[XDrive]

CompleteCar.ie

Tim Rodie Drives Stuff

Carwow

Ars Technica

The iX is not quite as plush as the Rolls-Royce Ghost we tested earlier this year (which also starts life in Dingolfing before being shipped to the UK for final assembly). But it's close, which is impressive for a car that costs a fifth as much. Like the Rolls-Royce, it might be at its most enjoyable on a flowing country road when you're trying to conserve momentum. Keep it in D, and then just add enough energy here and there as necessary, gliding along in near silence.

But the iX is still a BMW. For spirited driving on a twisty road—a thing that's still core to the brand—the combination of Sport mode and B works very well. Under these conditions, you only need to use the brake pedal (which blends regenerative and friction braking) if you're having to brake heavily; for braking at about 0.3 G or less, lifting your foot off the throttle is all that's required. The travel is long enough that it's easy to modulate that lift-off braking even after just a few minutes in the iX. However, even though the steering gets heavier in Sport, it doesn't really gain any extra feel.

Forget the looks, love the tech: The $83,200 BMW iX electric SUV

The iX has a range of 300 miles and all of BMW's latest and greatest tech.

arstechnica.com

Motor Trend

Technically speaking, the iX is stacked. The latest and eighth iteration of iDrive is more powerful than ever. I know this because I sat through at least three iDrive workshops while I was in Munich. Three! Just know that if you say, "Hey BMW, take a selfie," the iX takes a picture of you. No, really. However, the selfie camera is there as a security feature. Did you leave your wallet or purse on the front seat? Just open your phone and have a look. Speaking of wild tech, meet Maneuver Assistant. Long story short, Maneuver Assistant records how you park the iX—say, in a tricky spot in your garage—like a macro. The iX will then repeat the maneuver whenever you tell it to. Said maneuver can be up to 200 meters long. The iX can store up to 10 such maneuvers. Here's the coolest part: The maneuvers can then be transferred from profile to profile. Meaning you could record the move and then transfer it to your spouse/your kid's profile. That's dang nifty, no?

2022 BMW iX xDrive50 First Drive: A Glimpse at the Future

The 2022 BMW iX xDrive 50 previews our and its electric future. The mid-size electric SUV will be coming to the U.S. in the first quarter of 2022.

www.motortrend.com

Road & Track

Its unflappable straight-line speed and competent but disinterested dynamics put the iX in line with the rest of the BMW SUV lineup. Good company to keep, as I’ve long argued that the SUVs across-the-board proficiencies make them almost all better buys than the sedans, which still sacrifice in the name of driving magic the brand can’t quite seem to recapture. Rather than trying to chase its own history, BMW feels here—and in its other SUVs—like it is committing to a comfortable, user-friendly, spacious, tech-forward image for itself.

The iX is the flagship of that mission. The battery and powertrain are by far BMW’s most advanced yet, offering 300 miles of driving range and serious speed. The platform is unique to the iX, with a spacious cabin and a battery pack integrated into the floor. There’s a new version of iDrive here, an improvement on what is generally agreed to be the best infotainment system out there. On-board connectivity has been upgraded to 5G. And the iX offers every semi-autonomous safety feature, every driving assistant, every camera angle, and every parking assist that BMW and its suppliers can tie together. The heads-up display is bigger with more information, the gauge cluster replaced by a screen that’s even more variable and sleek. The roof is electrochromic, dimming with a button rather than with a physical shade. A voice assistant stands at the ready. There’s even a selfie camera on board.

I Didn't Want to Like it, But the 2022 BMW iX Really Is Great

The iX is heinous to look at, heretical to die-hards of the brand, and late to the game. It's also fantastic.

www.roadandtrack.com

 

[XDrive]

Roadshow

And indeed, the iX's interior is all about design. I've truly saved the best for last here: The cabin is the single greatest thing about the new iX. Spacious, airy, full of light and handsomely laid out, this is the best BMW interior I've ever sat in, and it's totally different than what you'll see in other luxury cars. I love how the dashboard slopes behind the curved display, finishing at the bottom with a thin row of air vents. The two-tier center console looks great, and the fact that it's not connected to the dash really adds to the fresh, open feeling. The lower shelf has a place to charge your smartphone, and the overall console design is one of the main reasons why the iX reminds me so much of the i3.

The 2022 BMW iX Is a Solid EV With One of the Coolest Interiors Around

BMW's new iX crossover SUV delivers a powerful electric powertrain and one of the coolest interiors around.

www.cnet.com

Wheels.ca

The interior, nice as it is, doesn’t really matter. This is a BMW, a brand that has for decades called itself the Ultimate Driving Machine. Can a large electric crossover lay any claim to that moniker?

Yes. Yes, it can.

It starts with that new chassis and the adaptive air suspension that accompanies it on this xDrive50i model. A massive 111.5 kWh battery does wonders to lower the center of gravity, but heavy use of carbon and aluminum (despite the massive panoramic glass roof) means that not only is the center of gravity lower but that there is very little weight up top at all.

The result is almost no body roll, without the accompanying ride punishment that even BMW’s conventional crossovers suffer. Add rear-wheel steering that can shrink this beast down to city car turning circles and it is, without a doubt, the most enjoyable of the brand’s crossovers to drive on the road.

High-speed stability, thanks to a startlingly low coefficient of drag as well as that rear-wheel steering is impeccable. On the autobahn, the iX cruises nearly silently even at its top speed of 200 km/h. The only accompaniment is the Hans Zimmer score created to add some audible driving engagement to the ride (the Sport mode version is fascinating).

FIRST DRIVE: 2022 BMW iX

Is the BMW X5 already obsolete?

www.wheels.ca

Car and Driver

While the exterior looks odd from certain angles, the interior is modern and attractive. A large, curved panel houses two screens measuring 12.3 and 14.9 inches. The number of buttons and switches has been cut in half, and there are several new features, including 5G connectivity, augmented-reality navigation, and the capability to use a phone as the key. That works without having to hold it up to the door handle; just walk up and the car unlocks like it does with the fob. Other tricks include the ability to record a parking maneuver up to 650 feet long—say, driving up a long driveway and backing into a garage—that the car will mimic at the push of a button. (However, it won't do so remotely with the driver out of the vehicle.)

2022 BMW iX xDrive50: Novelty with Substance

Unconventional features and 300-plus miles of range converge in BMW's new iX electric SUV.

www.caranddriver.com

Edmunds

Although we've yet to fully test the iX, our early impressions are quite positive. This could very well be the best midsize electric luxury SUV out for 2022, offering a more refined and luxurious driving experience than the Tesla Model X and sportier performance than the Audi e-tron. It's also as good as or better than any gasoline-powered midsize SUV, including BMW's own praiseworthy X5. The next few years will see the class grow, but for now, the iX is our odds-on favorite.

We Drive the Electric 2022 BMW iX, and It's So Good That You Can Forgive That Grille | Edmunds

The 2022 BMW iX has all of the tech, performance and refinement to be one of the best SUVs that just happens to be all-electric.

www.edmunds.com

Motor1

While we’ve really only scratched the self-healing surface of the new BMW iX in our short test, this electric SUV is something special. The cabin is gorgeous, the technology is unparalleled, and the drive experience is better than you might expect for such a sizable SUV. BMW went all-in on electricity with the new iX and it shows – hopefully the rest of the lineup follows this fantastic new blueprint.

2022 BMW iX First Drive Review: Bavaria's New Blueprint

The 2022 BMW iX feels like the next big thing for the brand, with a lavish interior, impressive tech, and great dynamics.

www.motor1.com

 

[ecobimmer]

Adding to the MotorTrend review from Jonny Lieberman shared above, here's a quick take he posted on Instagram:
http://instagr.am/p/CUaZ60lJ5ec/

 

[ecobimmer]

Here's a good Canadian review from Driving.ca

First Drive: 2022 BMW iX xDrive50

The new iX xDrive50 blends the attributes of three great BMWs in a single, agile, all-electric package

driving.ca

What stood out to me them most is how quiet it is even at high speeds.
"Trying to get these divergent needs into a single vehicle called for some out-of-the-box thinking. For example, to attain the quiet 7 Series-like highway ride, the engineers put a 25-millimetre-thick foam ring inside each tire to damp the usual road noise. This and the aerodynamics combine to make the iX very quiet at Autobahn speeds. The fact it managed this while being driven at just south of 200 kilometres an hour says it all!"

 

[XDrive]

Here's a good Canadian review from Driving.ca

First Drive: 2022 BMW iX xDrive50

The new iX xDrive50 blends the attributes of three great BMWs in a single, agile, all-electric package

driving.ca

What stood out to me them most is how quiet it is even at high speeds.
"Trying to get these divergent needs into a single vehicle called for some out-of-the-box thinking. For example, to attain the quiet 7 Series-like highway ride, the engineers put a 25-millimetre-thick foam ring inside each tire to damp the usual road noise. This and the aerodynamics combine to make the iX very quiet at Autobahn speeds. The fact it managed this while being driven at just south of 200 kilometres an hour says it all!"

If the ride noise is as quiet as a 7-Series or a better that's a huge win for BMW.

 

[DanielE]

Here's a good Canadian review from Driving.ca

First Drive: 2022 BMW iX xDrive50

The new iX xDrive50 blends the attributes of three great BMWs in a single, agile, all-electric package

driving.ca

What stood out to me them most is how quiet it is even at high speeds.
"Trying to get these divergent needs into a single vehicle called for some out-of-the-box thinking. For example, to attain the quiet 7 Series-like highway ride, the engineers put a 25-millimetre-thick foam ring inside each tire to damp the usual road noise. This and the aerodynamics combine to make the iX very quiet at Autobahn speeds. The fact it managed this while being driven at just south of 200 kilometres an hour says it all!"

Tesla`s have that foam as well, depending on the tire. The issue being that there is no more engine noise so the driving noise (tires, wind) tends to be something people notice more than usual. BMW do seem to have done a great job at desiging the IX removing most of it. Will be interesting to compare it to the Tesla X. Oh, and driving an EV at 200km/h makes no sense at long distances, you lose more time charging more frequently. Interesting that the "autopilot" changes lanes as well. that feature comes at an additional cost with the Tesla.

 

[XDrive]

Here's what InsideEVs had to say about the iX.

Worth the wait
Well, it certainly took BMW long enough, but they have finally produced their second fully electric vehicle. After spending a day cruising the autobahn and the many winding roads of Bavaria, I've come to the conclusion that it was indeed worth the wait. Sure, I wish the iX (and upcoming i4) came out a few years ago, but there's no need to look back and wax poetic about what could have been.

The iX is here now and it's a damn good electric vehicle in just about every way - exterior styling notwithstanding. Its interior is as comfortable, quiet, and as pleasant an atmosphere as any EV I've been in. The 516 hp dual-motor powertrain provides all the power you need (but if that isn't enough the 600+hp iX M60 will be available later in 2022), and the vehicle handles more like a 3,500-lb sedan than it does a 5,659-lb SUV.

With a starting MSRP of $83,200 (plus $995 destination), the iX xDrive50 isn't cheap. However, when you put it up against its current competition: Tesla Model X $99,990 + $1,200 destination and Audi e-tron Premium Plus $74,800 + $1,095 destination, the iX looks pretty good. In fact, if I were in the market to buy a premium electric SUV today and had a $100,000 budget I would take the iX over both the Model X and e-tron without really thinking twice.

However, I haven't driven the Rivian R1S yet, and once I do, that could possibly change my thinking a bit. These are exciting times indeed.

2022 BMW iX First Drive Review: Power And Poise With A Plug

We test out the 2022 BMW iX xDrive50 at BMW's first-drive event to see if the all-electric SUV lives up to the high standards that BMW has set.

insideevs.com