BMW iX - hello new era!

It seems that only lazy people do not strive to produce electric cars today. Important experts, omniscient journalists, and, it seems, even shamans of dense tribes who have not seen the car in their eyes, predict the imminent death of the internal combustion engine. And manufacturers of "electric trains" rushed into the potentially vacant market space en masse. Everyone, from large automakers to endless startups of varying degrees of ambition and success, everyone wants to take a sweeter bite of this pie! Not everyone, however, succeeds.


Not averse to participate in these dances and BMW. Recently, the Bavarians pleased the Russian buyer with another novelty - an all-electric iX crossover, for which dealers are already accepting orders. However, sales will begin only in 2022 – you will have to wait.



But the configuration and prices have been made public. And the prices, frankly, bite. Minimum 8 rubles. More expensive than the X500 M000i, for a second. And in the top versions, yes with options, the price will easily fly away for the "top ten".
So what do the Bavarians offer for that kind of money? For now, only the BMW iX xDrive50 version will be sold in our market (in Europe they also offer a simpler version of the BMW iX xDrive40, and later the most powerful BMW iX xDrive60 should appear). Let's take a closer look at her.

Appearance

Seeing for the first time - I want to turn away. Remember what a shock and flow of negativity was caused by the “Bangle” E65, the BMW 7-series of the early XNUMXs? Chris Bangle can exhale - the haters will finally forget about him. Because now they have iX. Well, you need to be strong. “Unseeing” this, unfortunately, will no longer work.



Love at first sight again does not work. And from the second?
Even if not on the second try, but soon you begin to notice (or convince yourself?) That from some angles iX even looks almost pretty. It just doesn't look like a BMW. Even the invariable "Hofmeister bend" is spoiled by a plastic decorative overlay.
As for the branded Bavarian "nostrils" - they are swollen to such monstrous sizes that they do not fit in the bumper space and hang over the air intake with rabbit teeth. It seems that the designers shoved all the destroyed BMW family traits into these "nostrils" - that's why they were torn apart.



As you travel around the iX, this seemingly compact crossover turns out to be not so compact after all! Yes, this is a direct competitor to the "X-fifth"!

• ✪ Length - 4953 mm
• ✪ Width - 1967 mm
• ✪ Height - 1695 mm
• ✪ Wheelbase - 3000 mm
  

That's just the appearance of the X5 was more fortunate. But, as they say, do not drink water from your face, so go inside!
Before opening the door, pay attention to the handles. At first it seems that they are retractable, like the latest Jaguars or Mercedes. But no. The door handles of the BMW iX are simply indentations, inside which the release buttons are hidden.



The decision is definitely original and bold, but is it convenient? To pull the door, the brush has to be twisted. And there are also fears that in our realities, road dirt and dust will accumulate in these niche handles. If your BMW is parked on the side of the road for half a day, you walk up to it in a Brioni suit, you pull the handle and your fingers are half black. Not solid.

Interior

Violence over the usual understanding of style continues inside the cabin. The boldness of the decisions makes you think that you are sitting in a concept car. But no, the car is almost serial, there will be no changes. Shapes, colors, textures - everything will remain the same.



A huge “board” of almost half the width of the cabin combines the instrument panel and the multimedia system monitor. We've seen this somewhere before, haven't we? Well, yes, for the first time such an idea was implemented in Mercedes. And, for quite some time now. Since then, the idea has been “creatively copied” by many. The same KIA EV6, which we wrote about recently. Have the Bavarians also decided to borrow something from their “worst friend”?



However, why not copy a good idea? Moreover, BMW approached plagiarism creatively - the panel was made curved! And how gracefully it is suspended on two brackets! That your TV is in the living room, only narrow and long.
But the hexagonal steering wheel is already too much! Although the Bavarians claim that the shape of their steering wheel is ergonomically verified, that, having held such a steering wheel in their hands, they don’t even want to take on the usual classic one. Nevertheless, courageous people work in Munich - both in decisions and in statements. What will be the next evolutionary step of the steering wheel from BMW? Heptagonal and asymmetrical?



The driver was left with very few physical buttons - basically everything is “tied” to the multimedia screen and touch panels on the central armrest. But almost everything that is left to twist and press has a rich "crystal" finish - the transmission selector, the "washer" of the i-Drive system, the seat adjustment keys. Stop! The seat control units have moved to the door panels and look like a clear imitation of Mercedes. Hey, did the iX really "paint" in Munich and not in Stuttgart?

Behind - spacious! The legroom is almost like in an executive sedan. True, the electromobility architecture, with traction batteries located under the bottom, causes landing with high knees. On a long journey, it may not be comfortable. But the floor is absolutely flat, and the sofa is wide, so that, if necessary, three of us can comfortably sit on it.



Rear passengers are offered a central armrest with retractable cup holders, a separate climate control unit, heated seats and armrests (!). In the backs of the front seats there are two USB typeC connectors.



Overhead is a panoramic roof. Moreover, the glass is electrochromic, its light transmission can be adjusted up to full opacity.

Technique

What, let's look under the hood? No, let's not look! Because the hood of the iX does not open, except in the service. Only the windshield washer bottle neck is brought out, which is hidden ... under the BMW emblem!



But representatives of the company willingly tell what filling is wrapped in this wrapper.
The BMW iX is built on the fifth-generation eDrive electric platform. The movement of a large and heavy (2510 kg curb weight!) crossover is driven by two electric motors, one for each axle.



It is worth dwelling on the engines in more detail. All three iX versions have the same motors! Rear power is 340 hp. S. (400 Nm), front - 272 hp (352 Nm). At the same time, the gear ratios of single-stage gearboxes on the front and rear axles are different, that is, the electric motors achieve maximum efficiency in different speed ranges. and the total power of the engines is limited by software:

• ✪ BMW iX xDrive40 - 326 HP (630 Nm)
• ✪ BMW iX xDrive50 - 523 HP (765 Nm)
• ✪ BMW iX xDrive40 - over 600 hp (exact specifications not yet known)

That is, on the "magpie" two motors in total give out less power than one rear! I wonder how quickly the craftsmen will learn to change the engine firmware and turn the "forty" into the "sixty"? However, we will sell only "fifty" for now.
A new generation traction battery is used as a “battery”. In the xDrive50 version, it has a capacity of 105,2 kWh, which allows you to drive, according to the Bavarians, as much as 630 km! In actual operation, of course, it will be less. But even if the “electric train” will travel 500 km without recharging, this is an excellent indicator. Moreover, from the 200 kW fast charging station xDrive50 is charged by 80% in just half an hour.



The maximum speed of an electric vehicle is limited to 200 km/h. But acceleration to “hundreds” takes only 4,6 seconds! The curb weight, we remember, at the same time exceeds 2,5 tons!

Summing up

Electric vehicles are gradually coming to our market. And confidently prove their right to exist. Yes, in our realities they have a hard time, primarily due to the lack of a "charging" infrastructure.
But they can't be stopped! So let's get used to it...