Why we’re running it: To see if BMW’s entry EV is as impressive as its range-topper
Month 4 - Month 3 - Month 2 - Month 1 - Specs
Life with a BMW iX1: Month 4
Is our zero-emissions premium compact SUV the king of the 20mph zone? - 4 October
Predictably, the Welsh government’s recent decision to roll out a blanket 20mph speed it on all urban roads was not met with a great deal of visible enthusiasm by the motoring masses.
I’ll confess to initially harbouring a degree of resentment towards the ruling, which seems somewhat excessive in light of the increasing influence of advanced driver assistance systems and the general structural safety of a modern car – but after a few days of city trundling in the BMW iX1, I’ve come to appreciate life in the slow lane.
As a long-time resident of snarled-up suburban London, I’ve developed a featherweight right foot and become all too familiar with achieving the same average speed on my commute as, say, a middling jogger. Some cars (like
the Audi TT RS I’m running atthe moment) simply aren’t worth subjecting to this torture, with snug- fit sports seats, inefficient engines and highly sprung chassis set-ups only exacerbating the frustrations of stop-start driving over roughly surfaced roads, littered with speed bumps and gaping potholes.
The iX1 is a breath of fresh air, by contrast. It’s not just comfortable and composed around town ‘for an EV’, but feels equally as adept at rounding out imperfections as any similarly sized combustion crossover.
It rolls quietly and smoothly over Hounslow council’s most jagged speed bumps, never lapsing into the teeth-gritting crashiness I’ve experienced with some other electric cars, and it remains whisper-quiet even when pushed beyond the heady realms of 30mph.
Even in tighter, twistier environments like car parks and side streets, I’ve found the iX1 eminently manoeuvrable and confidence-inspiring, courtesy of intuitive driver aids and excellent visibility at all four corners – although the 11.9m turning circle is pretty unimpressive and makes shuffling into the tight spaces of the Autocar car park a bit of a challenge.
Plus, maintaining a more sedate pace works wonders for the efficiency of an electric car. My experience suggests the iX1’s official 260-mile range is well within reach if you stay within the confines of the North/South Circular.
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I've now been running an iX1 M Sport for 7 months. It's a complex car in many ways but I have become less frustrated with the plethora of menu driven controls. Why not a simple circular touch control in the centre console...cost I suppose but at £60k it ain't a cheap car. I love the regenerative braking linked to the satnav and find it very smooth. The strong points are superb refinement and comfort for a small car, good economy if I don't thrash it down the motorway and that instant performance that will either get me into trouble one day or save me. The boost paddle on the steering column impressed my 10 year old grandson ! I don't rave about the quality of materials inside, they're very smart but look cheap compared with a 3 series. It's been 100% trouble-free but I'm taking it into my dealer next week because the Bridgestone tyres are wearing out at an astonishing rate...they will be illegal at less than 10,000 miles. I'm no boy racer, I'm 71 years old and normally get at least 30,000 miles out of tyres. I hope they don't try and fob me off with " they're all like that" Also the suspension is very clonky on a slightly rough surface. We'll see what they have to say.
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