50’s Convenience and Premium packages as standard equipment. Other additions include:
- 21-inch wheels
- Adaptive laser headlights
- Four-wheel steering
- Adaptive air suspension (can raise or lower the ride height of the vehicle and improve ride comfort and handling stability)
- Upgraded brakes
- Ventilated front seats
- Heated door panels, armrest and rear seats
- Bowers & Wilkins premium audio