The BMW iX all-electric SUV has been launched in India for a price of INR 1.16 Crore, (ex-showroom, India). The iX is BMW’s first electric vehicle in the country that comes via the CBU (completely built unit) route. It will be available in xDrive40 variant only for now.
The xDrive40 gets a dual electric motor set-up with one motor on each axle, giving it all-wheel drive. The AWD controller distributes torque between the front and rear axles, depending on driving conditions. The all-wheel-drive green SUV produces a potent 326PS and 630Nm which makes for a sprint to 100kmph in just 6.1 seconds. It is packed with two batteries laid on the vehicle’s floor bed with a gross capacity of 76.6 kWh. BMW claims a range of up to 425 kilometres and it comes with three drive modes: Personal, Sport and Efficient.
The iX gets double wishbone suspension at the front, a rigidly located steering column, front and rear roll axles and uniquely individual damper control. The iX is based on evolution of BMW’s CLAR platform that uses carbon fibre and aluminuium in its contrsuction. Incidentally, the alumimium used on the iX is mostly recycled.
The design of the BMW iX was first previewed by the iNext Concept from 2018. It’s a very futuristic take on the BMW look, with several EV-specific bits that set it apart from the brand’s ICE-powered models. The face of the iX is characterised by BMW’s unmistakable and rather large kidney grille. However, as there is no need to feed air into the radiator, the grille is sealed off and houses several cameras, radar and sensors needed for driver assistance systems. In addition, the plastic on the grille is self healing. In the iX, BMW’s traditional corona light graphic has been replaced by a quartet of light bands in the upper part of the slim headlamp assemblies. The tail-lamps, too, have a similar sleek design.
In its M Sport guise, the front bumper features sharp, angular design cues with air vents for aerodynamic efficiency, while the rear bumper features diffuser inserts. Other design highlights of the iX include frameless windows, flush-fitting door handles, a fixed clamshell-style bonnet, side skirts and tapered glasshouse. The iX rides on 21-inch aerodynamically optimised rims and 255/50 profile rubber. With all the aero bits and basic shape built to reduce wind resistance the coefficient of drag us an impressive 0.25.
Inside you get hexagonal steering wheel (which receives three-level adjustable heating by the way!), the large glass panel housing a 14.9-inch instrument cluster and a 12.3-inch infotainment system with BMW Operating System 8 and iDrive, which can be controlled via the glass iDrive knob. The advanced driver assist suite includes front collision warning, steering and lane control, active cruise control, stop-and-go function, parking assist, reverse camera, exit warning, and remote theft recorder. Some more kit on the BMW iX includes an 18-speaker Harman Kardon surround sound system , BMW head-up display, gesture controls, automatic climate control, and 5G connectivity among others.
Safety features on board include multiple airbags, ABS with brake assist, cruise control with braking function, dynamic stability control (DSC), tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) and a host of driver assistance features such as lane change warning with active return, blind spot detection and front collision warning. The iX recently also scored a 5-star safety rating at the Euro NCAP crash test.
