2022 BMW iX Official Thread

This is an interesting one.

Technically, it seems like one of the best EVs Germany has come up with so far, along with the Taycan and the E-tron GT.

The Carwow YouTube review was very positive.

And while it's expensive, it seems like better value than the iX3. In Australia at least, the iX3 is very expensive for what it is. And there's loads of space (except, weirdly, in the trunk, even though the back looks enormous).

But the looks.... Both inside and outside.

When people were hating those controversial Chris Bangle designs like the E60 5-series and the E65 7-series, I thought even at the time that they were being unfair. The E60 especially was very different to everything else that was around at the time, but I thought it was daring, and graceful. A lot of people seem to have come round to that view now.

But this? I really dislike it, and I don't think my view will change in the future. The proportions are all wrong, especially in profile where it has that Land Rover Discovery thing of looking like it's going to tip over backwards when it accelerates. The front looks like an evil robot beaver (the animal kind). The back looks like an afterthought. And the steering wheel looks broken. The dashboard is a bit meh. And the denim option? Ew.

And the wood centre console with the touch-sensitive buttons.... I don't know, it looks like retro-70s design in the late 80s or early 90s. It feels like it belongs on the fancy version of an Austin Montego or one of those 80s Cadillacs that had the square twin headlights and the spare-wheel bulge in the trunk - I can't remember what it was called, but the evil televangelist on a TV drama would usually have one, in cream and brown.

Normally I don't mind a car being ugly. After all, I can't see it when I'm driving it. But this is just too much.

I have an X3 now, and I really like it (although I've never thought it was a particularly handsome car from the outside), but I want to replace it with an EV in the next six months or so. I like the quality of the car, and I've been impressed by the after-sales service, so I'd probably have defaulted to another BMW. But I think the iX3 is a terrible value proposition, so that's off the list. The iX costs a little more than I'd want to spend, and it's a bit big, but if it were brilliant, I'd have considered stretching to it. But I just can't get over the looks. On that alone, I think it's a no.

 

Except for the price it looks like a big winner. I agree that the outside styling is not great, but this will provide what looks like the best compromise on the high end plug-in SUV market for interior quality, performance, and luxury. The tesla model Y, RAV4 prime, and Hyundai Ioniq 5 look like they will be the volume leaders. Tesla and Toyota can't make enough to meet demand. None of the 3 are much of a price stretch compared to the SUV market as a whole.

 

I didn't even know the Rav4 Prime was a thing: I don't think they're selling it here.

I think you're right on the volume leaders, but I'd add the Kia EV6 too. In some markets I think the Skoda Enyaq will do well, but I don't think they're selling that in the US, and it won't be coming to Australia for a couple of years at least.

I agree with you on the X4 being the best offering if you put the looks to one side. I was supposed to be test-driving an E-tron SUV before lockdown began, so I'm hoping to have a go some time in the next month when Sydney opens up a bit, but it looks like it might not be great. And I had a look at an EQC, but didn't test drive it: I thought it was too big on the outside and too small on the inside, and just didn't look or feel nice. (I think the EQB will be significantly better than the EQC.)

But I just can't get over the way the X4 looks, on the outside or the inside.

 

The Enyaq seems the most appealing of these to me, but it isn't coming to Australia any time soon. Am I right in thinking that Skoda doesn't sell anything in North America?

 

Yes, or at least not in the US.