Remember when BMW designed some of the most sensational looking vehicles on the planet? Meet the BMW iX.
The BMW iX has been universally panned on social media and BMW is leaning right into it by including quotes from haters on social Ads it’s running. It’s a bit like the Toohey’s Extra Dry commercial celebrating the beer being so ordinary…
Both ideas make a bit of sense but I’m worried the millennials that seem to be in charge of everyone’s marketing might be pushing a little too hard. I mean, there’s a fair chance that you can actually end up driving people away by trying to be too clever.
And I was there the last time BMW went radical in its design… remember Chris Bangle? I do, and I’ll bet there are plenty of people right now thinking his designs weren’t so bad afterall.
As if the looks weren’t enough, poor old BMW has announced the iX will be coming to Australia next year right at the same time as talk of charging electric car owners more, rather than less, is starting to kick off. Anyway, back to the iX.
So, what is the iX? Well, it’s the production version of the Vision iNEXT concept and it’s about as far away from BMW’s Ultimate Driving Machine heritage as it’s possible to get.
But what this thing most definitely isn’t, is slow. It’ll get to 100km/h in 5.0 seconds with maximum output from its motors totalling 370kW. Interestingly, BMW’s keen to talk up the green credentials of the iX, saying unlike other electric vehicles there are no rare earths used in it. And it’s expected it’ll have a range of up to 600km.
BMW said the iX was developed from the inside out. Yep, I’d agree with that. “The clear and minimalist design of its exterior showcases a new form of mobility geared squarely to the needs of the vehicle’s occupants,” BMW said.
And, those occupants are met with a design style that BMW’s calling Shy Tech. It means things like hidden speakers, heated surfaces (not just seats), and the “discreet recessing of the BMW Head-Up Display’s projector into the instrument panel so it is almost invisible”. The steering wheel is a hexagon and there’s a rocker switch instead of a gear lever. And the infotainment system boasts BMW’s Curved Display.
It might be similar in size to some other large BMWs but the iX rides on a new platform which is largely aluminium with the vehicle wrapped in a Carbon Cage. This makes it both lightweight and very rigid, said BMW, which, it suggests, makes for both a safe and agile vehicle.
The minimal interior is carried onto the outside, remember, this thing was designed from the inside out. The headlights are the slimmest ever on a BMW, and the flush-fitting door handles activate at the press of a button. The side windows are all frameless and the tailgate is free of separation joints.
So, what do we think about the new iX? Is it an electric winner for BMW? See you in the comments.
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Not good enough BMW. If Jaguar and Audi can design modern, attractive progressive SUVs in the I-pace and the e-tron, surely you can too BMW. This is hideous – the biggest anti-compliment i can pay to it is that the front looks like a modern version of the Austin Somerset (look it up). And the squared steering wheel – that failed 45 years ago in the Austin Allegro!