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BMW leaps into the future. With the new technology flagship iX xdrive, the Munich-based company shows how they define tomorrow's mobility.
The Bayerische Motoren Werke are live. If a car manufacturer has the joy of driving in its DNA, burned in like a visible birthmark that you can't just cut out, then the transformation into a new age has to be particularly credible. BMW's sustainable journey into the future began back in 2013 with the compact i3, followed by the i8 super sports car, then came the giant nose study iNext, in which we all thought that they had now reached into the socket one too often.
The latest technology will soon be on the streets
They obviously don't. Because BMW was very serious about the provocative look. Now this monolith of the new age is actually landing on our streets as the technology carrier of the group. Sent from a planet where large extremities are apparently the ideal of beauty. The fully autonomous driving that was promised at the time is not yet on board with the iX, but the threatened kidney grill in a maxi version that puts the generally applicable taste to the test. In Shanghai, Moscow and Silicon Valley they will classify BMW's extravagance as avant-garde.
Detached from the optics, BMW's first Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV) designed entirely as an electric car is a milestone for the Munich-based carmaker. A work of thoroughbred engineers that fascinates us and in some areas simply overwhelms us intellectually. As long as the X5 (4,95 m) and flat like an X6 (1,70 m), the new E flagship comes off the assembly line in Dingolfing, parallel to the combustion engine boss Siebener. There will be two versions from autumn, the iX xDrive 40 (from 77.300 euros) and the iX xDrive 50 (from 98.000 euros) that we drive. The iX M2022 will be added in January 60.
The iX xdrive is not a lightweight
At the Dingolfing plant, they also implant the iX with the fully in-house designed battery tray, including ancillary organs, which weighs 630 kilos. The entire drive system is modular, so it can also be built into other models. Although the weight was saved significantly with CFRP, thermoplastics and aluminum parts on the chassis and body, the luxuriously equipped spaceship still weighs almost 2,6 tons. Yes, the future won't be easy.
The high-voltage battery of the iX xDrive 50 has an output of 111,5 kWh and should cover up to 630 kilometers with a single power supply. It is charged with up to 200 kW via a 400 volt on-board network. BMW installed an electric motor each at the front (190 kW / 258 PS) and rear (230 kW / 313 PS), with a total output of 385 kW / 523 PS. The special thing about it: the magnetic field of the synchronous motors is generated electrically. As a result, they get by without permanent magnets and also without rare earths, which should improve the environmental balance.
A conglomerate of electronic control units regulates the flow of power between the two electric motors. The so-called “actuator-related wheel slip limitation” optimizes traction in dynamic situations. From pure rear-wheel drive to wide-awake all-wheel drive, the flow of power changes in hundredths of a millisecond. On top of that, an adaptive chassis (optional) with two-axle air suspension and individually controlled shock absorbers for each wheel ensure driving stability and comfort.
Spared nothing
So there's a lot going on down there. Electronics en masse, of course everything networked with one another. Five cameras, five radar and twelve ultrasonic sensors supply an armada of servomotors and lots of driving assistants with tens of millions of pieces of information in real time.
If we crawl onto the spacious mezzanine floor, even the boys in Cape Canaveral will be pale with envy. The latest generation of the iDrive with its insane computing power is probably suitable for full moon travel. The iDrive Controller comes with a Swarovski crystal look "Clear & Bold" (the Chinese will love it) on request, BMW has rationalized around 50 percent of the buttons and integrated their functions into the digital operating system. Not just with advantages.
First of all, the remaining buttons with their mini symbols on the wide center console are really difficult to use, and in certain sunlight they are even hard to identify. And secondly, the BMW Operating System 8 now offers an overkill of information via the huge curved touch display. It's super fast, every step is logical and can be explained quickly (by a BMW specialist). For the 15 year old gamer, it might even be intuitive. Most of us will, however, ask: where was that, how do I get into menu XY? Swiping, wiping, thinking… uhhhh… no, not…. this distracts the journey to the dangerous zigzag course.
Instead of tablets, you now have cars
So, you have to bite into it. Apart from the full menu offer, the system is of course extremely tasty from a technical point of view. It can be updated over-the-air and, thanks to built-in eSIM technology, becomes a smart device, i.e. another networked end device such as a tablet. In addition, it already masters the 5G cellular standard. Very important: the system is capable of learning, adapts to your habits and eliminates the need for many input steps. With “Hey BMW”, most functions can then also be called up by voice control.
The new floating signpost in the navigation system is super helpful, animated by augmented reality, the interior camera that triggers when you smile and sends snapshots of you is creative, and the excellent music system with its concert hall quality is a real pleasure.
Over 600 hp for sporty times
This computer on wheels can of course also drive. And pretty good at it. 630 hp and a torque of 765 Newton meters throw the iX xDrive 50 to 4,6 km / h in 100 seconds. Up to the top speed of 200 km / h it feels like only another blink of an eye. Then it's over. Although you think that it could accelerate further down the horizon, you step against an imaginary wall of cotton wool. The electronic anchor wants to prevent the range from melting like ice in the sun.
Power development and temperament are rocket-like for such a large spaceship, the road holding is extremely sovereign and whoever finds the right setting in sport mode can steer the heavy electrician dynamically and precisely in the original BMW way in curves. Of course, taking into account the laws of physics. One behind the wheel of the iX is always aware of the difficulty of the task. The seating position is a bit strange, you sit on the armchairs rather than in the car. And the digitally generated Iconic Motor Sound, composed by Oscar winner Hans Zimmer, plays a melody that still sounds a lot like music of the future to our ears. We'll get used to it. Maybe even the big nose.
Technical data
Four-door SAV with electric all-wheel drive; Length: 4,95, width: 1,97 meters, height: 1,70 meters, wheelbase: 3,00 meters, trunk volume: 500 - 1.750 liters
Drive with two electric motors, system output 385 kW (523 PS), maximum torque 765 Nm, one-way automatic transmission, battery with 111,5 kWh. 0-100 km / h: 4,6 s, Vmax: 200 km / h (electronically limited), power consumption: 19,8 - 23,0 kWh / 100 km (WLTP combined), max.range 549 - 630 km (WLTP ), Price: from 98.000 euros
In brief
Why: because the iX is burning off a firework of technology - and driving confidently
Why not: because service and information overload can be overwhelming
What else: Audi e-tron, Tesla Model X, Mercedes EQC
When does he come: from November on